Nov. 7, 1968 | Nixon victorious

Earlier, two of the major networks had given Illinois’s 26 electoral votes to Nixon, thus raising his unofficial total to 290 – 20 more than a majority.

Although Humphrey apparently won in two other doubtful states, Texas and Missouri, his total of 203 electoral votes, combined with the 45 votes won by George C. Wallace failed to throw the election into the House of Representatives.

The popular vote, with the 93 per cent of the nation’s precincts reporting, remained still extremely close yesterday afternoon. Nixon had 29,519,667 votes (43 per cent) to Humphrey’s 29,558,136 (also 43 per cent). Wallace received 9,174,925 votes or 13 per cent.

Nixon, claiming victory, pledged that “Bring us together” will be the motto of his administration.

He congratulated Humphrey for “his gallant and courageous fight against great odds,” and concluded, “I like a fighter.”

Humphrey conceded defeat from his hotel suite in Minneapolis in what was described by Nixon as a “very gracious message.”

Humphrey then turned to friends in his suite and said, “I don’t want any sympathy from any of you.”

In the House and Senate races, the Democrats ran considerably better than expected and held the Republicans to a net gain of five seats in the Senate and four in the House.

Neither of these gains is enough to give the Republicans a majority and Nixon now faces the prospect of at least two years in office with a Democratic Congress.

In the Senate the Democrats now hold 58 seats to the Republicans’ 42. The house has 243 Democrats and 192 Republicans.

— Robert. L. Schnell Jr. and R. Stanley Pieringer