 Nixon entered 1968 as the front @-@ runner for the Republican nomination . However , polls suggested that in a head @-@ to @-@ head match up with incumbent President Lyndon Johnson , Nixon trailed 50 % to 41 % . Later in January , Nixon embarked on a tour of Texas , where he lampooned President Johnson 's State of the Union address , asking : " Can this nation afford to have four more years of Lyndon Johnson 's policies that have failed at home and abroad ? " At this time , reports suggested that Nixon would formally announce his bid in February . 
