While he enjoyed enthusiastic support from the conservative movement , Goldwater was opposed by liberals and moderates in the party , particularly New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller , who was also speculated to run for president . He cast Goldwater as an opponent of civil rights and an isolationist who wanted to withdraw from the United Nations . He vowed to stop Goldwater from running , " at all costs " . There were concerns that Goldwater and the more moderate Rockefeller could divide the Republican party , harming the its chances of winning the general election . Goldwater was the perceived leader of a grassroots movement in the American southern , southwestern , and western states staged by the more conservative wing of the party . Rockefeller , on the other hand , disagreed with most of the fiscal and social positions held by Goldwater , advocating a more progressive , mainstream approach to government for the Republican platform . News of Rockefeller 's marriage in May 1963 , eighteen months after he divorced his first wife , to a woman with whom he 'd had a relationship for over five years spread quickly throughout the nation . Initially , Rockefeller 's divorce received little media fanfare ; however , news of his remarriage prompted a considerably negative reaction among many . Rockefeller , who had been leading in the polls over other Republican candidates by a comfortable margin just weeks previously , saw a significant decrease in support for his candidacy . In July 1963 , he made an attempt to regain lost support by taking aim at what he viewed as " extremist groups , " targeting Goldwater specifically . Goldwater responded by accusing Rockefeller of blurring the line separating the Republican and Democratic parties . In attacking Goldwater 's politics and advocating his own , more progressive agenda , Rockefeller said to voters " Americans will not and should not respond to a political creed that cherishes the past solely because it offers an excuse for shutting out the hard facts and difficult tasks of the present . " The dynamic of the race changed in November 1963 when President Kennedy was assassinated and succeeded by Vice President Lyndon Johnson . Goldwater began to receive hate mail for creating a " climate of hate " , and reconsidered his run for the presidency . He privately remarked that he was relieved he had not committed to forming a campaign since a major loss to Johnson could have damaged the Conservative movement . As a southerner , Johnson would appeal to the rural Protestant bloc that Goldwater hoped to gain against the northern Roman Catholic Kennedy . Word that Goldwater could possibly decide against running caused grassroots supporters to fill his mailboxes with supportive letters . A reluctance on Goldwater 's part could have greatly demoralized the movement and caused proponents to grow bitter . After the conclusion of the official mourning period for President Kennedy , Goldwater went on the attack against the new President , accusing Johnson of playing " politics with Christmas " by twisting the arms of Congressmen to pass a foreign aid bill on Christmas Eve . Goldwater still led among the other potential Republican candidates , but his support had dropped to 25 percent . The goal for Goldwater and the implication of who would receive the nomination for the Republican party , which faced a slim chance of victory in 1964 following Kennedy 's assassination , was a possible shift in the control of the party itself from the " liberal Eastern wing . " Of this , Goldwater told his aides " First let 's take over the party . Then we 'll go from there . " Shortly after the assassination of President John Kennedy , Lyndon Johnson defined the goal of his administration as continuing those of the Kennedy administration in front of Congress . This , among the passages of other controversial bills , included the proposal of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 . Goldwater strongly opposed Johnson 's civil rights program , and during his president campaign he " very deliberately sought to splinter the Democrats ' traditional southern base " in what has been termed the Republicans ' first use of a Southern strategy . Goldwater 's vote against the civil rights bill , as well as his opposition to social welfare programs , gained him increased popularity in the South . By 1963 , Goldwater was a front-runner for the 1964 Republican nomination and had been the target of speculation about whether he would enter the presidential race or seek reelection to the U.S. Senate . Amid this speculation , Goldwater disclosed via a two-paragraph telegram that he would hold a press conference at his Phoenix , Arizona home to announce his " decision , regarding 1964 . " On Friday , January 20 , 1964 , at the planned press conference from the patio of his home in Phoenix , Goldwater , while on crutches as a consequence of a recent medical procedure , officially announced his intention to seek the Republican nomination for the office of President of the United States . In his campaign announcement speech , Goldwater justified his candidacy by stating that he had " not heard from any announced Republican candidate a declaration of conscience or of political position that could possibly offer to the American people a clear choice in the next presidential election . " He emphasized the need for a federal government that is " limited and balanced and against the ever increasing concentrations of authority in Washington " that encourages personal responsibility among American citizens while pledging his candidacy to " victory for principle and to presenting an opportunity for the American people to choose . " He promised " a choice , not an echo " in the election , and positioned himself to the right of Nelson Rockefeller , who had announced his candidacy two months prior
assassinated
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
Barry Goldwater 1964 presidential campaign