Kennedy won a 303 to 219 Electoral College victory , and is generally considered to have won the national popular vote by 112,827 , a margin of 0.17 percent . The issue of the popular vote was complicated by the presence of several unpledged electors in the Deep South . Fourteen unpledged electors from Mississippi and Alabama cast their vote for Senator Harry F. Byrd , as did a faithless elector from Oklahoma . The 1960 presidential election was the closest election since 1916 , and this closeness can be explained by a number of factors . Kennedy benefited from the economic recession of 1957 – 58 , which hurt the standing of the incumbent Republican Party , and he had the advantage of 17 million more registered Democrats than Republicans . Furthermore , the new votes that Kennedy , the first Roman Catholic president , gained among Catholics almost neutralized the new votes Nixon gained among Protestants . Kennedy 's campaigning skills decisively outmatched Nixon 's , who wasted time and resources campaigning in all fifty states while Kennedy focused on campaigning in populous swing states . Nixon 's emphasis on his experience carried little weight for most voters . Kennedy used his large , well-funded campaign organization to win the nomination , secure endorsements , and , with the aid of the big-city bosses , get out the vote in the big cities . Kennedy relied on Johnson to hold the South , and used television effectively . In 1963 , Kennedy was assassinated and was succeeded by Johnson . Nixon would later successfully seek the presidency in 1968
assassinated
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
1960 United States presidential election