Incumbent Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson had been the early front-runner for his party 's nomination , but he announced his withdrawal from the race after anti – Vietnam War candidate Eugene McCarthy finished second in the New Hampshire primary . McCarthy , former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy , and Vice President Humphrey emerged as the three major candidates in the Democratic primaries until Kennedy was assassinated in June 1968 . Humphrey won the presidential nomination at the 1968 Democratic National Convention , which saw numerous anti-war protests . Nixon entered the 1968 Republican primaries as the front-runner , and he defeated Nelson Rockefeller , Ronald Reagan , and other candidates at the 1968 Republican National Convention to win his party 's nomination . Governor George Wallace of Alabama ran on the American Independent Party ticket , campaigning in favor of racial segregation
1968 Democratic National Convention
1968 Democratic National Convention
1968 United States presidential election