For years , Kennedy had been seeking to curry favor with Iowa 's Democratic governor , Herschel Loveless , who had fiercely opposed Kennedy 's effort to secure the vice-presidential nomination at the 1956 Democratic National Convention . Kennedy hoped to persuade Loveless against putting himself forward in 1960 as a favorite son ( carrying the support of his state 's delegation for himself in order to leave it united and unbound to any top contender ) . Loveless had been neutral for a long time , and continued to remain open to a multitude of candidates as well as a prospect of running as a favorite son ( perhaps leveraging that as a means of securing the vice-presidential nomination ) . However , Kennedy began to secure more and more grassroots support in Iowa
1956 Democratic National Convention
1956 Democratic National Convention
1960 United States presidential election in Iowa