Nixon faced little opposition in the Republican race to succeed popular incumbent Dwight D. Eisenhower . Kennedy , a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts , established himself as the Democratic front-runner with his strong performance in the 1960 Democratic primaries , including a key victory in West Virginia over Senator Hubert Humphrey . He defeated Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson on the first presidential ballot of the 1960 Democratic National Convention , and asked Johnson to serve as his running mate . The issue of the Cold War dominated the election , as tensions were high between the United States and the Soviet Union
1960 Democratic National Convention
1960 Democratic National Convention
1960 United States presidential election