As Joe Biden refuses to drop out of presidential race, story of another US president who stepped aside

On March 31, 1968, President Lyndon B Johnson announced he would not run for another term. This decision did not end well for the Democrats.

Worn down by war

The story of Johnson’s decision begins in the fields and jungles of Vietnam. Johnson inherited the war (and the White House) from his predecessor John F Kennedy, after the latter’s assassination on November 22, 1963.

Despite his personal skepticism about the expansion of US involvement in the war, after assuming office, Johnson did not depart from the path set by his predecessor. By March 1965, he had sanctioned the landing of the first American combat troops in Vietnam, and an intense aerial bombing campaign.

US troop deployment in Vietnam continually went up under Johnson, from around 180,000 in 1965 to over 500,000 by 1968. More than 35,000 US troops were killed in action in this period.

As a highly organised, countrywide anti-war movement took shape, support for the war — and Johnson — plummetted. According to UC Santa Barbara’s American Presidency Project, in March 1965, Johnson enjoyed an approval rating of 68-69%. By the end of 1966 this had fallen to 44%. At the same time, his disapproval rating had risen to 47% up from around 21% in March 1965. By the time Johnson left office in 1968, his approval rating was 36% and disapproval rating 52%.

Johnson drops out

Amidst growing popular disaffection, schisms began to emerge within the Democratic party. In 1967, Senator Eugene McCarthy decided to run against Johnson in the Democratic primary as an anti-war alternative to the President.

Few took Mccarthy’s candidacy seriously until March 12, 1968, when the senator nearly pulled off an improbable upset in the New Hampshire primary. He won 42% of the vote compared to Johnson’s 49%. Smelling blood in the water, Robert Kennedy, JFK’s brother and also a war critic, decided to enter the race.

The primaries were now set to become a proper three-way fight, with Johnson under unprecedented pressure. People wanted change, and as the incumbent, Johnson represented the status quo. While he would likely have won the nomination anyway, he soon dropped out.

On March 30, Johnson ended a televised address, in which he announced a de-escalation in Vietnam hostilities (also unexpected), with a huge surprise.

“With America’s sons in the fields far away… I do not believe that I should devote an hour or a day of my time to any personal partisan causes… Accordingly, I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President,” Johnson said.

Democrats in disarray

As Richard Nixon cruised to the Republican nomination, the Democrats witnessed among the most hotly contested primaries in history. In the fray were three candidates — Kennedy, McCarthy, and Hubert Humphrey, Johnson’s vice president and the the ‘establishment candidate’.

Based on popular discontent with the war, either Kennedy or McCarthy should have been frontrunners. By August, when the Democratic National Convention was to be held in Chicago, McCarthy had secured almost 39% of the primary vote, whereas Kennedy had gotten above 30%. Humphrey had won a paltry 2.2% of the primary vote.

At the time, however, Democratic primaries were not all that democratic. Only 15 states chose their delegates via open primaries, with almost three-fifth of all delegates selected by party leaders in closed caucuses. Humphrey had secured the support of enough of these delegates to get him elected. Moreover, in June, after winning both the California and South Dakota primaries, Kennedy was shot dead, clearing the way for Humphrey to collect more delegates via backroom deals.

The Democratic convention was a catastrophe. Numerous organised groups had planned to disrupt proceedings, and over 20,000 police personnel were mobilised to keep things under check. The police roughed up McCarthy’s delegates when they tried to stage a walkout. Outside the venue, it clashed with protestors throughout the days of the convention. Hundreds of injuries would be reported, including to innocent bystanders and press personnel.

Ultimately, the uninspiring and rather unpopular Humphrey became the Democratic presidential nominee. But with his party in disarray, he never stood a chance in the November election. Nixon comfortably defeated Humphrey, carrying 32 states, and 301 electoral votes compared to Humphrey’s 191.

Humphrey’s nomination, despite lack of popular support, eventually led to a reform in the Democratic nomination process.