In Los Angeles, California, Senator John F. Kennedy of
Massachusetts was nominated for the presidency by the
Democratic Party Convention, defeating Senator Lyndon
B. Johnson of Texas. The next day, Johnson was named
Kennedy’s running mate by a unanimous vote of the
convention.

Four months later, on November 8, JFK won 49.7 percent
of the popular vote in one of the closest presidential
elections in U.S. history, surpassing by a fraction the
49.6 percent received by Vice President Richard M.
Nixon, a Republican.

John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon.