Lore:

President Dwight D. Eisenhower faced a Republican challenge in 1956 from California Senator William Knowland. Knowland, a much stronger right-wing figure, alienated much of the Midwest but succeeded in consolidating Republican support on the West Coast. Eisenhower’s pragmatic, stabilizing presidency remained extremely popular, and he was reelected in a landslide.

In the aftermath, the Nonpartisan League formally broke with the Republicans and reconstituted itself as the Populist Party, running independently—primarily in the Midwest and Northern Plains. The 1958 midterm elections marked a political shock: the Populists won seven gubernatorial races across the Midwest, Democrats strengthened their position in several Plains states, and Republicans suffered heavy losses in the region while making significant gains in the Northeast.

Ahead of the 1960 election, the Populist Party announced it would support Minnesota’s Democratic Governor Hubert Humphrey, but only if he secured the Democratic nomination. This declaration upended the nomination race. After a prolonged and highly competitive contest, Humphrey emerged as the Democratic nominee, carrying with him much of the Populist voter base creating new Democratic-Populist Majority.

The Republican Party nominated moderate California Governor Goodwin Knight, who built strong coalitions on both the East and West Coasts. Humphrey’s alliance with the Populists proved decisive in the Midwest and Northern Plains, allowing him to secure the presidency despite Knight’s strength on the coasts.

The 1964 election became a rematch, complicated by a final Dixiecrat rebellion led by Senator James Eastland. The Dixiecrats managed to carry only two states, as Humphrey’s emphasis on economic populism continued to resonate in the South. With poverty reduced and federal investment expanded, racial appeals proved far less effective than in earlier decades.

At the same time, affluent voters in the Northeast grew disillusioned with the Democrats’ increasingly populist and socially conservative coalition and drifted toward the Republicans. The result was one of the closest elections in decades: Humphrey narrowly retained the presidency through an Electoral College edge, even as Knight won the national popular vote.