Electoral College Vote Quotes
This statement was in response to President Harry Truman’s ten-point civil rights proposal. Eastland was clearly implying that in the next presidential election, the South would have to stick together so that they could elect a segregationist Southern candidate.
The Supreme Court divided 5-4 and all the Florida ballots were not counted.
The irony of this statement is that Kennedy then selected Lyndon Johnson as his running mate. Johnson, most experts agree, was able to swing Texas into the Democratic tally, and many of those same experts generally agree with Kennedy’s point but believe that his election was the only exception to the general rule in modern times.