Lyndon B. Johnson for President

Red text along the top edge and white text on blue background along the bottom edge withe a black and white photograph of a man's head and shoulders in the center

This button is for Lyndon Johnson's campaign for president in 1964. Johnson had succeeded to the presidency after John F. Kennedy's assassination in 1963. Johnson ran with Hubert H. Humphrey as his running mate against Republicans Barry Goldwater and William E. Miller. On September 7, 1964, Johnson's campaign broadcast the "Daisy ad," which portrayed a little girl picking petals from a daisy, counting to 10 until a nuclear bomb exploded, suggesting that Goldwater's election might lead to nuclear war. Johnson won the election with a 61% majority. Although he was able to run again in 1968, he did not pursue a reelection campaign, citing ailing health as his reason.  

Lyndon Baines Johnson served in the House of Representatives from 1937-1949 and as U.S. Senator from Texas from 1949-1961. During his presidency, he was known for his "War on Poverty" and support of healthcare and civil rights in his overall commitment to creating a "Great Society." Johnson supported passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 and the Voting Rights Act in 1965. Yet he presided at a time of civil unrest and escalated American involvement in the Vietnam War. Due to this and concerns about his health, Johnson declined to run for a second term in 1968.