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Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater was the Republican Party's nominee in the 1964 presidential election. His main rival in the primary elections was Norman Rockefeller, governor of New York. Goldwater selected William Miller, a little-known Congressman from New York, as his running mate. Goldwater stated that he chose Miller because he "drove [incumbent President] Johnson nuts". 

During the general election campaign, the Republican party was divided between its more moderate and liberal faction, based in the Northeast, and the more conservative side, located primarily in the South and West. Conservatives who supported Goldwater were resentful of how the moderate and Northeasterners had dominated the party. They preferred a smaller federal government and lower taxes, opposing social welfare programs. Moderate Republicans were concerned with Goldwater's rhetoric on nuclear weapons and some Americans considered him to be a dangerous extremist. 

Incumbent President Lyndon Johnson defeated the Goldwater/Miller ticket in a landslide on Election Day, carrying 44 of 50 states and the District of Columbia. 

Red and blue text on a gold background with a black and white photograph of a man's head in the center

Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater was the Republican Party's nominee in the 1964 presidential election. Goldwater's political career began when he was elected to the City Council in Phoenix in 1949. He helped to rebuild the Republican Party in Arizona and contributed a great deal to the election of Howard Pyle as governor in 1950. He first won a Senate seat in 1952, upsetting the Senate Majority leader Ernest McFarland. Goldwater defeated McFarland again in 1958, during a year in which Democrats gained 13 seats in the Senate. He gave up his bid for re-election to the Senate in 1964 to pursue the presidency. 

During the general election campaign, the Republican party was divided between its more moderate and liberal faction, based in the Northeast, and the more conservative side, located primarily in the South and West. Conservatives who supported Goldwater were resentful of how the moderate and Northeasterners had dominated the party. They preferred a smaller federal government and lower taxes, opposing social welfare programs. Moderate Republicans were concerned with Goldwater's rhetoric on nuclear weapons and some Americans considered him to be a dangerous extremist. 

Incumbent President Lyndon Johnson defeated the Goldwater/Miller ticket in a landslide on Election Day, carrying 44 of 50 states and the District of Columbia. 

Red text on a white background around a blue and white photograph of General MacArthur

This button was likely worn by supporters of General MacArthur's bids for the presidency in 1944 and 1948. Douglas MacArthur was a career military man, rising to the rank of five-star general officer, the second-highest possible rank in the United States Army. MacArthur graduated at the top of his United States Military Academy at West Point class in 1903, became the Army's youngest major general in 1925, and then Chief of Staff of the United States Army in 1930. General MacArthur retired in 1937 to become the Military Advisor to the Commonwealth Government of the Philippines, but was recalled to active duty in 1941 to defend the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor. 

MacArthur and his staff escaped to Australia from the province of Bataan in March of 1942, and famously said to General Richard Sutherland, "It was close; but that's the way it is in war. You win or lose, live or die — and the difference is just an eyelash." In 1944, some members of the Republican Party supported nominating General MacArthur for President, but as he was actively leading forces, he could not campaign for the nomination. MacArthur's supporters entered his name in the Wisconsin primary election, where he did win three delegates. At the convention, New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey easily won the party's nomination. 

General MacArthur officially accepted Japan's surrender in September 1945, and was effectively the interim leader of the country until 1948, overseeing its reconstruction. He ran again for the Republican Party's nomination for President in 1948, and was again defeated by Thomas Dewey. MacArthur was relieved of his command by President Harry S. Truman in 1951, after MacArthur communicated with Congress about his plans to further escalate the Korean War. The majority of the public did not agree with the decision, and Truman's approval ratings fell. MacArthur advised Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, before he passed away in 1964. 

Black and white photograph of a man's head and shoulders on a white background with a blue outer edge with white text on it

In 1960, the National States Rights Party nominated Orval Eugene Faubus for President and retired Navy Admiral John Crommelin of Alabama for Vice-President at a secret meeting. Faubus did not actively campaign and only received 0.07% of the votes, losing to the John F. Kennedy/Lyndon B. Johnson ticket. 

Orval Faubus was a member of the United States Democratic Party who in 1936 ran for, but lost, a seat in the Arkansas House of Representatives at the age of 26.  He was elected as the circuit clerk and recorder for Madison County before joining the United States Army and serving as an intelligence officer in World War II. After returning from the war, Faubus was elected as the Governor of Arkansas in 1954. His name became internationally known when he used the Arkansas National Guard to prevent African-American students from attending Little Rock Central High School in 1957, as part of federally-ordered racial desegregation. President Dwight Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard and ordered them back to their armories, removing them from Faubus' control. Some believe that Faubus' decision was politically motivated to shield him from fallout that had come with the passage of a tax intended to increase teacher salaries. Faubus decided not to seek reelection as Governor in 1966, but returned to vie for the Democratic nomination for Governor in 1970 and 1974, losing each time. His final race was in 1986 against Bill Clinton, who defeated Faubus and went on to become Governor of Arkansas, and later, President of the United States. Faubus passed away in 1994. 

Black and white photographs of two men's head and shoulders with a blue ribbon like banner at the top with white text on a white background with an outer red edge

Družina Za Svobodu roughly translates to “an alliance for freedom” in Czech and Slovak. However, this button features two American politicians: Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater and his running-mate, William E. Miller. Czech- and Slovak-Americans and other immigrants from Eastern Bloc countries were often interested in candidates with a strong anti-Communist stance, and the Republican Party courted these “white ethnic” voters in the 1960s. In the 1964 campaign, Goldwater criticized his opponent, incumbent president Lyndon Baines Johnson, for giving in to communist aggression. Specifically, for tolerating the existence of a communist state (Cuba) so close to American territory.

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The 1948 presidential election is often considered to be the greatest election upset in American history. Thomas Dewey, Governor of New York, and Earl Warren, Governor of California, made up the Republican Party ticket. Dewey and Warren ran against incumbent President Harry S. Truman, who had succeeded to the presidency after President Franklin D. Roosevelt's death in 1945. 

Nearly all predictions and polls predicted that Dewey would defeat Truman. Many newspapers and magazines prepared articles naming Dewey as the next President. Most notably, the Chicago Daily Tribune even printed the headline "DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN". The Democratic party appeared to be split ideologically; two new parties had formed. The Progressive Party nominated Henry Wallace and Strom Thurmond was nominated by the States' Rights Democratic Party. Despite the three-way split and Truman's diminishing popularity, he narrowly defeated Dewey on Election Day. 

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James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. was a peanut farmer who served as Georgia State Senator from 1963 to 1967, and Governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975. In 1976, he was nominated by the Democratic Party as their presidential candidate. Carter selected Senator Walter Mondale from Minnesota as his running mate. With the Watergate scandal still fresh in the minds of voters, Carter was viewed as an outsider, which proved to be an asset. The Carter/Mondale ticket narrowly defeated incumbent President Gerald Ford in the general election, making Carter the 39th President of the United States. 

In 1980, Carter faced challengers from all directions (Independent John Anderson, Democrat Ted Kennedy and Republican Ronald Reagan). While Carter was able to secure the re-nomination of the Democratic Party, voters had grown increasingly dissatisfied, and Reagan was elected in a landslide. In 1982, Carter established the Carter Center, a non-profit that promotes human rights. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his work through the Carter Center. 

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John R. Rarick ran for United States President as the nominee of the American Independent Party (AIP) in 1980. An attorney, Rarick was a state district court judge in St. Francisville, Louisiana from 1961 to 1966 before serving as the representative of the Sixth Congressional District in the United States Congress from 1967 to 1975. Rarick was a member of the Democratic Party, but he grew frustrated with his party's increasingly liberal philosophies. In his congressional campaign, Rarick ran on a segregationist, anti-federal government platform.

Rarick supported American Independent Party candidate George Wallace for president against Democrat Hubert Humphrey and Republican Richard Nixon in 1968. Rarick was stripped of seniority by the House Democratic Caucus for having openly supported Wallace. In 1974, the Democratic Party refused to renominate Rarick for his congressional seat. In 1976, Rarick ran failed campaigns both to return to Congress and to receive the AIP's presidential nomination. In the 1980 general election, Ronald Reagan was elected as US President. One of ten candidates, Rarick only appeared on the ballot in eight states,and received just over 40,000 (0.05%) votes. 

Red text and blue stars on white background with blue-and-white photograph of Gabriel Green in center. 

Gabriel Green was a write-in candidate for United States President in 1960 and 1972. The slogan on this button refers to his failed 1960 campaign and Abraham Lincoln's successful bid for President in 1860. Green was a "UFOlogist" who claimed to have had contact with extraterrestrials. He was a photographer who founded the Amalgamated Flying Saucer Clubs of America, Inc. and announced he had met with men from the unknown planet, "Korender". During Green's 1960 presidential campaign, he stated that he represented the "Universal Flying Saucer Party" and that his political platform was based on "United World Universal Economics", 

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James John Walker (1881-1946), the son of Irish immigrants, served as Mayor of New York City from 1925-1932. Walker was well-known for his flamboyant style and love of the Broadway theatre and speakeasies. During his second administration the New York Legislature levied 15 charges against Walker stemming from an investigation which uncovered instances of extensive corruption. As a result of the scandal, Walker resigned in 1932 and left the country with Betty Compton, the Ziegfeld Girl he was seeing at the time. They toured Europe for several years and married. When he was confident the scandal had subsided, Walker returned to the U.S. and later became president of The Majestic Records Company.