May 13, 1960
NEW YORK. . . . Well, the West Virginia primaries are over and, contrary to much that was said, Senator John F. Kennedy succeeded in getting a great majority of the vote, and Senator Hubert H. Humphrey has withdrawn from the race to obtain the Presidential nomination.
This means that we now have three active candidates in the field, and two of them can be considered to be the candidates of the professional politicians. Senator Stuart Symington and Senator Lyndon Johnson certainly will have the backing, as far as the present announcements indicate, of President Truman and other powerful figures in the regular organization, while Senator Kennedy will be considered the candidate of the liberals.
From the sidelines this is an interesting political struggle to watch and, as a neutral until the convention, I watch with interest. For in going about the country I have found an underlying ground swell for Adlai Stevenson on the part of the ordinary Democrat who hasn't much official power but who does make up the majority of the Democratic vote. It may be impossible to ignore this unofficial feeling; it seems to be a little more in evidence day by day and the professional politicians know it has to be considered.
Index to this Document: 1960 presidential campaign: Hubert H. Humphrey withdraws from; Stuart Symington and; Truman and; 1960 presidential election; Humphrey, Hubert H.: ER on; West Virginia primary, 1960 and; withdraws from 1960 presidential campaign; Johnson, Lyndon Baines: 1960 presidential campaign and; ER on; Truman's support of; Kennedy, John F.: West Virginia primary, 1960 and; My Day; Roosevelt, Eleanor: on 1960 presidential campaign; on Hubert H. Humphrey; on LBJ; JFK, as liberal candidate; Stevenson, ER's popular support for; on Stuart Symington; on Truman; on West Virginia primary, 1960; Stevenson, Adlai E.: ER's campaigning for; ER's opinion of; Symington, Stuart: 1960 presidential campaign and; ER on; Truman's support of; Truman, Harry S.: 1960 presidential campaign and; LBJ and; Stuart Symington and; West Virginia primary, 1960: Hubert H. Humphrey and; ER's criticism of
Recommended citation: Eleanor Roosevelt, John Kennedy, and the Election of 1960: A Project of The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers, ed. by Allida Black, June Hopkins, John Sears, Christopher Alhambra, Mary Jo Binker, Christopher Brick, John S. Emrich, Eugenia Gusev, Kristen E. Gwinn, and Bryan D. Peery (Columbia, S.C.: Model Editions Partnership, 2003). Electronic version based on unpublished letters. .
For more information, visit The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers home page at https://erpapers.columbian.gwu.edu/.
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