Robert F. Kennedy: The Road Not Taken

The Nebraska Democratic primary mattered in 1968. Because only fifteen states held primaries, Robert F. Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy made the state a high priority.

Before the reforms of the 1970s, most delegates to the national convention were selected in conventions and caucuses in which party leaders controlled the outcome. The candidates campaigned extensively in Nebraska to prove to the party bosses that they could carry farm states in the general election.

The Kennedy and McCarthy campaigns began to organize in Nebraska in early 1968. Both candidates campaigned hard in Nebraska. McCarthy literally worked himself into a state of exhaustion.

Nebraska brought out the best in Kennedy, and he brought out the best in Nebraska voters. He gave a hydrocephalic baby love at the Beatrice State Home and scolded draft-dodging students at Creighton University. Kennedy was genuinely concerned about the future of a school-age Black girl he met in north Omaha.

Kennedy defeated McCarthy by a decisive 52 percent to 31 percent margin. This big win put Kennedy on the path to the Democratic nomination and the White House.