Did Wanda Moody put Richard Nixon in the White House?

Neat follow-up to 9/26 story about Wanda Moody.

Reader Bill Young writes: There was a reason your Aunt Wanda was pushing so hard back in 1968.

In the final days of the 1968 election it’s hard to minimize the importance of Knox County in Richard Nixon’s hopes of winning the White House.

Every Nixon vote had to be squeezed out of Knox County or (Alabama Gov. George Corley) Wallace would win the state.

When the votes were counted:

Shelby: Wallace + 3,580 votes over Nixon.

Davidson: Wallace + 3,346 votes over Nixon.

Hamilton: Wallace + 2,778 votes over Nixon.

Additionally, most small counties in Middle & West voted in large pluralities or outright majorities for Wallace.

Knox: Nixon + 28,925 votes over Wallace!!!

Thanks, Bill. I checked it out. Wallace carried five Southern states, but not Tennessee. Thanks to the votes from Knox County, Nixon carried the state and won the presidency.

Also note how the electoral map from 1968 resembles maps of today. From Wikipedia:

Nixon – 301 electoral votes (270 needed to win). Carried 32 states with 43.4 percent of popular vote.

Hubert Humphrey – 191 electoral votes. Carried 13 states + DC with 42.7 percent of popular vote.

George Wallace – 46 electoral votes. Carried five states with 13.5 percent of the popular vote.