Wallace Rally in Fort Worth (1968)

Duration: 1:07

Year Published: 1968

Sound: sound

Description: This news segment for Houston’s KPRC-TV captures a campaign rally for third-party presidential candidate George Wallace in Fort Worth on October 17, 1968. An estimated 9,000 to 12,000 supporters fill Burnett Park to cheer the American Independent Party nominee. The event also draws numerous protesters. Some hold signs admonishing Wallace for his segregationist views, while others perform mock-Nazi salutes to heckle his supporters. Once on stage, Wallace rejects accusations of racism, citing African-American support for the gubernatorial bid of his first wife, Lurleen Wallace. George Wallace did not expect to win the presidency, but sought to garner enough electoral votes to prevent either major party candidate from winning the necessary majority. The House of Representatives would then decide the election, and Wallace hoped that southern states could use their influence to halt federal desegregation efforts. Wallace won five states, amassing 46 Electoral College votes. (Despite his efforts, Texas went for Democrat Hubert Humphrey.) Republican nominee Richard Nixon nevertheless acquired enough electoral votes, 301, to win the election.