Nixon's second candidacy for the presidency came amid the [[Vietnam War]] and general urban unrest stemming from perceived shortcomings of the [[civil rights]] legislation. With President [[Lyndon Johnson]] losing [[credibility]] because of the increasingly unpopular war, Nixon ran once more. Then sitting [[Vice President of the United States of America|Vice President]] [[Hubert Humphrey]] narrowly won the Democrat nomination. [[Alabama]] Democratic Governor [[George Wallace]], a strong segregationist with blue collar appeal, entered the race as a third party candidate. There was no "[[Southern strategy]]," Wallace carried all the [[Electoral college|electoral votes]] of the "Solid South." Nixon promised to end the war, unify the nation and restore law and order to the country.
[[File:Nixon in China.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Chou Enlai (left) President Nixon (center) Jiang Qing (right)]]
President Johnson announced an October Surprise intended to help Humphrey, that bombing in North Vietnam would be halted and that a cease-fire would follow, however his announcement was too late. On election day, Nixon defeated Humphrey by over 100 electoral votes, although he won the election with only 43 percent of the vote to 42 percent, partly because Wallace took 13 percent.