John F. Kennedy/Richard Nixon (1960)

This presidential election is between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon in the year 1960. John F. Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963) is often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack. In the 1960 presidential election, he put up a hard fight to win the Democratic nomination, beating Hubert Humphrey in 13 primaries and taking down Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson at the Democratic National Convention on the first ballot. On the other hand, Richard Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was chosen to run for the position by The Republicans. He had served as Dwight D. Eisenhower's vice president, to run against Kennedy in the general election.

This presidential election was one of the tightest races in US history, with the two candidates tied at 47 percent in the Gallup polls. In the end, Kennedy defeated Nixon by 303 to 219 votes, narrowly winning the popular vote outright out of 68.8 million votes cast. Kennedy then became the youngest person to assume the presidency by election. He served at the height of the Cold War, and the majority of his work as president concerning relations with the Soviet Union and Cuba.

Another fun fact about this presidential election is that the first debate between the two candidates was the first one ever to be televised, and featured an hour-long discussion focusing on domestic issues. The debate took place on September 26, 1960, in Chicago, and was moderated by Howard K. Smith, then televised by CBS.