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The 1960 United States presidential election was the 44th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 8, 1960. In a closely contested election, Populist candidate, representative of Nova Scotia Robert Stanfield, defeated vice president Richard Nixon, the Republican candidate, as well as Kosuto Bloc and Socialist candidates Spark Matsunaga and Farrell Dobbs. The election took place during a recession, likely exacerbated by the economic policies of incumbent president William Knowland and his predecessors.
Knowland had remained an unpopular president as a result of his handling of the situation in Borneo, which resulted in a mass number of Columbian deaths and an inability to fight militias supported by Germany. Elsewhere, the United States faced tariffs from FASCON and England, and encountered rising inflation and prices for general commodities. Knowland opted not to run for re-election for this reason, and instead preferred to retire after completing one term in office, endorsing vice president Nixon. The Populists, having faced continued support for their "economic appeasement" proposals, nominated Stanfield, a member of the party's moderate-conservative wing, and formed a coalition with the Democrats, whose caucus nominated John Pastore of Frisland as Stanfield's running mate. The Kosuto Bloc nominated Spark Matsunaga and Daniel Inouye, whereas the Socialists nominated Farrell Dobbs. Stanfield and Nixon were considered the only serious contenders, and despite Matsunaga and Dobbs appearing in the televised debates, they did not see a decisive uptick in polling.
Stanfield narrowly won the election, seizing the Midwest, parts of the Northeast and South, and traditional Populist strongholds. Nixon secured most of the Republican Party's bases of support and the northwest, whereas the Kosuto Bloc gained the same two states as previous. The Socialists faced their worst defeat since their formation, and carried no states and only a minimal proportion of the popular vote, but came close to carrying Sauk and Centralia. Whatever the case, Stanfield's administration was wracked with scandals and corruption, and he resigned from office only months before the 1964 election.