In 1968, Republican Richard M. Nixon narrowly defeats Democrat Hubert H. Humphrey in the U.S. presidential election. Neither man, however, receives a majority, because third-party candidate Strom Thurmond takes fourteen million votes, almost all in the South. On election night, as the votes come in, there is considerable speculation that Thurmond's presence in the presidential race may throw the contest into the House of Representatives, but by morning it is clear this will not happen.