On November 8, 1960, but reported and analyzed heavily on November 7–8, John F. Kennedy narrowly defeated Richard Nixon in one of the closest U.S. presidential elections of the twentieth century. Kennedy, a senator from Massachusetts, became the youngest elected president and the first Catholic to hold the office. The campaign featured the first televised presidential debates, which many viewers thought Kennedy won on style and poise. Vote counting stretched late into the night as key states such as Illinois and Texas remained uncertain. Allegations of irregularities surfaced, but Nixon chose not to contest the result. Kennedy’s victory marked a generational shift in national leadership at the dawn of the 1960s.
