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The road to the 1972 Nebraska Democratic Primary began in the tumult and chaos at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. This proceeding is best remembered for the anti-war protestors who fought the police outside of the hall and the rancor of a Democratic Party divided by Vietnam inside the hall.

Some of the disenchantment among the Democrats inside the hall was caused by the fact that Hubert Humphrey won the presidential nomination without running in a single primary. Instead, he was the choice of the party bosses who controlled approximately two-thirds of the delegates. (1) Many of the delegates wanted a more democratic and open process to decide future Democratic nominees for president.

In a little noticed vote at the convention, the delegates approved by a 1,350 to 1,206 margin the creation of a commission to overhaul the delegate selection process. (2) The resolution required the state Democratic parties to give “all Democratic voters a full meaningful, and timely opportunity to participate in the selection of delegates to the next convention.” (3)

Most of the delegates had no understanding of what they had done but they voted for the most fundamental change in the presidential nominating process in modern history. American politics would never be the same.

The Democratic National Committee set up what became known as the McGovern-Fraser Commission, which was chaired by Senator George McGovern (D-SD) and Representative Donald Fraser (D-MN.) (4) The new rules established by this commission guaranteed the right of all Democratic voters to participate in a transparent process to select the next presidential nominee. (5)

This reform ended the long time control of the party bosses over the contest for the presidential nomination. The new rules created the current system in which all fifty states (and some territories) hold either primaries or caucuses to determine the presidential nominee. This new system lengthened the duration of the presidential campaign and opened the door for underdogs to win the nomination.

While the McGovern-Frayser commission reforms had a profound impact on a national level, they did not impact Nebraska because it was one of the few states that held open primaries before 1972. Before these reforms, Nebraska was only one of 15 states that held presidential primary elections. (6) This unusual status made Nebraska a high priority for presidential candidates.

Nebraska was also a major player in presidential nomination politics due to its unique all star primary law. In 1965, the Nebraska legislature passed a law that empowered the Secretary of State to place any potential or announced presidential candidates on the ballot. (7) The only way a politician could avoid being placed on the ballot was to file a sworn affidavit indicating that he would not be a candidate for president.

Nebraska had been crucial to the outcome of the two previous contested Democratic presidential nominations in 1960 and 1968. John F. Kennedy had won the 1960 primary and Robert F. Kennedy triumphed in 1968. That history convinced most of the serious candidates for the 1972 Democratic presidential nomination to make Nebraska a high priority. That’s why Nebraska mattered again in 1972.