Withdrawal of Lyndon B. Johnson from the 1968 United States presidential election
On March 31, 1968, incumbent U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson made a surprise announcement during a televised address to the nation that began around 9 p.m., declaring that he would not seek re-election for another term and was withdrawing from the 1968 United States presidential election. Johnson stated: "I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president." At first, Johnson's only significant challenger in the 1968 Democratic Party presidential primaries was Eugene McCarthy, an anti-war U.S. senator from Minnesota.