Richard Nixon ran for president.
Richard Nixon . Nixon served for eight years as vice president -- at 40 , the second-youngest vice president in history . He waged an unsuccessful presidential campaign in 1960 , narrowly losing to John F. Kennedy , and lost a race for Governor of California to Pat Brown in 1962 . In 1968 , he ran for the presidency again and was elected by defeating incumbent Vice President Hubert Humphrey .