Hubert Humphrey helped found the Republican Party.
Hubert Humphrey . He was the nominee of the Democratic Party in the 1968 presidential election , losing to the Republican nominee Richard M. Nixon . Humphrey helped found the Minnesota Democratic -- Farmer -- Labor Party ( DFL ) in 1944 , and in 1945 , became the DFL candidate for mayor of Minneapolis for a second time , winning with 61 % of the vote .