The United States presidential election of 1964 was the 45th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 3, 1964. Democratic candidate and incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson had come to office less than a year earlier following the assassination of his predecessor John F. Kennedy. Johnson, who had successfully associated himself with Kennedy's popularity, won 61.1% of the popular vote, the highest won by a candidate since James Monroe's re-election in 1820. It was the sixth-most lopsided presidential election in the history of the United States in terms of electoral votes; in terms of popular vote, it is first. No candidate for president since has equaled or surpassed Johnson's percentage of the popular vote, and only Richard Nixon in 1972 has won by a greater popular vote margin.