Republican nominee and U.S. Senator from Arizona Barry Goldwater carried the state by 8.3 percentage points over incumbent Democratic president Lyndon B. Johnson. With his victory, Goldwater became the first Republican to ever carry the state in a presidential election. This was an impressive feat, especially given that Goldwater lost to Lyndon B. Johnson nationally in a landslide. Georgia joined the other Deep South states of Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina and Louisiana in supporting the Arizona senator as a protest against the Civil Rights Act,[1] although it did so by a smaller margin – 8.25% – than any other Deep South state Goldwater carried.[2]
This election was the first time since 1836 that a Democrat would win the presidency without carrying Georgia. Georgia was also one of three states that voted with a certain party for the first time in this election, the other two being Alaska and Vermont, both of which voted for a Democratic presidential candidate for the first time. Georgia was one of five states that swung more Republican in 1964, alongside Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and South Carolina.[3][4]
^Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, pp. 90-92 ISBN0786422173