In the 1960 presidential election, radio listeners polled as preferring Richard Nixon by five percentage points.
Posted by The Michael Berry Show, Checked
- Sources
- 2 contradict2 support
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 50%
The Michael Berry ShowSep 15, 2026
The sources support that radio listeners were polled as favoring Nixon after the first 1960 debate, but none gives a five-point margin. The one poll cited, Sindlinger's, reported a 2-to-1 margin, which is a different and larger measure, and later analysis calls that poll biased and its radio-victory finding unreliable.
What was said
… Women like to vote for a candidate who projects strength and sexuality, strong voice. In 1960, there was a survey done. You still had a split of people listening on the radio and television as late as 1960. Fathom that. And the radio listener response it was a nationwide response said that Nixon won by several percentage points, like five percentage points. Nixon won the television audience said Kennedy won. And there were even reporters who were in love with Kennedy or on his daddy's payroll from the bootleg, and they said that Nixon was sweating. …
The Michael Berry Show · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. The Sindlinger poll, the basis of the radio-victory claim, reported a 2-to-1 margin for Nixon among radio audiences, not a five-point lead, so the claimed figure does not match the recorded measure.[1]
Contradicts. Later re-analysis finds the Nixon radio victory rested on a single Sindlinger poll, likely skewed by Republican sample bias, and finds little evidence of a viewer-listener disconnect.[1][2]
Supports. Britannica and the Gilder Lehrman essay both report that surveys or polls found radio listeners thought Nixon won the first debate while TV viewers favored Kennedy.[3][4]
Context. Sources describe the radio-listener finding as a widely repeated story but do not give the five-percentage-point figure the claim states.[3][4]
Sources
4 sources: 4 not rated
- 1Kennedy-Nixon debate myth certain to circulate anewmediamythalert.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 2Debunking Nixon's radio victory in the 1960 election - Taylor & Francistandfonline.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 3United States presidential election of 1960 - Britannicabritannica.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context
- 4Kennedy, Nixon, and Television in the 1960 Race for ...gilderlehrman.org · not rated · cited for: supports, context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- In the 2020 election, polling overestimated Joe Biden's popularity by the worst margin of any polling in 40 years.True
- The Seltzer poll in Iowa predicted Kamala Harris would win Iowa by 10 points.Can’t tell
- Pollsters have fraudulently given false polls in past elections.True
- Roger Stone served as a campaign advisor for Richard Nixon.Mixed
- The Washington Post stated that its polls are likely inaccurate because they cannot get GOP voters, center-right voters, or centrist independents to respond.True