Eugene McCarthy, Anti-Vietnam War Senator, Led Peace Movement to Force LBJ’s Withdrawal

1968: What A Year

Eugene McCarthy (1916-2005) was a U.S. Senator from Minnesota from 1958-1970, who gained fame by challenging President Lyndon Johnson for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1967-8, primarily because he opposed LBJ’s policies in Vietnam. There was a groundswell of support among Democratic Party activists for someone to oppose Johnson, but no polit…