On the night of 31 March 1968, President Johnson stunned the nation by announcing that “I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president.” Later that evening, Johnson took a poignant call from Abigail Q. McCarthy, the wife of Sen. Eugene J. “Gene” McCarthy [DFL–Minnesota], one of Johnson’s key challengers for the nomination. Lady Bird Johnson briefly joined the call.