United States presidential election, 1944

United States presidential election, 1944

1940 ← November 7, 1944 → 1948

Nominee Franklin D. Roosevelt Thomas E. Dewey Party Democratic Republican Home state New York New York Running mate Harry S. Truman John W. Bricker Electoral vote 432 99 States carried 36 12 Popular vote 25,612,916 22,017,929 Percentage 53.4% 45.9%

Presidential election results map. Red denotes states won by Dewey/Bricker, Blue denotes those won by Roosevelt/Truman. Numbers indicate the number of electoral votes allotted to each state.

President before election Franklin D. Roosevelt Democratic Elected President Franklin D. Roosevelt Democratic

The United States presidential election of 1944 took place while the United States was preoccupied with fighting World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) had been in office longer than any other president, but remained popular. Unlike 1940, there was little doubt that Roosevelt would run for another term as the Democratic candidate. His Republican opponent in 1944 was Governor of New York Thomas E. Dewey. Dewey ran an energetic campaign, but as expected, Roosevelt prevailed.

This was the last election where the Democrat carried every Southern state. It was the first election where one of the candidates was born in the 20th century.

Nominations

Republican Party

Further information: 1944 Republican National Convention

Republican candidates:

• Governor Thomas E. Dewey of New York
• Governor John W. Bricker of Ohio
• Representative Everett Dirksen of Illinois
• General Douglas MacArthur of New York
• Former Governor Harold Stassen of Minnesota
• Businessman Wendell Willkie of New York

• 

  Governor Thomas E. Dewey of New York

• 

  Governor John W. Bricker of Ohio

• 

  Representative Everett Dirksen of Illinois

• 

  General Douglas MacArthur of New York

• 

  Former Governor Harold Stassen of Minnesota

• 

  Businessman Wendell Willkie of New York

As 1944 began the frontrunners for the Republican nomination appeared to be Wendell Willkie, the party's 1940 candidate, Senator Robert Taft of Ohio, the leader of the party's conservatives, New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey, the leader of the party's powerful, moderate eastern establishment, General Douglas MacArthur, then serving as an Allied commander in the Pacific theater of the war, and former Minnesota Governor Harold Stassen, then serving as a U.S. naval officer in the Pacific. However, Taft surprised many by announcing that he was not a candidate; instead he voiced his support for a fellow conservative, Governor John W. Bricker of Ohio. With Taft out of the race some GOP conservatives favored General MacArthur. However, MacArthur's chances were limited by the fact that he was leading Allied forces against Japan, and thus could not campaign for the nomination. His supporters did enter his name in the Wisconsin primary. The Wisconsin primary proved to be the key contest, as Dewey won by a surprisingly wide margin; he took 14 delegates to four for Harold Stassen, while MacArthur won the three remaining delegates. Willkie was shut out in the Wisconsin primary; he did not win a single delegate. His unexpectedly poor showing in Wisconsin forced him to withdraw as a candidate for the nomination. At the 1944 Republican National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, Dewey easily overcame Bricker and was nominated on the first ballot. In a bid to maintain party unity, Dewey, a moderate, chose the conservative Bricker as his running mate; Bricker was nominated by acclamation.

Democratic Party nomination

Main article: 1944 Democratic National Convention

Democratic candidates:

• Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States from New York

Candidates gallery

• 

  President Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York

Roosevelt was a popular, war-time incumbent and faced little formal opposition. Although a growing number of the party's conservatives - especially in the South - were increasingly skeptical of Roosevelt's economic and social policies, few of them dared to publicly oppose Roosevelt, and he was renominated easily.

Although the party's conservatives could not stop FDR from winning the nomination, the obvious physical decline in the President's appearance, as well as rumors of secret health problems, led many delegates and party leaders to strongly oppose Henry A. Wallace. Wallace, who was FDR's second Vice President, was regarded by most conservatives as being too left-wing and personally eccentric to be next in line for the Presidency. Many Democrats were uneasy with Wallace's New Age spiritual beliefs and by the fact that he had written coded letters discussing prominent politicians (such as Roosevelt and Winston Churchill) to his controversial Russian spiritual guru, Nicholas Roerich. Numerous party leaders privately told Roosevelt that they would fight Wallace's renomination, and they proposed Missouri Senator Harry S. Truman, a moderate who had become well-known as the chairman of a Senate wartime investigating committee, as FDR's new running-mate. Roosevelt, who personally liked Wallace and knew little about Truman, reluctantly agreed to accept Truman as his new running mate to preserve party unity. Even so, many liberal delegates refused to abandon Wallace, and they cast their votes for him on the first ballot. However, enough large Northern, Midwestern, and Southern states supported Truman to give him the victory on the second ballot. The fight over the vice presidential nomination proved to be historic, as FDR's declining health led to his death in April 1945, and Truman thus became the nation's 33rd President instead of Wallace.

Vice Presidential Ballot
Ballot	1st	2nd Before Shifts	2nd After Shifts
Harry S. Truman	319.5	477.5	1,031
Henry A. Wallace	429.5	473	105
John H. Bankhead	98	23.5	0
Scott W. Lucas	61	58	0
Alben W. Barkley	49.5	40	6
J. Melville Broughton	43	30	0
Paul V. McNutt	31	28	1
Prentice Cooper	26	26	26
Scattering	118.5	20	7

Source: Richard C. Bain & Judith H. Parris, Convention Decisions and Voting Records (Washington DC: The Brookings Institution, 1973), pp. 266–267.

General election

The Fall Campaign

Roosevelt/Truman poster

Election results by county.

  Franklin D. Roosevelt

  Thomas E. Dewey

  Texas Regulars

The Republicans campaigned against the New Deal, seeking a smaller government and less-regulated economy as the end of the war seemed in sight. Nonetheless Roosevelt's continuing popularity was the main theme of the campaign. To quiet rumors of his poor health, Roosevelt insisted on making a vigorous campaign swing in October, and rode in an open car through city streets. A high point of the campaign occurred when Roosevelt, speaking to a meeting of labor union leaders, gave a speech carried on national radio in which he ridiculed Republican claims that his administration was corrupt and wasteful with tax money. He particularly ridiculed a GOP claim that he had sent a US Navy warship to pick up his Scottish Terrier Fala in Alaska, noting that "Fala was furious" at such rumors. The speech was met with loud laughter and applause from the labor leaders. In response, Dewey gave a blistering partisan speech in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma a few days later on national radio, in which he accused Roosevelt of being "indispensable" to corrupt big-city Democratic organizations and American Communists; he also referred to members of FDR's cabinet as a "motley crew". However, American battlefield successes in Europe and the Pacific during the campaign, such as the liberation of Paris in August 1944 and the successful Battle of Leyte Gulf in the Philippines in October 1944, made Roosevelt unbeatable.

In the election on November 7, 1944, Roosevelt scored a comfortable victory over Dewey. Roosevelt took 36 states for 432 electoral votes, while Dewey won 12 states and 99 electoral votes (266 were needed to win). In the popular vote Roosevelt won 25,612,916 votes to Dewey's 22,017,929. Dewey did better against Roosevelt than any of FDR's previous three Republican opponents, and he did have the personal satisfaction of beating Roosevelt in FDR's hometown of Hyde Park, New York, and of winning Truman's hometown of Independence, Missouri. Dewey would again be the Republican presidential nominee in 1948 and would again lose, but by a much smaller margin.

The 1944 Presidential race was the last time both major-party nominees were from the same state.

Results

Presidential candidate	Party	Home state	Popular vote		Electoral vote	Running mate
			Count	Pct		Vice-presidential candidate	Home state	Elect. vote
Franklin D. Roosevelt	Democratic	New York	25,612,916	53.4%	432	Harry S. Truman	Missouri	432
Thomas E. Dewey	Republican	New York	22,017,929	45.9%	99	John W. Bricker	Ohio	99
(none)	Texas Regulars	(n/a)	135,439	0.3%	0	(none)	(n/a)	0
Norman Thomas	Socialist	New York	79,017	0.2%	0	Darlington Hoopes	Pennsylvania	0
Claude A. Watson	Prohibition	California	74,758	0.2%	0	Andrew N. Johnson	Kentucky	0
Other			57,004	0.1%	—	Other		—
Total			47,977,063	100%	531			531
Needed to win					266			266

Source (Popular Vote): Leip, David. 1944 Presidential Election Results. Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections (August 1, 2005).Source (Electoral Vote): Electoral College Box Scores 1789–1996. Official website of the National Archives. (August 1, 2005).

Close states (margin of victory less than 5%)

1. Ohio, 0.37%
2. Michigan, 1.02%
3. New Jersey, 1.35%
4. Wisconsin, 1.80%
5. Wyoming, 2.47%
6. Pennsylvania, 2.78%
7. Missouri, 2.94%
8. Illinois, 3.47%
9. Idaho, 3.49%
10. Maryland, 3.70%
11. New Hampshire, 4.24%
12. Iowa, 4.50%
13. Oregon, 4.85%
14. Maine, 4.99%

Results by state

		Franklin Roosevelt Democratic			Thomas Dewey Republican			Other			State Total
State	electoral votes	#	%	electoral votes	#	%	electoral votes	#	%	electoral votes	#
Alabama	11	198,918	81.3	11	44,540	18.2	-	1,285	0.5	-	244,743	AL
Arizona	4	80,926	58.8	4	56,287	40.9	-	421	0.3	-	137,634	AZ
Arkansas	9	148,965	70.0	9	63,551	29.8	-	438	0.2	-	212,954	AR
California	25	1,988,564	56.5	25	1,512,965	43.0	-	19,346	0.6	-	3,520,875	CA
Colorado	6	234,331	46.4	-	268,731	53.2	6	1,977	0.4	-	505,039	CO
Connecticut	8	435,146	52.3	8	390,527	46.9	-	6,317	0.8	-	831,990	CT
Delaware	3	68,166	54.4	3	56,747	45.2	-	448	0.4	-	125,361	DE
Florida	8	339,377	70.3	8	143,215	29.7	-	not on ballot			482,592	FL
Georgia	12	268,187	81.7	12	59,880	18.3	-	42	0.0	-	328,109	GA
Idaho	4	107,399	51.6	4	100,137	48.1	-	785	0.4	-	208,321	ID
Illinois	28	2,079,479	51.5	28	1,939,314	48.1	-	17,268	0.4	-	4,036,031	IL
Indiana	13	781,403	46.7	-	875,891	52.4	13	14,797	0.9	-	1,672,091	IN
Iowa	10	499,876	47.5	-	547,267	52.0	10	5,456	0.5	-	1,052,599	IA
Kansas	8	287,458	39.2	-	442,096	60.3	8	4,222	0.6	-	733,776	KS
Kentucky	11	472,589	54.5	11	392,448	45.2	-	2,884	0.3	-	867,921	KY
Louisiana	10	281,564	80.6	10	67,750	19.4	-	69	0.0	-	349,383	LA
Maine	5	140,631	47.5	-	155,434	52.4	5	335	0.1	-	296,400	ME
Maryland	8	315,490	51.9	8	292,949	48.2	-	not on ballot			608,439	MD
Massachusetts	16	1,035,296	52.8	16	921,350	47.0	-	4,019	0.2	-	1,960,665	MA
Michigan	19	1,106,899	50.2	19	1,084,423	49.2	-	13,901	0.6	-	2,205,223	MI
Minnesota	11	589,864	52.4	11	527,416	46.9	-	8,249	0.7	-	1,125,529	MN
Mississippi	9	168,479	93.6	9	11,601	6.4	-	not on ballot			180,080	MS
Missouri	15	807,804	51.4	15	761,524	48.4	-	3,146	0.2	-	1,572,474	MO
Montana	4	112,556	54.3	4	93,163	44.9	-	1,636	0.8	-	207,355	MT
Nebraska	6	233,246	41.4	-	329,880	58.9	6	not on ballot			563,126	NE
Nevada	3	29,623	54.6	3	24,611	45.4	-	not on ballot			54,234	NV
New Hampshire	4	119,663	52.1	4	109,916	47.9	-	46	0.0	-	229,625	NH
New Jersey	16	987,874	50.3	16	961,335	49.0	-	14,552	0.7	-	1,963,761	NJ
New Mexico	4	81,389	53.4	4	70,688	46.4	-	148	0.1	-	152,225	NM
New York	47	3,304,238	52.3	47	2,987,647	47.3	-	24,905	0.4	-	6,316,790	NY
North Carolina	14	527,399	66.7	14	263,155	33.3	-	not on ballot			790,554	NC
North Dakota	4	100,144	45.5	-	118,535	53.8	4	1,492	0.7	-	220,171	ND
Ohio	25	1,570,763	49.8	-	1,582,293	50.2	25	not on ballot			3,153,056	OH
Oklahoma	10	401,549	55.6	10	319,424	44.2	-	1,663	0.2	-	722,636	OK
Oregon	6	248,635	51.8	6	225,365	46.9	-	6,147	1.3	-	480,147	OR
Pennsylvania	35	1,940,479	51.1	35	1,835,054	48.4	-	19,260	0.5	-	3,794,793	PA
Rhode Island	4	175,356	58.6	4	123,487	41.3	-	433	0.1	-	299,276	RI
South Carolina	8	90,601	87.6	8	4,610	4.5	-	8,164	7.9	-	103,375	SC
South Dakota	4	96,711	41.7	-	135,365	58.3	4	not on ballot			232,076	SD
Tennessee	12	308,707	60.5	12	200,311	39.2	-	1,674	0.3	-	510,692	TN
Texas	23	821,605	71.4	23	191,425	16.6	-	137,301	11.9	-	1,150,331	TX
Utah	4	150,088	60.9	4	97,891	39.4	-	340	0.1	-	248,319	UT
Vermont	3	53,820	42.9	-	71,527	57.1	3	14	0.0	-	125,361	VT
Virginia	11	242,276	62.4	11	145,243	37.4	-	966	0.3	-	388,485	VA
Washington	8	486,774	56.8	8	361,689	42.2	-	7,865	0.9	-	856,328	WA
West Virginia	8	392,777	54.9	8	322,819	45.1	-	not on ballot			715,596	WV
Wisconsin	12	650,413	48.6	-	674,532	50.4	12	14,207	1.1	-	1,339,152	WI
Wyoming	3	49,419	48.8	-	51,921	51.2	3	not on ballot			101,340	WY
TOTALS:	531	25,612,916	53.4	432	22,017,929	45.9	99	346,218	0.7	-	47,977,063
TO WIN:	266

Miscellanea

• The 1944 election was the first since Grover Cleveland's re-election in 1892 in which the bellwether state of Ohio backed a losing candidate.
• The 1944 election was the last election in which any candidate received over 90% of the vote in any state (FDR won 94% of votes cast in Mississippi).
• The passing of the 22nd Amendment of the United States Constitution in 1947 renders this election the only occasion in United States history in which a candidate has been allowed to run for a fourth term as president.
• The 1944 presidential race was the only one in history where both candidates hailed from the same county. Roosevelt's home was in Hyde Park, New York. Dewey called Pawling, New York home. Both are in Dutchess County.
• This was the first election since 1900 when Idaho and Wyoming did not vote the same as each other, and the last to date.
• Had Dewey won the 1944 election, he would have become the youngest president in U.S. history, being 20 days younger (as of January 20, 1945) than Theodore Roosevelt, when he took office in 1901 upon the assassination of William McKinley.

See also

• President of the United States
• United States Senate elections, 1944
• Homefront-United States-World War II
• Hell-Bent for Election, an animated Roosevelt campaign film.

Further reading

• Cantril, Hadley and Mildred Strunk, eds.; Public Opinion, 1935-1946 (1951), massive compilation of many public opinion polls from USA
• Gallup, George Horace, ed. The Gallup Poll; Public Opinion, 1935-1971 3 vol (1972) esp vol 1; summarizes results of each poll as reported to newspapers
• Jordan, David M. FDR, Dewey, and the Election of 1944 (Indiana U.P. 2011)
• Smith, Richard Norton. Thomas E. Dewey and His Times (1984), the standard scholarly biography

External links

• 1944 popular vote by counties
• How close was the 1944 election? — Michael Sheppard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology