1948 Republican Party presidential primaries

Selection of Republican US presidential candidate

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1948 Republican Party presidential primaries

* * *

| <- 1944 | March 9 to June 1, 1948 | 1952 ->

|
|

* * *

1,092 delegates to the Republican National Convention
547 (majority) votes needed to win
|  |  |  |

|
|
|

Candidate  | Thomas E. Dewey | Harold Stassen | Robert A. Taft
Home state  | New York | Minnesota | Ohio
Delegate count  | 434  | 157  | 224
Contests won  | 2  | 4 | 1
Popular vote  | 330,799  | 627,321 | 464,741
Percentage  | 11.6%  | 22.0% | 16.3%

* * *

First place by first-instance vote

First place by convention roll call

Dewey Taft Stassen Various[a]

* * *

| Previous Republican nominee

Thomas E. Dewey

| Republican nominee

Thomas E. Dewey

|

From March 9 to June 1, 1948, voters of the Republican Party elected delegates to the 1948 Republican National Convention, in part to choose the party nominee for president in the 1948 United States presidential election.

The 1948 Republican National Convention was held from June 21 to June 25, 1948, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey was nominated for president and California Governor Earl Warren was nominated for vice president.[1] Dewey and Warren went on to lose the general election to the Democratic Party's ticket of incumbent President Harry S. Truman and Kentucky senator Alben W. Barkley.

## Candidates

[edit]

Both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party courted Dwight D. Eisenhower, the most popular United States general of World War II. Eisenhower's political views were unknown in 1948. He was, later events would prove, a moderate Republican, but in 1948 he flatly refused the nomination of any political party.

With Eisenhower refusing to run, the contest for the Republican nomination was between New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey, former Minnesota Governor Harold Stassen, General Douglas MacArthur, Ohio Senator Robert A. Taft and California Governor Earl Warren. Governor Dewey, who had been the Republican nominee in 1944, was regarded as the frontrunner when the primaries began. Dewey was the acknowledged leader of the GOP's powerful eastern establishment; in 1946 he had been re-elected Governor of New York by the largest margin in state history. Dewey's handicap was that many Republicans disliked him; he often struck observers as cold, stiff and condescending. Senator Taft was the leader of the GOP's conservative wing. He opened his campaign in 1947 by attacking the Democratic Party's domestic policy and foreign policy. In foreign policy, Taft was a non-interventionist who opposed many of the alliances the U.S. government had made with other nations to fight the Cold War with the Soviet Union; he believed that the nation should concentrate on its own problems and avoid "imperial entanglements". On domestic issues, Taft and his fellow conservatives wanted to abolish many of the New Deal social welfare programs that had been created in the 1930s; they regarded these programs as too expensive and harmful to business interests. Taft had two major weaknesses: he was seen as a plodding, dull campaigner, and he was viewed by most party leaders as being too conservative and controversial to win a presidential election. Taft's support was limited to his native Midwestern United States and parts of the Southern United States.

The "surprise" candidate of 1948 was Stassen, the former "boy wonder" of Minnesota politics. Stassen had been elected governor of Minnesota at the age of 31; he resigned as governor in 1943 and served in the United States Navy in World War II. In 1945 he had served on the committee which created the United Nations. Stassen was widely regarded as the most "liberal" of the Republican candidates, yet as the primaries continued he was criticized for being vague on many issues.

### Nominee

[edit]

Candidate  | Experience | Home state  | Campaign  | Popular vote  | Contests won  | Running mate

|
|
|
|
|
|

Thomas E. Dewey |  |  | Governor of New York

(1943–1954)

Manhattan District Attorney

(1938-1941)

Nominee for president in 1944

New York

| (Campaign)

Secured nomination: June 24, 1948

| 330,799

(11.6%)

| 2  | Earl Warren |

### Major candidates

[edit]

These candidates participated in multiple state primaries or were included in multiple major national polls.

#### Competing in primaries

[edit]

Candidate  | Experience | Home state  | Campaign  | Popular vote  | Contests won

|
|
|
|
|

Douglas MacArthur |  |  | Commander of the Far East Command

(1945–1951) Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (1945–1951) Military Advisor to the Philippines
(1935–1941)

Army Chief of Staff
(1930–1935)

New York

| (Campaign) |  |
Leverett Saltonstall |  |  | U.S. Senator
from Massachusetts

(1945–67) Governor of Massachusetts
(1939–1945)

Massachusetts

| (Campaign) |  |
Harold Stassen |  |  | Governor of Minnesota
(1939–1943)  |

Minnesota

| (Campaign) |  |
Robert A. Taft |  |  | U.S. Senator
from Ohio
(1939–1953)  |

Ohio

| Announced campaign: October 24, 1947[2]
(Campaign) |  |
Arthur Vandenberg |  |  | U.S. Senator from Michigan
(1928–1951)  |

Michigan

|  |  |
Earl Warren |  |  | Governor of California
(1943–53)

Attorney General of California
(1939-1943)

Chair of the California Republican Party
(1932–1938)

District Attorney of Alameda County
(1925-1939)

Candidate for president in 1936 and 1944

California

|  |  |

#### Bypassing primaries

[edit]

The following candidates did not actively campaign for any state's presidential primary, but may have had their name placed on the ballot by supporters or may have sought to influence to selection of un-elected delegates or sought the support of uncommitted delegates.

Candidate  | Expirence  | Home state

|
|

Raymond Baldwin |  | U.S. Senator
from Connecticut
(1946–49)  |

Connecticut

Dwight H. Green |  | Governor
of Illinois
(1941–49)  |

Illinois

Edward Martin |  | U.S. Senator
from Pennsylvania
(1947–59)  |

Pennsylvania

Joseph Martin Jr. |  | Speaker of the House
(1947–49)  |

Massachusetts

B. Carroll Reece |  | Chairman of the RNC
(1946–48)  |

Tennessee

### Favorite sons

[edit]

The following candidates ran only in their home state's primary or caucus for the purpose of controlling its delegate slate at the convention and did not appear to be considered national candidates by the media.

* Businessman Riley A. Bender of Illinois
* Newspaper publisher R.W. Hitchcock of South Dakota

## Polling

[edit]

### National polling

[edit]

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

|

Graph of opinion polls conducted

Source  | Publication  |

Thomas Dewey

Douglas MacArthur

Leverett Saltonstall

Harold Stassen

Robert Taft

Arthur Vandenberg

Earl Warren

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Gallup  | Apr. 1945  | 59% | 7%  | 1%  | 15%  | 2%  | 4%  | 1%
Gallup  | Jan. 1946  | 38% | 6%  | 2%  | 27%  | 4%  | 4%  | 1%
Gallup  | Mar. 1946  | 37% | 3%  | 1%  | 33%  | 3%  | 6%  | 1%
Gallup  | Apr. 1946  | 35% | 5%  | 1%  | 34%  | 3%  | 5%  | –
Gallup  | July 1946  | 38% | 6%  | –  | 28%  | 4%  | 7%  | –
Gallup  | July 1946  | 37% | 4%  | 1%  | 25%  | 5%  | 8%  | 6%
Gallup  | Oct. 1946  | 40% | 5%  | 1%  | 22%  | 6%  | 7%  | 6%
Gallup  | Nov. 1946  | 52% | 2%  | 1%  | 17%  | 2%  | 9%  | 5%
Gallup  | Feb. 1947  | 45% | 3%  | –  | 18%  | 8%  | 8%  | 3%
Gallup  | Apr. 1947  | 51% | 2%  | –  | 15%  | 7%  | 10%  | 3%
Gallup  | June 1947  | 50% | 3%  | –  | 15%  | 9%  | 9%  | 4%
Gallup  | Jan. 1948  | 33% | 10%  | –  | 12%  | 13%  | 5%  | 5%
Gallup  | Mar. 1948  | 37% | 12%  | 1%  | 15%  | 12%  | 13%  | 6%
Gallup  | Mar. 1948  | 34% | 19%  | 1%  | 15%  | 12%  | 13%  | 3%
Gallup  | Apr. 1948  | 29%  | 16%  | –  | 31% | 9%  | 10%  | 2%
Gallup  | Apr. 1948  | 24%  | 12%  | –  | 37% | 8%  | 13%  | 2%
Gallup  | June 1948  | 33% | 11%  | –  | 26%  | 10%  | 13%  | 2%

Source:[3]

## Primary campaign

[edit]

### New Hampshire: March 9

[edit]

Dewey declined to enter the campaign actively while the New York legislature remained in session. In New Hampshire, that meant Dewey relied on the state's Governor, Charles M. Dale, and other supporters to deliver the eight-person delegation to his column. His campaign spent only $9,000.[4]

The result was inconclusive. Dewey took six of the state's eight delegates, and the most popular Dewey delegate outpolled the most popular Stassen delegate by 28,000 votes to 21,000.[4]

### Wisconsin: April 6

[edit]

Wisconsin had proven decisive in 1944 by eliminating Wendell Willkie from the campaign after a poor showing; in 1948, it evolved into a contest between native son Douglas MacArthur and neighbor Harold Stassen of Minnesota. Dewey, maintaining his front-runner approach, remained in Albany and nearly declined to enter the primary, submitting his name only halfheartedly at the last minute.[5]

The Stassen campaign benefited from the large Scandinavian population and the support of Senator Joseph McCarthy, while MacArthur, still in Tokyo, was supported by the La Follette family, the Milwaukee Sentinel, and many of Dewey's 1944 campaigners.[5] McCarthy, a Catholic, criticized MacArthur for his remarriage and divorce; the attack was aimed at the state's large Catholic population.[5] Stassen also succeeded by appealing to both young and liberal voters (through internationalist foreign policy) and conservative and ethnic voters (by calling for a national ban on the Communist Party). In an indirect attack on Dewey, he noted that forty percent of the nation's communists resided in New York.[5]

Though he did not initially campaign in the state, Dewey was weakened by Wisconsin; the leading candidates and other enemies, like former Congressman Hamilton Fish III, had the opportunity to attack him while he remained in New York.[5] Dewey briefly entered the fray in the final days, delivering speeches at Kenosha and Appleton College, and issuing a statewide radio broadcast on April 1 to criticize Stassen's proposed ban on communists, famously arguing, "You can't shoot an idea with a gun."[5]

Stassen won a triumph over MacArthur, taking nineteen delegates to the General's eight. Dewey was shut out, though he captured ten delegates in Oklahoma.[6]

### Nebraska: April 13

[edit]

A political cartoon depicts Dewey, Taft, and Stassen fighting in the Nebraska primary; other contenders look on as a matronly elephant, symbolizing the Party, urges unity.

One week after Wisconsin, Stassen again bested Dewey in Nebraska. Dewey had made a much stronger effort there, having left Wisconsin early to deliver a foreign policy speech in Lincoln. The two were joined on the campaign trail in Nebraska by Senator Robert A. Taft, entering his first primary.[6] Given a break in the Senate schedule for Lincoln's birthday, Taft campaigned in Nebraska, as well as Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, and Colorado in the span of one week.[7]

Taft was unpopular in the state over his opposition to farm subsidies[b] and unable to campaign until Senate business concluded; he likely preferred to bypass the state altogether. His hand was forced, however, by an independent committee which placed the names of all candidates on the ballot and Senator Hugh A. Butler, who offered Taft the support of his political organization and personally planned a three-day campaign trip for him; he reluctantly agreed.[8] The result was disaster for Taft, who finished a distant third (with only twice the vote of the non-candidate Vandenberg) and a boost for Stassen, who won a clean victory over Dewey.[8]

Now with clear momentum, Stassen appeared to be the favorite for the nomination; he led in the Gallup poll for the first time and was the betting favorite to win the crucial Oregon primary, his next showdown with Dewey.[6] Faced with the definite prospect of a third failed presidential campaign, the press began to write Dewey off. "Although he is not a tragic figure," wrote the liberal magazine The Nation, "there is an element of tragedy in his collapse as a leading contender. ... [H]e has pursued such a cautious course and been so clearly motivated by ambition that he stands for nothing and has no real friends."[6]

Dewey thus decided to stake his political career on Oregon and left for the state on April 20, to establish a campaign and barnstorm for votes.[9]

### Ohio: May 4

[edit]

In January, Stassen made a serious violation of political etiquette by challenging a candidate in his home state.[10] Though Taft personally appealed to Stassen to desist for both candidacies' sakes, the Minnesotan pressed forward with a January 25 announcement that he would controversially file in Ohio, angering Taft and his conservative supporters.[10] Stassen reasoned that he must campaign in the state, since he relied entirely on popular support without establishment backing.[10] After losing Nebraska, Taft hurried home, where he would campaign from April 17 until primary day, speaking eight to ten times per day.[10]

Stassen focused his strength by running a slate of only twenty-three delegates out of a possible fifty-three. Only one, a respected former Ohio Supreme Court justice, ran at-large; the other twenty-two ran in carefully selected districts in the urban centers of Akron, Cleveland, Dayton, and Youngstown. Stassen presumed that voters in these districts would oppose Taft for his sponsorship of the anti-union Taft-Hartley Act.[10]

Taft ridiculed Stassen for vagueness on the issues and took a firm stance in response against universal military training. He proudly spoke in favor of Taft-Hartley and also noted his public housing and education aid bills.[10] Taft's public relations advisor L. Richard Guylay utilized a radio campaign based on the principles of Gustave Le Bon, targeting veterans, young voters, and even union members with a direct appeal to emotion.[11]

The primary was a resounding victory for Taft. Out of the twenty-two district races, Stassen won only nine. His sole delegate at-large finished last. Taft was particularly gratified by the support in industrial regions and told Newsweek that he had received a "new lease on life." Stassen had been dealt his first major blow and permanently alienated the conservative wing of the party in the process.[10] Privately, however, Taft acknowledged Ohio as a Pyrrhic victory; the effort strained his health and budget and gave Dewey a major leg up on both exhausted candidates,.[10]

### Oregon: May 21

[edit]

Beginning after his loss in Nebraska, Dewey prepared for a final stand in Oregon; he proclaimed to advisors that his political career was at stake.[12] Oregon was the only remaining state in which he would compete directly with Stassen for delegates elected by the voters.[c] He had established a campaign strategy in the crucial state in July 1947 with Herbert Brownell and local campaign veteran Ralph Moores, but by March, Moores warned Dewey that the campaign was adrift, and that it would be "desperately hard" to regain the advantage over Stassen.[12]

Dewey enlisted support from various lobbyists and groups, including Winthrop Aldrich, the Brooklyn Real Estate Board, the New York American Federation of Labor, Detroit Edison, the Michigan Alumni Association, Detroit Edison, and the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen; he was even backed by lobbyists from the Minnesota Rose Society in Stassen's home state.[12] The campaign established several interest group-specific campaigns, including those for sportsmen, teachers, dentists, lawyers, osteopaths, and farmers. Among those constituencies targeted were the state's 12,000 black voters, who received mailings paying tribute to Dewey's efforts for a landmark anti-discrimination law and practice of race-blind hiring in state employment.[12]

Dewey arrived in the state personally on May 1, campaigning throughout the state; within the first week, he met 35,000 voters.[12] By May 12, Dewey forces had spent $71,000 in the state, most raised by Harold Talbott of the Chrysler Corporation. The campaign would ultimately spend around $150,000, triple the state record, on billboards, radio spots, newspaper advertisements, and half-hour broadcasts.[12] The day before the primary, the Dewey campaign ran a telegram to every physician in the state, written by a former Stassen supporter who had soured on the candidate over socialized medicine.[12]

Stassen, exhausted from his campaign in Ohio, found himself on the defensive for the first time and returned to Oregon earlier than he had planned. His opponents now criticized him for being vague on the issues, including Taft-Hartley, universal military training, and reciprocal tariffs.[12]

#### Radio debate

[edit]

Main article: Dewey–Stassen debate

In the final week of the campaign, Stassen returned to anti-communism, the issue which had boosted his campaign to the forefront.[13] Stassen attacked Dewey for a "soft, coddling policy" on communism in the United States and challenged him to a direct debate on the issue—the first ever head-to-head radio debate between two presidential candidates.[14] Dewey accepted, and as the challenged party, chose the format, topic, and rules; the debate would be broadcast nationally on 900 stations from a quiet studio at KEX Portland. The single topic: "Shall the Communist Party be outlawed in the United States?"[14] The debate was heard by an estimated 40–80 million listeners throughout the country, one of the largest audiences in history.[14]

During the debate, Stassen read credited his wartime service and world travels for his belief than an international Communist network demanded immediate, punitive response. Dewey responded with an extemporaneous criticism of the Mundt-Nixon Bill as a "grievous error," and pointed to the fact that Canada had banned communism but still hosted an international espionage ring in the Russian embassy.[14]

In his concluding remarks, Dewey delivered the most famous lines of the night:[14]

> "I am unalterably, wholeheartedly, and unswervingly against any scheme to write laws outlawing people because of their religion, political, social, or economic ideas. I am against it because it is a violation of the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights, and clearly so. I am against it because it is immoral and nothing but totalitarianism itself. I am against it because I know from a great many years experience in the enforcement of the law that the proposal wouldn't work, and instead would rapidly advance the cause of Communism in the United States and all over the world. ... Stripped to its naked essentials, this is nothing but the method of Hitler and Stalin. It is thought control, borrowed from the Japanese war leadership. It is an attempt to beat down ideas with a club. It is a surrender of everything we believe in."

Dewey won the primary by just under 10,000 votes;[15] Stassen no longer had a direct path to the nomination and had failed at establishing himself as the clear popular favorite.[10] Though Stassen had entered the primaries as the presumable heir to Wendell Willkie as the leader of liberal Republicans, the debate over communism had flipped his and Dewey's positions.[15] He now entered negotiations with Taft to block Dewey's nomination at the convention.[10]

## Statewide contests by winner

[edit]

Date  | Pledged delegates  | Contest  | Earl Warren | Harold Stassen | Robert A. Taft | Thomas E. Dewey | Douglas MacArthur | Arthur H. Vandenberg | Joseph W. Martin | Unpledged/Other

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

March 9  | 8  | New Hampshire primary | \-  | 2
21,000[d] | \-  | 6
28,000[d] | \-  | \-  | \-  | \-
April 6  | 27  | Wisconsin | \-  | 19
39.37% | \-  |
25.16% | 8
33.98% | \-  | \-  | \-
April 13  | 0  | Illinois[16]
(Results) | \-  | 0.47% | 0.21% | 0.29% | 2.00% | \-  | \-  | 96.90%[e]
?  | Nebraska |
0.95%  | ?
43.54% |
11.62%  | 2
34.54%  |
3.71%  |
5.16%  |
0.49%  | \-
April 20  | 0  | New Jersey |
0.16%  |
34.79%  |
5.52%  |
41.38% |
8.00%  |
5.75%  |
0.71%  | \-
April 27  |  | Massachusetts | \-  | \-  | \-  | \-  | \-  | \-  | \-  | 100%[f]
| Pennsylvania | \-  | 31.47% | 5.88% | 29.82% | 7.07% | 3.42%  | \-  | 17.46%[g]
May 4  | 53  | Ohio | \-  | 9
43.21%  | 44
56.79% | \-  | \-  | \-  | \-  | \-
May 11  |  | West Virginia | \-  | 83.17% | \-  | \-  | \-  | \-  | \-  | \-
May 21  |  | Oregon | \-  | 47.56%  | \-  | 51.79% | \-  | \-  | \-  | \-
June 1  |  | California | 100% | \-  | \-  | \-  | \-  | \-  | \-  | \-
| South Dakota | \-  | \-  | \-  | \-  | \-  | \-  | \-  | 100%[h]

* Italics - Write-In Vote

Primaries total popular vote results:[17]

* Earl Warren \- 771,295 (26.99%)
* Harold Stassen \- 627,321 (21.96%)
* Robert A. Taft \- 464,741 (16.27%)
* Thomas E. Dewey \- 330,799 (11.58%)
* Riley A. Bender \- 324,029 (11.34%)
* Douglas MacArthur \- 87,839 (3.07%)
* Leverett Saltonstall \- 72,191 (2.53%)
* R. W. Hitchcock - 45,463 (1.59%)
* Edward Martin \- 45,072 (1.58%)
* Unpledged delegates - 28,854 (1.01%)
* Arthur H. Vandenberg \- 18,924 (0.66%)
* Dwight D. Eisenhower \- 5,014 (0.18%)
* Harry S. Truman \- 4,907 (0.17%)
* Henry A. Wallace \- 1,452 (0.05%)
* Joseph W. Martin \- 974 (0.03%)

## Convention

[edit]

The 1948 Republican National Convention was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the first presidential convention to be shown on television. As the convention opened, Dewey was seen as having a large lead in the delegate count. His major opponents – Taft, Stassen, and Senator Arthur H. Vandenberg of Michigan – met in Taft's hotel suite to plan a "stop-Dewey" movement. However, a key obstacle soon developed when the three men refused to unite behind a single candidate to oppose Dewey. Instead, all three men simply agreed to try to hold their own delegates in the hopes of preventing Dewey from obtaining a majority. This proved to be futile, as Dewey's efficient campaign team gathered up the delegates they needed to win the nomination. After the second round of balloting, Dewey was only 33 votes short of victory. Taft then called Stassen and urged him to withdraw from the race and endorse him as Dewey's main opponent. When Stassen refused, Taft wrote a concession speech and had it read at the start of the third ballot; Dewey was then nominated by acclamation. Dewey then chose popular Governor Earl Warren of California as his running mate. Following the convention, most political experts in the news media rated the GOP ticket as an almost-certain winner over the Democrats.

The tally:  Ballot | 1 | 2

|
|

NY Governor Thomas E. Dewey | 434 | 515
OH Senator Robert A. Taft | 224 | 274
Frm. MN Governor Harold Stassen | 157 | 149
MI Senator and President pro tem Arthur Vandenberg | 62 | 62
CA Governor Earl Warren | 59 | 57
House Speaker Joseph Martin | 18 | 10
General Douglas MacArthur | 11 | 7

## See also

[edit]

* 1948 Democratic Party presidential primaries

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Kalb, Deborah (2016-02-19). Guide to U.S. Elections - Google Books. CQ Press. ISBN 9781483380353. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
2. ^ Patterson 1972, p. 382.
3. ^ "US President - R Primaries (Polling)". OurCampaigns. 19 Aug 2015. Retrieved 30 Mar 2020.
4. ^ a b Smith 1982, p. 486.
5. ^ a b c d e f Smith 1982, pp. 486–487.
6. ^ a b c d Smith 1982, p. 488.
7. ^ Patterson 1972, p. 387.
8. ^ a b c Patterson 1972, pp. 404–05.
9. ^ Smith 1982, p. 489.
10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Patterson 1972, pp. 405–407.
11. ^ Patterson 1972, p. 397.
12. ^ a b c d e f g h Smith 1982, pp. 488–491.
13. ^ Smith 1982, pp. 492.
14. ^ a b c d e Smith 1982, pp. 492–93.
15. ^ a b Smith 1982, p. 494.
16. ^ Illinois Blue Book 1947-1948. Illinois Secretary of State. p. 747. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
17. ^ Our Campaigns - US President - R Primaries Race - Feb 01, 1948

### Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Favorite sons received the support of Connecticut (Raymond Baldwin), New Jersey (Alfred Driscoll), Michigan (Arthur Vandenberg), California (Earl Warren), Illinois (Dwight Green), and Tennessee (Carroll Reece). Speaker of the House Joseph W. Martin from Massachusetts won the Rhode Island delegation. In the popular vote, Warren won California, Leverett Saltonstall won Massachusetts, and political unknowns Riley A. Bender and R. W. Hitchcock won Illinois and South Dakota, respectively. New Hampshire elected an unpledged slate of delegates.
2. ^ He blundered by repeating that position in Omaha during his February swing through the West.[8]
3. ^ In New Jersey and Pennsylvania, both Dewey and Stassen were on the ballot, but the vote was merely advisory; the delegates were elected separate from the popular vote.
4. ^ a b The listed total vote was that recorded for the top delegate on that candidate's ticket.
5. ^ 96.9% of the vote went to businessman Riley A. Bender, the only candidate on the ballot.
6. ^ 100% of the vote was for Leverett Saltonstall.
7. ^ 17.46% of the vote was for Governor Edward Martin.
8. ^ 100% of the vote was for R.W. Hitchcock.

### Further reading

[edit]

* Bowen, Michael (2011). The Roots of Modern Conservatism: Dewey, Taft, and the Battle for the Soul of the Republican Party.
* Kirby, Alec; Dalin, David G.; Rothmann, John F. (2013). Harold E. Stassen: The Life and Perennial Candidacy of the Progressive Republican.
* Patterson, James T. (1972). Mr. Republican: A Biography of Robert A. Taft. Boston, Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 9780395139387.
* Pietrusza, David (2011). 1948: Harry Truman's Improbable Victory and the Year that Changed America. Union Square Press.
* Reinhard, David W. (1983). The Republican Right Since 1945.
* Smith, Richard Norton (1982). Thomas Dewey and His Times. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9780671417413.
* Werle, Steve (2015). Stassen Again. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press.

* v
* t
* e

(<- 1944) 1948 United States presidential election (-> 1952)

Democratic Party|

* Convention
* Primaries

Candidates|

* Incumbent nominee: Harry S. Truman
* campaign
* VP nominee: Alben W. Barkley

* Other candidates: Harley M. Kilgore
* Richard Russell Jr.
* Henry A. Wallace

Republican Party|

* Convention
* Primaries

Candidates|

* Nominee: Thomas E. Dewey
* VP nominee: Earl Warren

* Other candidates: Riley A. Bender
* Herbert E. Hitchcock
* Douglas MacArthur
* Joseph W. Martin Jr.
* Edward Martin
* Leverett Saltonstall
* Harold Stassen
* Arthur Vandenberg
* Robert A. Taft

States' Rights Democratic Party|

* Convention

Candidates|

* Nominee: Strom Thurmond
* VP nominee: Fielding L. Wright

Other third-party and independent candidates

Prohibition Party|

* Nominee: Claude A. Watson
* VP nominee: Dale H. Learn

Progressive Party|

* Nominee: Henry A. Wallace
* Nominee: Glen H. Taylor

Socialist Party|

* Nominee: Norman Thomas
* VP nominee: Tucker P. Smith

Socialist Workers Party|

* Nominee: Farrell Dobbs
* VP nominee: Grace Carlson

Independents and other candidates|

* Gerald L. K. Smith

* Other 1948 elections: House
* Senate

* v
* t
* e

(1947<-)  1948 United States elections (->1949)

President|

* 1948 United States presidential election
* Democratic primaries
* Republican primaries
* Democratic convention
* Republican convention

U.S.
Senate|

* Alabama
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* Illinois
* Iowa
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* Maine
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* Michigan
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* Nebraska
* New Hampshire
* New Jersey
* New Mexico
* North Carolina
* North Carolina (special)
* Oklahoma
* Oregon
* Rhode Island
* South Carolina
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* Texas
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U.S.
House|

* Alabama
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* Oklahoma
* Oregon
* Pennsylvania
* Rhode Island
* South Carolina
* South Dakota
* Tennessee
* Texas
* 15th sp
* Utah
* Vermont
* Virginia
* 4th sp
* 6th sp
* Washington
* West Virginia
* Wisconsin
* Wyoming

Governors|

* Arizona
* Arkansas
* Colorado
* Connecticut
* Delaware
* Florida
* Georgia (special)
* Illinois
* Indiana
* Iowa
* Kansas
* Louisiana
* Maine
* Massachusetts
* Michigan
* Minnesota
* Lt. Gov
* Missouri
* Lt. Gov
* Montana
* Nebraska
* Lt. Gov
* New Hampshire
* New Mexico
* North Carolina
* Lt. Gov
* North Dakota
* Ohio
* Oregon (special)
* Rhode Island
* South Dakota
* Tennessee
* Texas
* Utah
* Vermont
* Washington
* West Virginia
* Wisconsin

State
legislatures|

* Iowa Senate

* v
* t
* e

United States presidential primaries and caucuses

Election timelines|

* 2004
* 2008
* 2012
* 2016
* 2020
* 2024
* 2028

National opinion polling|

Democratic Party
2008
2016
2020
2024
Republican Party
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024

State opinion polling|

Democratic Party
2004
2008
2016
2020
2024

Republican Party
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024

Fundraising|

* 2008
* 2012
* 2016
* 2020
* 2024

Debates and forums|

Democratic Party
2004
2008
2016
2020

debates
forums
2024

Republican Party
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Libertarian Party
2016
Green Party
2016

Straw polls|

* Conservative Political Action Conference
* Iowa State Fair
* (defunct: Ames, Iowa
* Texas)

Major events|

* Iowa caucuses
* New Hampshire primary
* Nevada caucuses
* South Carolina primary
* Super Tuesday

Caucuses
and primaries|

| Democratic Party|

* 1912
* 1916
* 1920
* 1924
* 1928
* 1932
* 1936
* 1940
* 1944
* 1948
* 1952
* 1956
* 1960
* 1964
* 1968
* 1972
* 1976
* 1980
* 1984
* 1988
* 1992
* 1996
* 2000
* 2004
* 2008
* 2012
* 2016
* 2020
* 2024
* 2028

|

Republican Party|

* 1912
* 1916
* 1920
* 1924
* 1928
* 1932
* 1936
* 1940
* 1944
* 1948
* 1952
* 1956
* 1960
* 1964
* 1968
* 1972
* 1976
* 1980
* 1984
* 1988
* 1992
* 1996
* 2000
* 2004
* 2008
* 2012
* 2016
* 2020
* 2024
* 2028

Libertarian Party|

* 2004
* 2008
* 2012
* 2016
* 2020
* 2024

Green Party|

* 2008
* 2012
* 2016
* 2020
* 2024

Reform Party|

* 1996
* 2000
* 2004
* 2008
* 2012
* 2016
* 2020
* 2024

Constitution Party|

* 2016
* 2020
* 2024

Results breakdown|

List of candidates by number of primary votes received
Democratic Party
2008
2016
2020
2024
Republican Party
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024

National
conventions|

| Democratic Party|

* 1832
* 1835
* 1840
* 1844
* 1848
* 1852
* 1856
* 1860
* 1864
* 1868
* 1872
* 1876
* 1880
* 1884
* 1888
* 1892
* 1896
* 1900
* 1904
* 1908
* 1912
* 1916
* 1920
* 1924
* 1928
* 1932
* 1936
* 1940
* 1944
* 1948
* 1952
* 1956
* 1960
* 1964
* 1968
* 1972
* 1976
* 1980
* 1984
* 1988
* 1992
* 1996
* 2000
* 2004
* 2008
* 2012
* 2016
* 2020
* 2024

|

Republican Party|

* 1856
* 1860
* 1864
* 1868
* 1872
* 1876
* 1880
* 1884
* 1888
* 1892
* 1896
* 1900
* 1904
* 1908
* 1912
* 1916
* 1920
* 1924
* 1928
* 1932
* 1936
* 1940
* 1944
* 1948
* 1952
* 1956
* 1960
* 1964
* 1968
* 1972
* 1976
* 1980
* 1984
* 1988
* 1992
* 1996
* 2000
* 2004
* 2008
* 2012
* 2016
* 2020
* 2024
* 2028

Libertarian Party|

* 1983
* 1987
* 1991
* 1996
* 2000
* 2004
* 2008
* 2010
* 2012
* 2014
* 2016
* 2020
* 2024

Green Party|

* 2000
* 2004
* 2008
* 2012
* 2016
* 2020
* 2024

Defunct|

| Whig Party|

* 1839
* 1844
* 1848
* 1852
* 1856

|

Greenback Party|

* 1876
* 1880
* 1884
* 1888

Populist Party|

* 1892
* 1896
* 1900 • 1904 • 1908

Progressive Party|

* 1912
* 1916
* 1920
* 1924
* 1948
* 1952

Reforms|

* California Democratic Party v. Jones
* Graduated Random Presidential Primary System
* Delaware Plan
* Rotating Regional Primary System
* Interregional Primary Plan
* National Primary
* White primary

* v
* t
* e

Dwight D. Eisenhower

* 34th President of the United States (1953–1961)
* Supreme Allied Commander Europe (1951–1952)
* Chief of Staff of the Army (1945–1948)
* Commander, Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (1943–1945)

Military
career|

* Military career
* 1919 Motor Transport Corps convoy
* Louisiana Maneuvers
* Operation Torch
* European Theater of Operations
* Allied invasion of Sicily
* Armistice of Cassibile
* June 6, 1944, order of the day
* People of Western Europe speech
* Normandy landings
* Operation Veritable
* Berlin Declaration
* Military Governor, U.S. Occupation Zone in Germany
* Disarmed Enemy Forces
* European Advisory Commission
* Supreme Commander of NATO, 1951-1952

Presidency
(timeline)|

* Transition
* 1953 inauguration
* 1957 inauguration
* State of the Union Address
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* Cabinet
* Judicial appointments
* Supreme Court
* Farewell address
* "Military–industrial complex"
* Kennedy transition
* Executive Orders
* Presidential Proclamations

| Foreign policy|

* Eisenhower Doctrine
* Korean War
* 1953; Korean Armistice Agreement
* 1953 Iranian coup d'état
* "Chance for Peace" speech (1953)
* Cold War
* Domino theory
* Khrushchev, Eisenhower and De-Stalinization
* New Look policy
* 1955 Geneva Summit
* 1960 U-2 incident
* Atomic Energy Act of 1954
* Atoms for Peace
* Restricted Data
* Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954
* Food for Peace
* Suez Crisis (1956)
* DARPA (1958)
* EURATOM Cooperation Act of 1958
* National Aeronautics and Space Act
* 1958; NASA
* Operation 40 (1960)

|

Domestic policy|

* Executive Order 10479 (1953)
* Outer Continental Shelf Act (1953)
* Refugee Relief Act (1953)
* Submerged Lands Act (1953)
* U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (1953)
* Agricultural Act of 1954
* National Wool Act of 1954
* Special Milk Program
* Excise Tax Reduction Act of 1954
* Internal Revenue Code of 1954
* Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act of 1954
* Small Watershed Program
* Air Pollution Control Act of 1955
* Agricultural Act of 1956
* Soil Bank Act
* Soil Bank Program
* Federal Voting Assistance Program (1955)
* Bank Holding Company Act (1956)
* Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956
* Interstate Highway System
* Highway Trust Fund
* Fish and Wildlife Act (1956)
* People to People Student Ambassador Program (1956)
* President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (1956)
* Civil Rights Act of 1957
* U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
* U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division
* Federal Plant Pest Act of 1957
* Little Rock Nine intervention (1957)
* Price–Anderson Nuclear Industries Indemnity Act (1957)
* Alaska Statehood Act (1958)
* Humane Slaughter Act (1958)
* National Defense Education Act
* 1958; Federal Perkins Loan
* Student loans in the United States
* Hawaii Admission Act (1959)
* Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960
* Civil Rights Act of 1960
* Sikes Act (1960)

Books|

* Crusade in Europe (1948)

Elections|

* Draft Eisenhower movement
* Republican Party presidential primaries (1948
* 1952
* 1956)
* Republican National Convention (1952
* 1956)
* United States Presidential election (1952
* 1956)

Legacy|

* Bibliography
* Birthplace
* Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum, gravesite
* Boyhood home
* Eisenhower National Historic Site
* Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial
* Eisenhower Executive Office Building
* Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport
* Eisenhower Fellowships
* Eisenhower Institute
* Eisenhower Monument
* Eisenhower dollar
* Eisenhower Centennial silver dollar
* U.S. Postage stamps
* Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center
* Eisenhower Medical Center
* Eisenhower Trophy
* Eisenhower Tunnel
* Eisenhower Golf Club
* Eisenhower Theater
* Statue of Dwight D. Eisenhower (U.S. Capitol)
* Fort Eisenhower
* Mount Eisenhower
* Places named for Eisenhower
* Other tributes and memorials

Popular
culture|

* Eisenhower jacket
* Eisenhower Tree
* Crusade in Europe (1949 television series)
* Backstairs at the White House (1979 miniseries)
* Ike (1979 miniseries)
* Ike: Countdown to D-Day (2004 film)
* Pressure (2014 play)

Family|

* Mary "Mamie" Geneva Doud Eisenhower (wife)
* John Eisenhower (son)
* David Eisenhower (grandson)
* Anne Eisenhower (granddaughter)
* Susan Eisenhower (granddaughter)
* Mary Jean Eisenhower (granddaughter)
* Jennie Eisenhower (great-granddaughter)
* Ida Stover Eisenhower (mother)
* Arthur Eisenhower (brother)
* Edgar N. Eisenhower (brother)
* Roy Eisenhower (brother)
* Earl D. Eisenhower (brother)
* Milton S. Eisenhower (brother)

Related|

* Eisenhower baseball controversy
* Camp David
* "And I don't care what it is"
* Atoms for Peace Award
* Introduction to Outer Space
* Eddie Slovik
* Kay Summersby

* ← Harry S. Truman
* John F. Kennedy →

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Republican Party

* History
* National Union Party
* Third Party System
* Fourth Party System
* Fifth Party System
* Sixth Party System

Presidential
tickets,
national
conventions,
and
presidential
primaries|

* 1856 (Philadelphia): Frémont/Dayton
* 1860 (Chicago): Lincoln/Hamlin
* 1864 (Baltimore): Lincoln/Johnson
* 1868 (Chicago): Grant/Colfax
* 1872 (Philadelphia): Grant/Wilson
* 1876 (Cincinnati): Hayes/Wheeler
* 1880 (Chicago): Garfield/Arthur
* 1884 (Chicago): Blaine/Logan
* 1888 (Chicago): Harrison/Morton
* 1892 (Minneapolis): Harrison/Reid
* 1896 (Saint Louis): McKinley/Hobart
* 1900 (Philadelphia): McKinley/Roosevelt
* 1904 (Chicago): Roosevelt/Fairbanks
* 1908 (Chicago): Taft/Sherman
* 1912 (Chicago): Taft/Sherman/Butler
* primaries
* 1916 (Chicago): Hughes/Fairbanks
* primaries
* 1920 (Chicago): Harding/Coolidge
* primaries
* 1924 (Cleveland): Coolidge/Dawes
* primaries
* 1928 (Kansas City): Hoover/Curtis
* primaries
* 1932 (Chicago): Hoover/Curtis
* primaries
* 1936 (Cleveland): Landon/Knox
* primaries
* 1940 (Philadelphia): Willkie/McNary
* primaries
* 1944 (Chicago): Dewey/Bricker
* primaries
* 1948 (Philadelphia): Dewey/Warren
* primaries
* 1952 (Chicago): Eisenhower/Nixon
* primaries
* 1956 (San Francisco): Eisenhower/Nixon
* primaries
* 1960 (Chicago): Nixon/Lodge
* primaries
* 1964 (San Francisco): Goldwater/Miller
* primaries
* 1968 (Miami Beach): Nixon/Agnew
* primaries
* 1972 (Miami Beach): Nixon/Agnew
* primaries
* 1976 (Kansas City): Ford/Dole
* primaries
* 1980 (Detroit): Reagan/G. H. W. Bush
* primaries
* 1984 (Dallas): Reagan/G. H. W. Bush
* primaries
* 1988 (New Orleans): G. H. W. Bush/Quayle
* primaries
* 1992 (Houston): G. H. W. Bush/Quayle
* primaries
* 1996 (San Diego): Dole/Kemp
* primaries
* 2000 (Philadelphia): G. W. Bush/Cheney
* primaries
* 2004 (New York): G. W. Bush/Cheney
* primaries
* 2008 (St. Paul): McCain/Palin
* primaries
* 2012 (Tampa): Romney/Ryan
* primaries
* 2016 (Cleveland): Trump/Pence
* primaries
* 2020 (Charlotte/other locations): Trump/Pence
* primaries
* 2024 (Milwaukee): Trump/Vance
* primaries
* 2028 (Houston)

Presidential
administrations|

* Lincoln (1861–1865)
* Johnson (1865–1868)
* Grant (1869–1877)
* Hayes (1877–1881)
* Garfield (1881)
* Arthur (1881–1885)
* Harrison (1889–1893)
* McKinley (1897–1901)
* Roosevelt (1901–1909)
* Taft (1909–1913)
* Harding (1921–1923)
* Coolidge (1923–1929)
* Hoover (1929–1933)
* Eisenhower (1953–1961)
* Nixon (1969–1974)
* Ford (1974–1977)
* Reagan (1981–1989)
* G. H. W. Bush (1989–1993)
* G. W. Bush (2001–2009)
* Trump (2017–2021; 2025–present)

U.S. Senate
leaders
and
Conference
chairs|

* J. P. Hale (1859–1862)
* Anthony (1862–1884)
* Sherman (1884–1885)
* Edmunds (1885–1891)
* Sherman (1891–1897)
* Allison (1897–1908)
* E. Hale (1908–1911)
* Cullom (1911–1913)
* Gallinger (1913–1918)
* Lodge (1918–1924)
* Curtis (1924–1929)
* Watson (1929–1933)
* McNary (1933–1940)
* Austin (1940–1941)
* McNary (1941–1944)
* White (1944–1949)
* Wherry (1949–1952)
* Bridges (1952–1953)
* Taft (1953)
* Knowland (1953–1959)
* Dirksen (1959–1969)
* Scott (1969–1977)
* Baker (1977–1979)
* Stevens (1979–1980)
* Baker (1980–1985)
* Dole (1985–1996)
* Lott (1996–2003)
* Frist (2003–2007)
* McConnell (2007–2025)
* Thune (2025–present)

U.S. House
leaders,
Speakers,
and
Conference
chairs|

* Pennington (1860–1861)
* Grow (1861–1863)
* Colfax (1863–1869)
* Pomeroy (1869)
* Blaine (1869–1875)
* McCrary (1875–1877)
* Hale (1877–1879)
* Frye (1879–1881)
* Keifer (1881–1883)
* Cannon (1883–1889)
* Reed (1889–1891)
* T. J. Henderson (1891–1895)
* Reed (1895–1899)
* D. B. Henderson (1899–1903)
* Cannon (1903–1911)
* Mann (1911–1919)
* Gillett (1919–1925)
* Longworth (1925–1931)
* Snell (1931–1939)
* Martin (1939–1959)
* Halleck (1959–1965)
* Ford (1965–1973)
* Rhodes (1973–1981)
* Michel (1981–1995)
* Gingrich (1995–1999)
* Hastert (1999–2007)
* Boehner (2007–2015)
* Ryan (2015–2019)
* McCarthy (2019–2023)
* Johnson (2023–present)

RNC|

| Chairs|

* Morgan
* Raymond
* Ward
* Claflin
* Morgan
* Chandler
* Cameron
* Jewell
* Sabin
* Jones
* Quay
* Clarkson
* Campbell
* Carter
* Hanna
* Payne
* Cortelyou
* New
* Hitchcock
* Hill
* Rosewater
* Hilles
* Wilcox
* Hays
* Adams
* Butler
* Work
* Huston
* Fess
* Sanders
* Fletcher
* Hamilton
* Martin
* Walsh
* Spangler
* Brownell
* Reece
* Scott
* Gabrielson
* Summerfield
* Roberts
* Hall
* Alcorn
* T. Morton
* Miller
* Burch
* Bliss
* R. Morton
* Dole
* Bush
* Smith
* Brock
* Richards
* Laxalt/Fahrenkopf
* Fahrenkopf
* Atwater
* Yeutter
* Bond
* Barbour
* Nicholson
* Gilmore
* Racicot
* Gillespie
* Mehlman
* Martínez/Duncan
* Duncan
* Steele
* Priebus
* McDaniel
* Whatley

|

Chair elections|

* 2009
* 2011
* 2013
* 2015
* 2017
* 2019
* 2021
* 2023
* 2024

Parties by
state and
territory|

| State|

* Alabama
* Alaska
* Arizona
* Arkansas
* California
* Colorado
* Connecticut
* Delaware
* Florida
* Georgia
* Hawaii
* Idaho
* Illinois
* Indiana
* Iowa
* Kansas
* Kentucky
* Louisiana
* Maine
* Maryland
* Massachusetts
* Michigan
* Minnesota
* Mississippi
* Missouri
* Montana
* Nebraska
* Nevada
* New Hampshire
* New Jersey
* New Mexico
* New York
* North Carolina
* North Dakota
* Ohio
* Oklahoma
* Oregon
* Pennsylvania
* Rhode Island
* South Carolina
* South Dakota
* Tennessee
* Texas
* Utah
* Vermont
* Virginia
* Washington
* West Virginia
* Wisconsin
* Wyoming

|

Territory|

* American Samoa
* District of Columbia
* Guam
* Northern Mariana Islands
* Puerto Rico
* Virgin Islands

Affiliated
organizations|

| Congress|

* House Conference
* Legislative Digest
* Steering and Policy Committees
* Senate Conference
* Policy Committee
* Factions
* Freedom Caucus
* Problem Solvers Caucus
* Republican Governance Group
* Republican Study Committee

|

Campaign
committees|

* National Republican Congressional Committee
* National Republican Redistricting Trust
* National Republican Senatorial Committee
* Republican Attorneys General Association
* Republican Governors Association

Constituency
groups|

* College Republicans
* Chairmen
* Congressional Hispanic Conference
* Log Cabin Republicans
* National Black Republican Association
* Republican Hindu Coalition
* Republican Jewish Coalition
* Republican Muslim Coalition
* Republican National Hispanic Assembly
* Republicans Abroad
* Teen Age Republicans
* Young Republicans
* Republicans Overseas
* High School Republican National Federation

Factional
groups|

* Republican Main Street Partnership
* Republican Majority for Choice
* Republican Liberty Caucus
* Republican National Coalition for Life
* ConservAmerica
* Liberty Caucus
* Ripon Society
* The Wish List

Related|

* Primaries
* Debates
* Bibliography
* International Democracy Union
* Three Legged Stool
* Timeline of modern American conservatism
* Trumpism

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