1948 United States presidential election in Wyoming
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County Results
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Elections in Wyoming |
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The1948 United States presidential election in Wyomingtook place on November 2, 1948, as part of the1948 United States presidential election.State voters chose three representatives, or electors, to theElectoral College,who voted forpresidentandvice president.Wyomingwas won by incumbentDemocratic PresidentHarry S. Truman,running withSenate Majority LeaderAlben W. Barkley,with 51.62 percent of the popular vote, against theRepublican nominee,47th Governor of New YorkThomas E. Dewey,running withCalifornia Governorand futureChief Justice of the United StatesEarl Warren,with 47.27 percent of the popular vote, despite the fact that Dewey had previously won the statefour years earlier.[1]
Truman's upset victory in Wyoming was part of a major upset victory nationwide, as prior to the election, polls had forecasted a Dewey victory. Dewey ran a low risk campaign, largely avoiding criticizing Truman, which was due to many believing his hawkish campaign 4 years earlier had cost him the election to Truman's Democratic predecessor,Franklin D. Roosevelt.Truman suffered from low approval ratings and dealt with many southern Democratic voters defecting to theDixiecratcandidateStrom Thurmond,costing him the traditionally Democratic strongholds ofSouth Carolina,Alabama,Mississippi,andLouisiana,however Truman's unexpected strength in theMidwestandWest Coastsecured his reelection, as he flipped the states ofOhio,Iowa,Wisconsin,Colorado,and Wyoming, all of which had voted for Dewey in1944.Dewey revived Republican strength in the traditionally RepublicanNortheast,flippingDelaware,Maryland,Pennsylvania,New Jersey,Connecticut,New Hampshire,and his home state ofNew York.He also managed to flipMichiganandOregon.
Truman was popular among rural voters, and with agriculture being one of the biggest parts of Wyoming's economy, Truman's support forNew Deal eraprograms that attempted to provide relieft to farmers, which along withThe Civilian Conservation Corps programgreatly impacted Wyoming, allowing newNational Parksto be built in the state, was popular among Wyoming voters, and he successfully painted Dewey as more conservative than he was, ignoring the fact that he was significantly more liberal and supportive of New Deal programs likeSocial Securitythan many of the conservative Congressional Republicans such as SenatorRobert A. Taftfrom Ohio]]. Truman blamed the Republican-controlled Congress for his inability to pass legislation, which voters believed, and on election day, voters delivered Truman a landslide victory, and returned control of both chambers of Congress to the Democrats. This change was reflected in Wyoming, as the state'sClass II Senate seat would flip into Democratic handswithLester Hunt'slandslide victory, who outperformed the top of the ticket by 9.9%. Truman flippedPlatteandNatrona counties,outperforming Roosevelt's 1944 statewide result by 6.8%.
With a nationwide vote total of 49.6% and a vote total of 51.6% in Wyoming, as ofThe 2020 Presidential Election,this is the last time in which Wyoming voted more Democratic than the national average; the state is now heavily Republican, and even in this election the state technically voted 0.15% to the right of the nation. In fact, Wyoming would only support a Democratic presidential nominee one more time, duringLyndon B. Johnson's1964 landslide.This would also be the last time that Wyoming was decided by a single-digit margin until1992,and the state has voted by double-digit margins for the Republican nominee from1996onwards.
Dewey won the state in1944by a 2.46% margin, or 2,502 votes. However, in this election, Truman won the state, by 4.35%, or 4,407 votes. This was the last time a Democratic presidential candidate won the state untilLyndon B. Johnsonin1964,as throughout the 50s, the state transformed into a Republican stronghold. Since 1964, no Democratic presidential candidate has carried the state, and as a matter of fact, since 1964, no Democrat has even been able to reach 40% of the vote.[2]
Campaign
[edit]On May 3, 1948, theWyoming Democratic Partyvoted to bound its twelve delegates to theDemocratic National Conventionto support Truman for president andJoseph C. O'Mahoneyfor vice-president.[3]Archie Allison,Alice Spielman,and W.J. Smith were selected to serve as Republican presidential electors.[4]
Results
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Harry S. Truman(incumbent) | 52,354 | 51.62% | |
Republican | Thomas E. Dewey | 47,947 | 47.27% | |
Progressive | Henry A. Wallace | 931 | 0.92% | |
Socialist | Norman Thomas | 137 | 0.14% | |
Socialist Labor | Edward Teichert | 56 | 0.06% | |
Total votes | 101,425 | 100.00% |
Results by county
[edit]County | Harry S. Truman[5] Democratic |
Thomas Edmund Dewey[5] Republican |
Henry Agard Wallace[6] Progressive |
Norman Mattoon Thomas[7] Socialist |
Edward A. Teichert[7] Socialist Labor |
Margin | Total votes cast | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
Albany | 3,141 | 51.96% | 2,858 | 47.28% | 30 | 0.50% | 12 | 0.20% | 4 | 0.07% | 283 | 4.68% | 6,045 |
Big Horn | 2,370 | 49.14% | 2,429 | 50.36% | 20 | 0.41% | 2 | 0.04% | 2 | 0.04% | -59 | -1.22% | 4,823 |
Campbell | 856 | 41.33% | 1,201 | 57.99% | 13 | 0.63% | 1 | 0.05% | 0 | 0.00% | -345 | -16.66% | 2,071 |
Carbon | 3,439 | 59.16% | 2,319 | 39.89% | 55 | 0.95% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,120 | 19.27% | 5,813 |
Converse | 996 | 42.60% | 1,327 | 56.76% | 11 | 0.47% | 2 | 0.09% | 2 | 0.09% | -331 | -14.16% | 2,338 |
Crook | 712 | 37.63% | 1,166 | 61.63% | 9 | 0.48% | 3 | 0.16% | 2 | 0.11% | -454 | -24.00% | 1,892 |
Fremont | 3,019 | 47.17% | 3,357 | 52.45% | 24 | 0.38% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -338 | -5.28% | 6,400 |
Goshen | 1,843 | 47.15% | 2,029 | 51.91% | 34 | 0.87% | 3 | 0.08% | 0 | 0.00% | -186 | -4.76% | 3,909 |
Hot Springs | 928 | 52.61% | 791 | 44.84% | 42 | 2.38% | 2 | 0.11% | 1 | 0.06% | 137 | 7.77% | 1,764 |
Johnson | 682 | 33.35% | 1,351 | 66.06% | 7 | 0.34% | 5 | 0.24% | 0 | 0.00% | -669 | -32.71% | 2,045 |
Laramie | 8,226 | 56.64% | 6,200 | 42.69% | 64 | 0.44% | 26 | 0.18% | 8 | 0.06% | 2,026 | 13.95% | 14,524 |
Lincoln | 1,925 | 51.50% | 1,730 | 46.28% | 83 | 2.22% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 195 | 5.22% | 3,738 |
Natrona | 6,183 | 53.26% | 5,341 | 46.01% | 62 | 0.53% | 20 | 0.17% | 2 | 0.02% | 842 | 7.25% | 11,608 |
Niobrara | 753 | 43.15% | 975 | 55.87% | 12 | 0.69% | 3 | 0.17% | 2 | 0.11% | -222 | -12.72% | 1,745 |
Park | 2,461 | 47.83% | 2,655 | 51.60% | 20 | 0.39% | 6 | 0.12% | 3 | 0.06% | -194 | -3.77% | 5,145 |
Platte | 1,465 | 51.35% | 1,366 | 47.88% | 7 | 0.25% | 13 | 0.46% | 2 | 0.07% | 99 | 3.47% | 2,853 |
Sheridan | 3,852 | 50.68% | 3,698 | 48.65% | 38 | 0.50% | 12 | 0.16% | 1 | 0.01% | 154 | 2.03% | 7,601 |
Sublette | 496 | 44.05% | 622 | 55.24% | 6 | 0.53% | 1 | 0.09% | 1 | 0.09% | -126 | -11.19% | 1,126 |
Sweetwater | 5,146 | 63.65% | 2,538 | 31.39% | 363 | 4.49% | 18 | 0.22% | 20 | 0.25% | 2,608 | 32.26% | 8,085 |
Teton | 556 | 43.13% | 719 | 55.78% | 9 | 0.70% | 2 | 0.16% | 3 | 0.23% | -163 | -12.65% | 1,289 |
Uinta | 1,632 | 56.31% | 1,239 | 42.75% | 19 | 0.66% | 7 | 0.24% | 1 | 0.03% | 393 | 13.56% | 2,898 |
Washakie | 851 | 44.21% | 1,074 | 55.79% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -223 | -11.58% | 1,925 |
Weston | 822 | 45.97% | 962 | 53.80% | 3 | 0.17% | 1 | 0.06% | 0 | 0.00% | -140 | -7.83% | 1,788 |
Totals | 52,354 | 51.62% | 47,947 | 47.27% | 931 | 0.92% | 137 | 0.14% | 56 | 0.06% | 4,407 | 4.35% | 101,425 |
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
[edit]See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ab"1948 Presidential Election Results Wyoming".
- ^"How the red and blue map evolved over the past century".June 29, 2016.
- ^"Wyoming Democrats Will Support Truman".Star Valley Independent.May 13, 1948. p. 1.Archivedfrom the original on January 19, 2024 – viaNewspapers.com.
- ^"Bricker Keynotes Republican State Convention".Star Valley Independent.May 13, 1948. p. 1.Archivedfrom the original on January 19, 2024 – viaNewspapers.com.
- ^abGéoelections;1948 Presidential Election Popular Vote(.xlsx file for €15)
- ^Géoelections;Popular Vote for Henry Wallace(.xlsx file for €15)
- ^abOur Campaigns;WY US Presidential Race, November 02, 1948