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Turnout | 65.0% [1] 5.9 pp | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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County Results
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Elections in New York State |
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The 1948 United States presidential election in New York took place on November 2, 1948. All contemporary 48 states were part of the 1948 United States presidential election. Voters chose 47 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.
New York was won by local Republican Governor Thomas E. Dewey, who was running against incumbent Democratic President Harry S. Truman. Dewey ran with California Governor Earl Warren for vice president, and Truman ran with Kentucky Senator Alben W. Barkley. Dewey took 45.99% of the vote to Truman's 45.01%, a margin of 0.98%. Progressive Party candidate Henry Wallace, a former Democratic Vice President who ran to the left of Truman and was nominated by the local American Labor Party, finished a strong third, with 8.25%.
New York weighed in for this election as 1% more third-party than the national average, and less Democratic and Republican than the national average, despite New York being Governor Dewey's home state. The presidential election of 1948 was a very multi-partisan election for New York, with more than eight percent of the people who voted doing so for third parties. [2] In typical form for the time, the highly populated urban centers of New York City, Buffalo, and Albany, voted primarily Democratic, while most of the smaller counties in New York turned out for Dewey as the Republican candidate.
Henry Wallace's relatively strong third party support as a Progressive candidate was concentrated in the New York City area; in the three Democratic boroughs of New York City (Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx), Wallace took percentages in the double digits. Wallace's vote splitting among left-leaning voters in New York City contributed to Dewey narrowly defeating Truman in the state, after New York had voted Democratic for Franklin D. Roosevelt—himself a former governor and favorite son—in the preceding four elections. Although Truman lost the state, he did pick up Oneida County, which Roosevelt had lost in all his four elections and which had last been won for the Democrats by Woodrow Wilson in the three-way 1912 election, and before that by Grover Cleveland in 1884.
Dewey won the election in New York by a narrow margin of less than one percentage point, despite it being his home state, and more importantly despite not facing a local opponent like he had four years earlier when he was defeated by the then-incumbent President (and former New York Governor) Franklin D. Roosevelt. Historical commentators have discussed how a major problem with the Dewey campaign was Dewey's almost crippling aloofness to the issues of the day. Commentators suggest any Dewey speech could be boiled down to the following: "Agriculture is important. Our rivers are full of fish. You cannot have freedom without liberty. Our future lies ahead." [3] Many Republican voters claimed to feel difficulty identifying with the largely distant and enigmatic candidate. Truman, meanwhile, ran a very aggressive campaign, which he focused on fighting communism, furthering the social programs established under the FDR administration, and expansion of civil rights.
The election of 1948 also greatly helped to solidify the new face of the Democratic Party as oriented toward human rights as backed by the Federal Government, than to states' rights, as was previously established during the Civil War. Truman's support for civil rights, particularly those of African Americans, alienated him from many southern Democrats and added ammunition to the growth of the Dixiecrat movement in the Deep South. This caused the first cracks to show in the Democratic dominance of that region; however, the Dixiecrats were wholly-uncompetitive and not even on the ballot in most states outside of the former Confederacy. [lower-alpha 1] Rather, the major third-party candidate in New York during this tumultuous election was former United States Vice President and new Progressive Party poster child Henry Wallace, who gained over eight percent of the vote in the state.
New York was the most populous state in the country at the time. For the first presidential election since 1916, New York did not back the winning candidate. This was also the first election wherein the losing major-party candidate carried their home state since Charles Evans Hughes carried New York in 1916, and the only instance between that election and 1960. Alongside Strom Thurmond’s win in South Carolina, the first time since Robert M. La Follette carried Wisconsin in 1924 that any losing candidate did so.
Truman is the last Democrat to win a presidential election without winning the Empire State, and Dewey's victory made him the third and final Republican presidential candidate to win New York without winning the election, the first being John C. Frémont in 1856 and the second Hughes in 1916. Dewey's victory was the first of three consecutive Republican victories in the state, as New York would not vote Democratic again until John F. Kennedy won the state in 1960.
1948 United States presidential election in New York | |||||
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Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
Republican | Thomas E. Dewey | 2,841,163 | 45.99% | 47 | |
Democratic | Harry S. Truman | 2,557,642 | 41.40% | 0 | |
Liberal | Harry S. Truman | 222,562 | 3.60% | 0 | |
Total | Harry S. Truman (incumbent) | 2,780,204 | 45.01% | 0 | |
American Labor (Progressive) [lower-alpha 2] | Henry A. Wallace | 509,559 | 8.25% | 0 | |
Socialist | Norman Thomas | 40,879 | 0.66% | 0 | |
Socialist Labor | Edward Teichert | 2,729 | 0.04% | 0 | |
Socialist Workers | Farrell Dobbs | 2,675 | 0.04% | 0 | |
Write-ins | 128 | <0.01% | 0 | ||
Totals | 6,177,337 | 100.0% | 47 |
1948 Presidential Election in New York City | Manhattan | The Bronx | Brooklyn | Queens | Staten Island | Total | |||
Democratic- Liberal | Harry S. Truman | 380,310 | 337,129 | 579,922 | 268,742 | 30,442 | 1,596,545 | 50.57% | |
51.52% | 54.17% | 53.51% | 42.02% | 41.62% | |||||
Republican | Thomas E. Dewey | 241,752 | 173,044 | 330,494 | 323,459 | 39,539 | 1,108,288 | 35.10% | |
32.75% | 27.80% | 30.49% | 50.58% | 54.06% | |||||
American Labor | Henry A. Wallace | 106,509 | 106,762 | 163,896 | 42,409 | 2,779 | 422,355 | 13.38% | |
14.43% | 17.15% | 15.12% | 6.63% | 3.80% | |||||
Socialist | Norman Thomas | 8,685 | 4,649 | 7,734 | 4,580 | 349 | 25,997 | 0.82% | |
1.18% | 0.75% | 0.71% | 0.72% | 0.48% | |||||
Socialist Workers | Farrell Dobbs | 493 | 387 | 1,122 | 108 | 9 | 2,119 | 0.06% | |
0.07% | 0.06% | 0.10% | 0.02% | 0.01% | |||||
Socialist Labor | Edward A. Teichert | 488 | 384 | 535 | 245 | 16 | 1,668 | 0.05% | |
0.07% | 0.06% | 0.05% | 0.04% | 0.02% | |||||
TOTAL | 738,237 | 622,355 | 1,083,801 | 639,543 | 73,134 | 3,157,070 | 100.00% |
County | Thomas Edmund Dewey [4] Republican | Harry S. Truman [4] Democratic/Liberal | Henry Agard Wallace [5] American Labor [lower-alpha 2] | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Total votes cast | |||||
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# | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
Albany | 59,965 | 42.61% | 75,419 | 53.59% | 4,903 | 3.48% | 443 | 0.31% | -15,454 | -10.98% | 140,730 |
Allegany | 12,689 | 71.94% | 4,711 | 26.71% | 168 | 0.95% | 71 | 0.40% | 7,978 | 45.23% | 17,639 |
Bronx | 173,044 | 27.80% | 337,129 | 54.17% | 106,762 | 17.15% | 5,420 | 0.87% | -164,085 | -26.37% | 622,355 |
Broome | 43,110 | 60.73% | 25,654 | 36.14% | 1,992 | 2.81% | 230 | 0.32% | 17,456 | 24.59% | 70,986 |
Cattaraugus | 18,246 | 60.03% | 11,289 | 37.14% | 752 | 2.47% | 106 | 0.35% | 6,957 | 22.89% | 30,393 |
Cayuga | 19,017 | 56.35% | 14,317 | 42.42% | 293 | 0.87% | 120 | 0.36% | 4,700 | 13.93% | 33,747 |
Chautauqua | 29,969 | 57.47% | 20,683 | 39.67% | 1,251 | 2.40% | 241 | 0.46% | 9,286 | 17.81% | 52,144 |
Chemung | 22,754 | 61.63% | 13,352 | 36.17% | 673 | 1.82% | 140 | 0.38% | 9,402 | 25.47% | 36,919 |
Chenango | 11,988 | 70.59% | 4,764 | 28.05% | 175 | 1.03% | 55 | 0.32% | 7,224 | 42.54% | 16,982 |
Clinton | 9,694 | 49.07% | 9,357 | 47.37% | 646 | 3.27% | 58 | 0.29% | 337 | 1.71% | 19,755 |
Columbia | 13,758 | 65.89% | 6,527 | 31.26% | 522 | 2.50% | 73 | 0.35% | 7,231 | 34.63% | 20,880 |
Cortland | 10,433 | 68.27% | 4,614 | 30.19% | 189 | 1.24% | 47 | 0.31% | 5,819 | 38.07% | 15,283 |
Delaware | 14,226 | 73.05% | 4,965 | 25.50% | 220 | 1.13% | 63 | 0.32% | 9,261 | 47.56% | 19,474 |
Dutchess | 34,067 | 64.23% | 17,439 | 32.88% | 1,240 | 2.34% | 293 | 0.55% | 16,628 | 31.35% | 53,039 |
Erie | 175,118 | 45.68% | 197,618 | 51.55% | 8,885 | 2.32% | 1,751 | 0.46% | -22,500 | -5.87% | 383,372 |
Essex | 10,287 | 69.90% | 4,088 | 27.78% | 297 | 2.02% | 45 | 0.31% | 6,199 | 42.12% | 14,717 |
Franklin | 8,993 | 55.17% | 6,799 | 41.71% | 454 | 2.78% | 56 | 0.34% | 2,194 | 13.46% | 16,302 |
Fulton | 12,787 | 60.50% | 7,667 | 36.28% | 600 | 2.84% | 80 | 0.38% | 5,120 | 24.23% | 21,134 |
Genesee | 12,650 | 62.80% | 7,024 | 34.87% | 415 | 2.06% | 53 | 0.26% | 5,626 | 27.93% | 20,142 |
Greene | 10,566 | 66.52% | 4,955 | 31.20% | 321 | 2.02% | 41 | 0.26% | 5,611 | 35.33% | 15,883 |
Hamilton | 2,000 | 71.68% | 744 | 26.67% | 41 | 1.47% | 5 | 0.18% | 1,256 | 45.02% | 2,790 |
Herkimer | 14,688 | 51.83% | 12,577 | 44.38% | 1,002 | 3.54% | 71 | 0.25% | 2,111 | 7.45% | 28,338 |
Jefferson | 19,661 | 58.95% | 13,176 | 39.51% | 412 | 1.24% | 102 | 0.31% | 6,485 | 19.44% | 33,351 |
Kings | 330,494 | 30.49% | 579,922 | 53.51% | 163,896 | 15.12% | 9,489 | 0.88% | -249,428 | -23.01% | 1,083,801 |
Lewis | 5,692 | 62.70% | 3,211 | 35.37% | 147 | 1.62% | 28 | 0.31% | 2,481 | 27.33% | 9,078 |
Livingston | 11,310 | 62.62% | 6,409 | 35.48% | 282 | 1.56% | 61 | 0.34% | 4,901 | 27.13% | 18,062 |
Madison | 13,413 | 68.23% | 5,937 | 30.20% | 198 | 1.01% | 110 | 0.56% | 7,476 | 38.03% | 19,658 |
Monroe | 109,608 | 48.12% | 110,641 | 48.57% | 6,461 | 2.84% | 1,080 | 0.47% | -1,033 | -0.45% | 227,790 |
Montgomery | 14,212 | 48.90% | 14,085 | 48.46% | 696 | 2.39% | 71 | 0.24% | 127 | 0.44% | 29,064 |
Nassau | 184,284 | 69.48% | 70,492 | 26.58% | 8,121 | 3.06% | 2,341 | 0.88% | 113,792 | 42.90% | 265,238 |
New York | 241,752 | 32.75% | 380,310 | 51.52% | 106,509 | 14.43% | 9,666 | 1.31% | -138,558 | -18.77% | 738,237 |
Niagara | 35,858 | 49.65% | 34,119 | 47.24% | 2,046 | 2.83% | 196 | 0.27% | 1,739 | 2.41% | 72,219 |
Oneida | 46,755 | 47.90% | 48,332 | 49.51% | 2,269 | 2.32% | 257 | 0.26% | -1,577 | -1.62% | 97,613 |
Onondaga | 84,370 | 53.86% | 66,295 | 42.32% | 4,971 | 3.17% | 1,012 | 0.65% | 18,075 | 11.54% | 156,648 |
Ontario | 16,156 | 63.51% | 8,852 | 34.80% | 333 | 1.31% | 98 | 0.39% | 7,304 | 28.71% | 25,439 |
Orange | 38,351 | 63.08% | 20,638 | 33.95% | 1,559 | 2.56% | 248 | 0.41% | 17,713 | 29.14% | 60,796 |
Orleans | 9,566 | 69.15% | 4,009 | 28.98% | 233 | 1.68% | 26 | 0.19% | 5,557 | 40.17% | 13,834 |
Oswego | 19,095 | 58.03% | 12,820 | 38.96% | 884 | 2.69% | 105 | 0.32% | 6,275 | 19.07% | 32,904 |
Otsego | 15,437 | 66.55% | 7,174 | 30.93% | 495 | 2.13% | 91 | 0.39% | 8,263 | 35.62% | 23,197 |
Putnam | 8,222 | 63.85% | 4,012 | 31.16% | 504 | 3.91% | 139 | 1.08% | 4,210 | 32.69% | 12,877 |
Queens | 323,459 | 50.58% | 268,742 | 42.02% | 42,409 | 6.63% | 4,933 | 0.77% | 54,717 | 8.56% | 639,543 |
Rensselaer | 40,375 | 56.71% | 28,468 | 39.98% | 2,080 | 2.92% | 274 | 0.38% | 11,907 | 16.72% | 71,197 |
Richmond | 39,539 | 54.06% | 30,442 | 41.62% | 2,779 | 3.80% | 374 | 0.51% | 9,097 | 12.44% | 73,134 |
Rockland | 20,661 | 57.90% | 13,066 | 36.62% | 1,583 | 4.44% | 371 | 1.04% | 7,595 | 21.29% | 35,681 |
St. Lawrence | 21,160 | 60.59% | 13,200 | 37.80% | 471 | 1.35% | 94 | 0.27% | 7,960 | 22.79% | 34,925 |
Saratoga | 20,706 | 61.50% | 11,457 | 34.03% | 1,354 | 4.02% | 149 | 0.44% | 9,249 | 27.47% | 33,666 |
Schenectady | 35,495 | 52.67% | 28,225 | 41.88% | 3,093 | 4.59% | 578 | 0.86% | 7,270 | 10.79% | 67,391 |
Schoharie | 6,751 | 61.27% | 4,032 | 36.59% | 208 | 1.89% | 28 | 0.25% | 2,719 | 24.68% | 11,019 |
Schuyler | 4,452 | 69.23% | 1,868 | 29.05% | 97 | 1.51% | 14 | 0.22% | 2,584 | 40.18% | 6,431 |
Seneca | 7,266 | 58.05% | 4,897 | 39.13% | 318 | 2.54% | 35 | 0.28% | 2,369 | 18.93% | 12,516 |
Steuben | 22,938 | 62.44% | 12,895 | 35.10% | 789 | 2.15% | 114 | 0.31% | 10,043 | 27.34% | 36,736 |
Suffolk | 75,519 | 69.75% | 29,104 | 26.88% | 2,842 | 2.63% | 800 | 0.74% | 46,415 | 42.87% | 108,265 |
Sullivan | 11,253 | 53.20% | 7,654 | 36.19% | 2,107 | 9.96% | 138 | 0.65% | 3,599 | 17.01% | 21,152 |
Tioga | 8,673 | 70.16% | 3,385 | 27.38% | 258 | 2.09% | 46 | 0.37% | 5,288 | 42.78% | 12,362 |
Tompkins | 13,719 | 67.11% | 5,721 | 27.98% | 656 | 3.21% | 348 | 1.70% | 7,998 | 39.12% | 20,444 |
Ulster | 28,941 | 64.30% | 14,441 | 32.08% | 1,407 | 3.13% | 223 | 0.50% | 14,500 | 32.21% | 45,012 |
Warren | 12,884 | 68.89% | 5,486 | 29.33% | 274 | 1.47% | 59 | 0.32% | 7,398 | 39.56% | 18,703 |
Washington | 13,975 | 68.29% | 6,017 | 29.40% | 396 | 1.94% | 76 | 0.37% | 7,958 | 38.89% | 20,464 |
Wayne | 16,167 | 69.48% | 6,749 | 29.00% | 291 | 1.25% | 63 | 0.27% | 9,418 | 40.47% | 23,270 |
Westchester | 177,077 | 61.11% | 95,681 | 33.02% | 14,084 | 4.86% | 2,923 | 1.01% | 81,396 | 28.09% | 289,765 |
Wyoming | 9,871 | 67.78% | 4,508 | 30.95% | 155 | 1.06% | 30 | 0.21% | 5,363 | 36.82% | 14,564 |
Yates | 5,997 | 73.50% | 2,040 | 25.00% | 91 | 1.12% | 31 | 0.38% | 3,957 | 48.50% | 8,159 |
Totals | 2,841,163 | 45.99% | 2,780,204 | 45.01% | 509,559 | 8.25% | 46,283 | 0.75% | 60,959 | 0.99% | 6,177,209 |
The 1948 United States presidential election was the 41st quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 1948. In one of the greatest election upsets in American history, incumbent President Harry S. Truman, the Democratic nominee, defeated heavily favored Republican Governor of New York Thomas E. Dewey, and third-party candidates, becoming the third president to succeed to the presidency upon his predecessor's death and be elected to a full term.
The States' Rights Democratic Party was a short-lived segregationist political party in the United States, active primarily in the South. It arose due to a Southern regional split in opposition to the regular Democratic Party. After President Harry S. Truman, the leader of the Democratic Party, ordered integration of the military in 1948 and other actions to address civil rights of African Americans, including the first presidential proposal for comprehensive civil and voting rights, many Southern white politicians who objected to this course organized themselves as a breakaway faction. They wished to protect the ability of states to maintain racial segregation. Its members were referred to as "Dixiecrats", a portmanteau of "Dixie", referring to the Southern United States, and "Democrat".
The 1948 United States elections were held on November 2, 1948. The election took place during the beginning stages of the Cold War. Democratic incumbent President Harry S. Truman was elected to a full term in an upset, defeating Republican nominee New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey and two erstwhile Democrats. The Democrats won back control of Congress from the Republicans. Until 2020, Democrats would never again flip a chamber of Congress in a presidential election cycle.
The 1948 United States presidential election in Georgia took place on November 2, 1948, as part of the wider United States presidential election. Voters chose 12 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1948 United States presidential election in New Mexico took place on November 2, 1948. All 48 states were part of the 1948 United States presidential election. State voters chose four electors to represent them in the Electoral College, which voted for President and Vice President.
The 1948 United States presidential election in Vermont took place on November 2, 1948, as part of the 1948 United States presidential election which was held throughout all contemporary 48 states. Voters chose three representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1948 United States presidential election in New Hampshire took place on November 2, 1948, as part of the 1948 United States presidential election, which was held throughout all contemporary 48 states. Voters chose four representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1948 United States presidential election in Virginia took place on November 2, 1948, throughout the 48 contiguous states. Voters chose 11 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1948 United States presidential election in Texas was held on November 2, 1948. Texas voters chose 23 electors to represent the state in the Electoral College, which chose the president and vice president.
The 1948 United States presidential election in Mississippi took place on November 2, 1948, in Mississippi as part of the wider United States presidential election of 1948.
The 1948 United States presidential election in Alabama was held on November 2, 1948. Alabama voters sent eleven electors to the Electoral College who voted for President and Vice-President. In Alabama, voters voted for electors individually instead of as a slate.
The 1948 United States presidential election in Florida was held on November 2, 1948. Voters chose eight electors, or representatives to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1944 United States presidential election in South Carolina took place on November 7, 1944, as part of the 1944 United States presidential election. State voters chose 8 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.
The 1948 United States presidential election in South Carolina took place on November 2, 1948, as part of the 1948 United States presidential election. State voters chose eight electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.
The 1948 United States presidential election in Arkansas took place on November 2, 1948, as part of the 1948 United States presidential election. State voters chose nine representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. This would be the last presidential election where Arkansas had nine electoral votes: the Great Migration would see the state lose three congressional districts in the next decade-and-a-half.
The 1948 United States presidential election in North Carolina took place on November 2, 1948, as part of the 1948 United States presidential election. North Carolina voters chose 14 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1948 United States presidential election in Tennessee took place on November 2, 1948, as part of the 1948 United States presidential election. Tennessee voters chose 12 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
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The 1944 United States presidential election in Texas took place on November 7, 1944, as part of the 1944 United States presidential election. State voters chose 23 electors to represent the state in the Electoral College, which chose the president and vice president.
The 1944 United States presidential election in Mississippi took place on November 7, 1944, as part of the 1944 United States presidential election. Mississippi voters chose nine representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.