1948 Presidential Election
Dewey Defeats TrumanNovember 2, 1948 · The New Deal Order · 531 electoral votes, 266 to win
The great upset: written off by every poll and pundit, and with Dixiecrat and Progressive revolts stripping both wings of his party, Truman whistle-stopped to a clear win. The Chicago Tribune's premature headline became the era's icon.
Elected
Harry S. Truman
Democratic
Electoral vote
303 of 531
Popular vote
49.6%
24,179,347 votes
Turnout
52.2%
VAP 51.5%
The result
| EV share | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harry S. Truman | Democratic | Alben W. Barkley | 303 | 24,179,347 | 49.60% | 28 | |
| Thomas E. Dewey | Republican | Earl Warren | 189 | 21,991,292 | 45.10% | 16 | |
| Strom Thurmond | Dixiecrat | Fielding L. Wright | 39 | 1,175,930 | 2.40% | 4 | |
| Henry A. Wallace | Progressive | Glen H. Taylor | — | 1,157,328 | 2.40% | — | |
| Norman Thomas | Socialist | Tucker P. Smith | — | 139,569 | 0.29% | — | |
| Claude A. Watson | Prohibition | Dale Learn | — | 103,708 | 0.21% | — |
48,747,174 votes recorded for the candidates listed.
Results by state
| Alabama | Strom Thurmond | 79.7% | 11 | Thomas E. Dewey · 19.0% |
| Arizona | Harry S. Truman | 53.8% | 4 | Thomas E. Dewey · 43.8% |
| Arkansas | Harry S. Truman | 47.6% | 9 | Thomas E. Dewey · 21.0% |
| California | Harry S. Truman | 47.6% | 25 | Thomas E. Dewey · 47.1% |
| Colorado | Harry S. Truman | 51.9% | 6 | Thomas E. Dewey · 46.5% |
| Connecticut | Thomas E. Dewey | 49.6% | 8 | Harry S. Truman · 47.9% |
| Delaware | Thomas E. Dewey | 50.0% | 3 | Harry S. Truman · 48.8% |
| Florida | Harry S. Truman | 48.8% | 8 | Thomas E. Dewey · 33.6% |
| Georgia | Harry S. Truman | 60.8% | 12 | Strom Thurmond · 20.3% |
| Idaho | Harry S. Truman | 50.0% | 4 | Thomas E. Dewey · 47.3% |
| Illinois | Harry S. Truman | 50.1% | 28 | Thomas E. Dewey · 49.2% |
| Indiana | Thomas E. Dewey | 49.6% | 13 | Harry S. Truman · 48.8% |
| Iowa | Harry S. Truman | 50.3% | 10 | Thomas E. Dewey · 47.6% |
| Kansas | Thomas E. Dewey | 53.6% | 8 | Harry S. Truman · 44.6% |
| Kentucky | Harry S. Truman | 56.7% | 11 | Thomas E. Dewey · 41.5% |
| Louisiana | Strom Thurmond | 49.1% | 10 | Harry S. Truman · 32.8% |
| Maine | Thomas E. Dewey | 56.9% | 5 | Harry S. Truman · 42.4% |
| Maryland | Thomas E. Dewey | 49.2% | 8 | Harry S. Truman · 47.8% |
| Massachusetts | Harry S. Truman | 54.7% | 16 | Thomas E. Dewey · 43.2% |
| Michigan | Thomas E. Dewey | 49.2% | 19 | Harry S. Truman · 47.6% |
| Minnesota | Harry S. Truman | 57.2% | 11 | Thomas E. Dewey · 39.9% |
| Mississippi | Strom Thurmond | 87.2% | 9 | Harry S. Truman · 10.1% |
| Missouri | Harry S. Truman | 58.1% | 15 | Thomas E. Dewey · 41.5% |
| Montana | Harry S. Truman | 53.1% | 4 | Thomas E. Dewey · 43.2% |
| Nebraska | Thomas E. Dewey | 54.2% | 6 | Harry S. Truman · 45.9% |
| Nevada | Harry S. Truman | 50.4% | 3 | Thomas E. Dewey · 47.3% |
| New Hampshire | Thomas E. Dewey | 52.4% | 4 | Harry S. Truman · 46.7% |
| New Jersey | Thomas E. Dewey | 50.3% | 16 | Harry S. Truman · 45.9% |
| New Mexico | Harry S. Truman | 56.3% | 4 | Thomas E. Dewey · 43.0% |
| New York | Thomas E. Dewey | 46.0% | 47 | Harry S. Truman · 45.0% |
| North Carolina | Harry S. Truman | 58.0% | 14 | Thomas E. Dewey · 32.7% |
| North Dakota | Thomas E. Dewey | 52.2% | 4 | Harry S. Truman · 43.4% |
| Ohio | Harry S. Truman | 49.5% | 25 | Thomas E. Dewey · 49.2% |
| Oklahoma | Harry S. Truman | 62.8% | 10 | Thomas E. Dewey · 37.3% |
| Oregon | Thomas E. Dewey | 49.8% | 6 | Harry S. Truman · 46.4% |
| Pennsylvania | Thomas E. Dewey | 50.9% | 35 | Harry S. Truman · 46.9% |
| Rhode Island | Harry S. Truman | 57.6% | 4 | Thomas E. Dewey · 41.4% |
| South Carolina | Strom Thurmond | 72.0% | 8 | Harry S. Truman · 24.1% |
| South Dakota | Thomas E. Dewey | 51.8% | 4 | Harry S. Truman · 47.0% |
| Tennessee | Harry S. Truman | 49.1% | 1 Thurmond · 11 Truman | Thomas E. Dewey · 36.9% |
| Texas | Harry S. Truman | 65.4% | 23 | Thomas E. Dewey · 24.6% |
| Utah | Harry S. Truman | 54.0% | 4 | Thomas E. Dewey · 45.0% |
| Vermont | Thomas E. Dewey | 61.5% | 3 | Harry S. Truman · 36.9% |
| Virginia | Harry S. Truman | 47.9% | 11 | Thomas E. Dewey · 41.0% |
| Washington | Harry S. Truman | 52.6% | 8 | Thomas E. Dewey · 42.7% |
| West Virginia | Harry S. Truman | 57.3% | 8 | Thomas E. Dewey · 42.2% |
| Wisconsin | Harry S. Truman | 50.7% | 12 | Thomas E. Dewey · 46.3% |
| Wyoming | Harry S. Truman | 51.6% | 3 | Thomas E. Dewey · 47.3% |
The Congress it seated
81th Congress
1949–1951
Unified government
Senate
54–42
Democratic vs Republican
House
262–171
Democratic vs Republican · 2 others