1948 United States presidential election in Florida

none June 2025 October 2021 1948 United States presidential election in Florida Florida 1900 presidential no 1944 United States presidential election in Florida 1944 November 2, 1948 1952 United States presidential election in Florida 1952 x160px Harry S Truman, bw half-length photo portrait, facing front, 1945 (cropped).jpg Harry Truman Democratic Party (United States) Missouri Alben Barkley 8 281,988 48.82% Thomas Dewey (3x4 crop).jpg Thomas E. Dewey Republican Party (United States) New York Earl Warren 0 194,280 33.63% Strom Thurmond 1948 (cropped).jpg Strom Thurmond States' Rights Democratic South Carolina Fielding Wright 0 89,755 15.54% File:1948 United States presidential election in Florida results map by county.svg 400px County results Truman #d3e7ff 30–40% #b9d7ff 40–50% #86b6f2 50–60% #4389e3 60–70% #1666cb 70–80% #0645b4 80–90% Dewey #ffccd0 30–40% #f2b3be 40–50% #e27f90 50–60% Thurmond #ffccaa 30–40% #ff9955 50–60% President Harry Truman Democratic Harry Truman Democratic 1948 United States presidential election 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. Harry S. Truman won by 87,708 votes or 15.19 percentage points over his Republican opponent Thomas E. Dewey. In culturally Deep Southern North Florida, including the rural and socially conservative Panhandle, Truman was able to rely on having a strong economic program – which Strom Thurmond entirely lacked – to hold off Thurmond's racial appeal.Doherty, Herbert J. (junior); 'Liberal and Conservative Politics in Florida'; The Journal of Politics, vol. 14, no. 3 (August 1952), pp. 403-417 In more cosmopolitan and liberal Central and South Florida – which had seen extensive settlement by Northerners since the war – his economic policies were a winner against Henry A. Wallace, who received only two percent of the state's vote but did an order of magnitude better in some Tampa precincts.Menendez; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, p. 75 Dewey nonetheless made dramatic gains upon previous Republican efforts in Florida. By carrying eleven counties, all of which were located in Central and South Florida, mostly in the southwest and on the east coast, he was only the fifth Republican to carry any Florida county at the presidential level since the poll tax' original implementation following the 1888 election.William Howard Taft carried Calhoun County in 1908; Warren G. Harding in 1920 and Calvin Coolidge in 1924 each carried three counties in South Florida, and Herbert Hoover in 1928 carried the state and 41 of 67 counties. The Dewey counties had in earlier Democratic primaries typically backed "conservative" candidates favoring limited or no economic regulation, due to their lack of dependence on the traditionally "Southern" crops of cotton and tobacco, and would become the most consistently conservative and Republican counties in future presidential elections. Strom Thurmond, who had had to run as a third-party candidate under the "States' Rights" banner, nonetheless won over fifteen percent of the vote. Thurmond carried three counties but ran second in thirty-one others. 2020 11 As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last time that Florida was won by a Democratic presidential candidate by double digits. Republicans have won Florida by double digits in six subsequent elections. This election is also the last time that Highlands County has ever voted for a Democratic presidential candidate.Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016 Osceola County, which Truman won by two votes, would not vote Democratic again until 1996. Seminole County would not vote Democratic again until 2020. Thurmond won 16% of white voters.Black Black 1992 147 Florida's ballot access laws required parties to have 5% of voters registered in them before the primary in May. The Progressives were unable to meet this requirement, but the Florida legislature changed the laws to allow the Dixiecrats to appear. This also allowed the Progressives to appear as well.Schmidt 1960 149 Results United States presidential election in Florida, 1948http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?f=0&fips=12&year=1948 1948 Presidential General Election Results – FloridaPartyCandidateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Democratic Harry S. Truman (incumbent)281,98848.82%8 Republican Thomas E. Dewey 194,280 33.63% 0 States' Rights Strom Thurmond 89,755 15.54% 0 Progressive Henry A. Wallace 11,620 2.01% 0 Total 577,643 100.00% 8 Voter turnout (Voting age) 33.5%Gans, Curtis and Mulling, Matthew; Voter Turnout in the United States, 1788-2009, p. 481 9781604265958 Results by county CountyOur Campaigns; FL US President Race, November 02, 1948Harry S. TrumanDemocraticThomas E. DeweyRepublicanStrom ThurmondDixiecratHenry A. WallaceProgressiveMarginTotal votes cast # % # % # % # % # % Alachua 3,745 36.78% 2,403 23.60% 3,937 38.67% 97 0.95% -192 -1.89% 10,182 Baker 849 72.19% 112 9.52% 213 18.11% 2 0.17% 636 54.08% 1,176 Bay 5,168 70.68% 928 12.69% 1,193 16.32% 23 0.31% 3,975 54.36% 7,312 Bradford 1,228 56.07% 357 16.30% 593 27.08% 12 0.55% 635 28.99% 2,190 Brevard 2,348 42.20% 2,315 41.61% 857 15.40% 44 0.79% 33 0.59% 5,564 Broward 7,096 36.35% 9,933 50.88% 2,300 11.78% 192 0.98% -2,837 -14.53% 19,521 Calhoun 1,404 78.26% 128 7.13% 258 14.38% 4 0.22% 1,146 63.88% 1,794 Charlotte 520 41.01% 559 44.09% 172 13.56% 17 1.34% -39 -3.08% 1,268 Citrus 940 56.90% 461 27.91% 244 14.77% 7 0.42% 479 28.99% 1,652 Clay 1,544 56.31% 722 26.33% 457 16.67% 19 0.69% 822 29.98% 2,742 Collier 362 41.14% 247 28.07% 251 28.52% 20 2.27% 111 12.62% 880 Columbia 1,797 53.93% 553 16.60% 978 29.35% 4 0.12% 819 24.58% 3,332 DeSoto 1,157 55.57% 569 27.33% 350 16.81% 6 0.29% 588 28.24% 2,082 Dixie 862 67.82% 111 8.73% 295 23.21% 3 0.24% 567 44.61% 1,271 Duval 28,567 47.85% 15,379 25.76% 14,428 24.17% 1,321 2.21% 13,188 22.09% 59,695 Escambia 13,982 63.11% 3,267 14.75% 4,790 21.62% 117 0.53% 9,192 41.49% 22,156 Flagler 153 23.61% 154 23.77% 330 50.93% 11 1.70% -176 -27.16% 648 Franklin 635 59.79% 130 12.24% 294 27.68% 3 0.28% 341 32.11% 1,062 Gadsden 1,427 50.93% 376 13.42% 992 35.40% 7 0.25% 435 15.53% 2,802 Gilchrist 884 83.32% 46 4.34% 131 12.35% 0 0.00% 753 70.97% 1,061 Glades 274 49.37% 150 27.03% 127 22.88% 4 0.72% 124 22.34% 555 Gulf 1,219 77.20% 146 9.25% 209 13.24% 5 0.32% 1,010 63.96% 1,579 Hamilton 1,071 66.44% 202 12.53% 337 20.91% 2 0.12% 734 45.53% 1,612 Hardee 1,871 65.49% 689 24.12% 281 9.84% 16 0.56% 1,182 41.37% 2,857 Hendry 699 53.89% 340 26.21% 241 18.58% 17 1.31% 359 27.68% 1,297 Hernando 825 49.34% 441 26.38% 372 22.25% 34 2.03% 384 22.96% 1,672 Highlands 2,257 52.98% 1,471 34.53% 498 11.69% 34 0.80% 786 18.45% 4,260 Hillsborough 18,854 45.67% 13,529 32.77% 5,094 12.34% 3,809 9.23% 5,325 12.90% 41,286 Holmes 1,799 56.29% 492 15.39% 902 28.22% 3 0.09% 897 28.07% 3,196 Indian River 1,055 43.10% 1,134 46.32% 246 10.05% 13 0.53% -79 -3.22% 2,448 Jackson 3,169 55.11% 648 11.27% 1,917 33.34% 16 0.28% 1,252 21.77% 5,750 Jefferson 700 52.91% 153 11.56% 467 35.30% 3 0.23% 233 17.61% 1,323 Lafayette 975 85.15% 52 4.54% 117 10.22% 1 0.09% 858 74.93% 1,145 Lake 3,474 41.96% 3,579 43.23% 1,180 14.25% 46 0.56% -105 -1.27% 8,279 Lee 1,883 32.48% 2,276 39.26% 1,600 27.60% 38 0.66% -393 -6.78% 5,797 Leon 3,607 58.55% 1,149 18.65% 1,350 21.91% 55 0.89% 2,257 36.64% 6,161 Levy 1,128 55.76% 225 11.12% 662 32.72% 8 0.40% 466 23.04% 2,023 Liberty 737 86.81% 30 3.53% 81 9.54% 1 0.12% 656 77.27% 849 Madison 1,189 51.70% 207 9.00% 898 39.04% 6 0.26% 291 12.66% 2,300 Manatee 2,766 36.35% 3,371 44.30% 1,431 18.80% 42 0.55% -605 -7.95% 7,610 Marion 4,650 57.01% 1,829 22.43% 1,640 20.11% 37 0.45% 2,821 34.58% 8,156 Martin 815 38.55% 948 44.84% 323 15.28% 28 1.32% -133 -6.29% 2,114 Miami-Dade 59,681 53.52% 41,301 37.04% 7,136 6.40% 3,394 3.04% 18,380 16.48% 111,512 Monroe 3,759 83.48% 548 12.17% 122 2.71% 74 1.64% 3,211 71.31% 4,503 Nassau 1,518 55.10% 540 19.60% 681 24.72% 16 0.58% 837 30.38% 2,755 Okaloosa 2,519 62.86% 486 12.13% 992 24.76% 10 0.25% 1,527 38.10% 4,007 Okeechobee 784 74.81% 179 17.08% 84 8.02% 1 0.10% 605 57.73% 1,048 Orange 10,063 39.23% 11,971 46.67% 3,374 13.15% 244 0.95% -1,908 -7.44% 25,652 Osceola 1,577 44.65% 1,575 44.59% 357 10.11% 23 0.65% 2 0.06% 3,532 Palm Beach 9,408 39.01% 10,996 45.60% 3,226 13.38% 485 2.01% -1,588 -6.59% 24,115 Pasco 2,375 48.66% 1,839 37.68% 628 12.87% 39 0.80% 536 10.98% 4,881 Pinellas 15,724 35.32% 24,900 55.92% 3,400 7.64% 500 1.12% -9,176 -20.60% 44,524 Polk 12,034 52.57% 7,692 33.60% 2,992 13.07% 174 0.76% 4,342 18.97% 22,892 Putnam 1,947 40.27% 1,435 29.68% 1,431 29.60% 22 0.46% 512 10.59% 4,835 St. Johns 1,994 31.63% 1,840 29.18% 2,438 38.67% 33 0.52% -444 -7.04% 6,305 St. Lucie 1,704 38.38% 1,689 38.04% 1,027 23.13% 20 0.45% 15 0.34% 4,440 Santa Rosa 2,316 65.72% 549 15.58% 639 18.13% 20 0.57% 1,677 47.59% 3,524 Sarasota 2,302 32.31% 3,559 49.95% 1,213 17.02% 51 0.72% -1,257 -17.64% 7,125 Seminole 2,261 45.16% 1,665 33.25% 1,060 21.17% 21 0.42% 596 11.91% 5,007 Sumter 1,411 65.57% 251 11.66% 486 22.58% 4 0.19% 925 42.99% 2,152 Suwannee 3,033 71.62% 398 9.40% 786 18.56% 18 0.43% 2,247 53.06% 4,235 Taylor 1,354 67.73% 216 10.81% 422 21.11% 7 0.35% 932 46.62% 1,999 Union 594 67.96% 55 6.29% 225 25.74% 0 0.00% 369 42.22% 874 Volusia 9,202 46.76% 7,764 39.46% 2,411 12.25% 301 1.53% 1,438 7.30% 19,678 Wakulla 997 72.30% 72 5.22% 305 22.12% 5 0.36% 692 50.18% 1,379 Walton 2,366 62.28% 652 17.16% 761 20.03% 20 0.53% 1,605 42.25% 3,799 Washington 1,380 62.42% 297 13.43% 523 23.65% 11 0.50% 857 38.77% 2,211Totals281,98848.82%194,28033.63%89,75515.54%11,6202.01%87,70815.19%577,643 Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican 20em Broward Charlotte Indian River Lake Lee Manatee Martin Orange Palm Beach Pinellas Sarasota Counties that flipped from Democratic to Dixiecrat Alachua Flagler St. Johns Analysis With the exception of the 1928 election, when fierce anti-Catholicism and Prohibitionism caused Herbert Hoover to defeat the wet Catholic Al Smith,Doherty, Herbert J. (junior); 'Florida and the Presidential Election of 1928'; The Florida Historical Quarterly, vol. 26, no. 2 (October 1947), pp. 174-186 Florida since the end of the Reconstruction era had been a classic Southern one-party state dominated by the Democratic Party. Disfranchisement of African-Americans and many poor whites had virtually eliminated the Republican Party – only nine Republicans had ever been elected to the state legislature since 1890 – and Democratic primaries were the sole competitive elections. Under the influence of Senator Claude Pepper, Florida had abolished the poll tax in 1937, leading to steady increases in voter turnout during the following several elections;Poll Taxes: Hearings Before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on S. 1280, Seventy-Seventh Congress, Second Session, Parts 1-2, p. 289 however, there was no marked increase in African-American voting and Democratic hegemony remained unchallenged: FDR did not lose a single county in the state during his four elections.Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, p. 164-165 0786422173 However, on February 2, 1948, incumbent President Harry S. Truman, fearing that the anti-democratic practices and racial discrimination of the South would severely denigrate the United States' reputation in the Cold War,Frederickson, Kari A.; The Dixiecrat Revolt and the End of the Solid South, p. 76 0807849103 launched the first civil rights bill since the end of Reconstruction, along with Executive Order 9981 to desegregate the military. Mississippi governor Fielding Wright had already sounded a call for revolt, which he took to the Southern Governors Conference at Wakulla SpringsKey, Valdimer Orlando; Southern Politics in State and Nation, p. 330 Alfred A. Knopf (1949) to say that calls for civil rights legislation by national Democrats would not be tolerated in the South. After Truman was renominated at the 1948 Democratic National Convention, Southern Democrats walked out and convened at Birmingham, Alabama on July 17, nominating South Carolina Governor James Strom Thurmond for president and Mississippi Governor Fielding L. Wright for vice president.Key; Southern Politics, p. 335 Due to its smaller proportion of African Americans in its population than in other Southern states, Florida experienced less dissent from the national Democratic Party in response to these actions.Key; Southern Politics, pp. 337-338 Florida Senator Claude Pepper argued that, unless Dwight D. Eisenhower was nominated instead, Truman was the only viable nominee, while Frank Upchurch, a long-time adversary of Pepper, recommended that the renomination of Truman be fought.Pleasant Julian M Claude Pepper, Strom Thurmond, and the 1948 Presidential Election in Florida The Florida Historical Quarterly 76 4 1998 439–473 30149933 https://stars.library.ucf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4190&context=fhq March 1, 2024 Eventually, those opposed to Truman won the primary fight, taking eleven and a half votes out of twenty and control of the state's delegation. When Florida's Democrats designated their presidential electors, four were pledged against Truman and four to vote for him, although only names of electors were listed.'Floridians to Find It Hard to Vote Dixiecrat Ticket'; The Evening Independent, July 17, 1948, p. 1 However, after the "States' Rights" convention in July, Miami Herald publisher Reuben Clein filed a civil suit to disqualify the four original electors who planned to vote for Thurmond.Gainesville Sun, September 5, 1948; Tallahassee Daily Democrat, September 8, 1948 Pepper reversed his earlier pledge not to support Truman, and a special session of the state legislature provided separate lists for all candidates, including the progressive former Vice President Henry A. Wallace. Pepper campaigned on Dewey's alleged support of big business over the "little man",'Pepper Charges Dewey Favours Big Business'; St. Petersburg Times, September 3, 1948, p. 1 and Truman made a whistle-stop tour of the state in mid-October.Goldzwig, Steven R.; Truman's Whistle-stop Campaign, p. 89 1603440062 See also United States presidential elections in Florida Notes References 2 Works cited Black Earl Earl Black (political scientist) Black Merle Merle Black The Vital South: How Presidents Are Elected Harvard University Press 1992 https://archive.org/details/vitalsouthhowpre0000blac 0674941306 Schmidt Karl Henry A. Wallace: Quixotic Crusade 1948 Syracuse University Press 1960 978-0-8156-0020-6 https://archive.org/details/henryawallacequi0000karl Florida 1948 Category:1948 Florida elections