1948 United States presidential election in Wyoming

← 1944 November 2, 1948 1952 →

Nominee Harry S. Truman Thomas E. Dewey Party Democratic Republican Home state Missouri New York Running mate Alben W. Barkley Earl Warren Electoral vote 3 0 Popular vote 52,354 47,947 Percentage 51.62% 47.27%

County Results Truman   50–60%   60–70% Dewey   50–60%   60–70%

President before election Harry S. Truman Democratic Elected President Harry S. Truman Democratic

The1948 United States presidential election in Wyoming took 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 forpresident andvice president.Wyoming was 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 Governor and 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 theDixiecrat candidateStrom Thurmond, costing him the traditionally Democratic strongholds ofSouth Carolina,Alabama,Mississippi, andLouisiana, however Truman's unexpected strength in theMidwest andWest Coast secured 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 flipMichigan andOregon.

Truman was popular among rural voters, and with agriculture being one of the biggest parts of Wyoming's economy, Truman's support forNew Deal era programs that attempted to provide relief to farmers, which along withThe Civilian Conservation Corps program greatly impacted Wyoming, allowing newNational Parks to 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 Security than many of the conservative Congressional Republicans such as SenatorRobert A. Taft from 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 hands withLester Hunt's landslide victory, who outperformed the top of the ticket by 9.9%. Truman flippedPlatte andNatrona counties, outperforming Roosevelt's 1944 statewide result by 6.8%.

Dewey won the state in1944 by 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. Johnson in1964, as throughout the 50s, the state transformed into a Republican stronghold. Since 1964, no Democratic presidential candidate has been able to reach 40% of the vote.^[2]

On May 3, 1948, theWyoming Democratic Party voted to bound its twelve delegates to theDemocratic National Convention to support Truman for president andJoseph C. O'Mahoney for vice-president.^[3] Archie Allison,Alice Spielman, and W.J. Smith were selected to serve as Republican presidential electors.^[4]

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• United States presidential elections in Wyoming

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