 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "1948 Republican National Convention" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(June 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| 1948 presidential election | |
  Nominees Dewey and Warren | |
| Convention | |
|---|---|
| Date(s) | June 21–25, 1948 |
| City | Philadelphia,Pennsylvania |
| Venue | Convention Hall |
| Candidates | |
| Presidential nominee | Thomas E. Dewey ofNew York |
| Vice-presidential nominee | Earl Warren ofCalifornia |
| ‹ 1944 · 1952 › | |
The1948 Republican National Convention was held at theMunicipal Auditorium, inPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania, from June 21 to 25, 1948.
New YorkGovernorThomas E. Dewey had paved the way to win theRepublicanpresidential nomination in theprimary elections, where he had beaten formerMinnesotaGovernorHarold E. Stassen andWorld War II GeneralDouglas MacArthur. In Philadelphia he was nominated on the third ballot over opposition from die-hard conservativeOhioSenatorRobert A. Taft, the future "minister of peace" Stassen,Michigan SenatorArthur Vandenberg, andCaliforniaGovernorEarl Warren. In all Republican conventions since 1948, the nominee has been selected on the first ballot. Warren was nominated forvice president. The Republican ticket of Dewey and Warren went on to lose thegeneral election to theDemocratic ticket ofHarry S. Truman andAlben W. Barkley. One of the decisive factors in convening both major party conventions in Philadelphia that year was that Philadelphia was hooked up to the coaxial cable, giving the ability for two of the three then-young television networks,NBC andCBS, to telecast for the first time live gavel-to-gavel coverage along theEast Coast. Only a few minutes ofkinescope film have survived of these historic, live television broadcasts.[1]
Theparty platform formally adopted at the convention included the following points:
| Presidential Balloting | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| Dewey | 434 | 515 | 1,094 |
| Taft | 224 | 274 | 0 |
| Stassen | 157 | 149 | 0 |
| Vandenberg | 62 | 62 | 0 |
| Warren | 59 | 57 | 0 |
| Green | 56 | 0 | 0 |
| Driscoll | 35 | 0 | 0 |
| Baldwin | 19 | 19 | 0 |
| Martin | 18 | 10 | 0 |
| Reece | 15 | 1 | 0 |
| MacArthur | 11 | 7 | 0 |
| Dirksen | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Not Voting | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Presidential Balloting / 4th Day of Convention (June 24, 1948)
As of 2024, this was the last Republican Convention to go past the first ballot.
Dewey had a long list ofpotential running mates, including his 1944 running mate, SenatorJohn Bricker ofOhio, RepresentativeCharles Halleck ofIndiana, former GovernorHarold Stassen ofMinnesota, and California GovernorEarl Warren.
Dewey chose Warren, who was subsequently nominated by acclaimation.
The Dewey–Warren ticket was the last to consist of two current or former state governors until 2016, when former governorsGary Johnson andBill Weld ran on theLibertarian Party ticket.
| Preceded by 1944 Chicago, Illinois | Republican National Conventions | Succeeded by 1952 Chicago, Illinois |