1944 United States presidential election in Wyoming

Main article: 1944 United States presidential election

1944 United States presidential election in Wyoming

←  1940 November 7, 1944 1948  →

Nominee Thomas E. Dewey Franklin D. Roosevelt Party Republican Democratic Home state New York New York Running mate John W. Bricker Harry S. Truman Electoral vote 3 0 Popular vote 51,921 49,419 Percentage 51.23% 48.77%

County Results Dewey   50-60%   60-70% Roosevelt   50-60%   60-70%

President before election Franklin D. Roosevelt Democratic Elected President Franklin D. Roosevelt Democratic

The 1944 United States presidential election in Wyoming took place on November 7, 1944, as part of the 1944 United States presidential election. State voters chose three representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Wyoming was won by the Republican nominee, Governor of New York Thomas Dewey, running with Governor of Ohio John W. Bricker, by a 2.5% margin of victory, with 51.23 percent of the popular vote against incumbent Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt, running with Missouri Senator Harry S. Truman, with 48.77 percent of the popular vote, becoming the first Republican to win Wyoming since Herbert Hoover in 1928, sixteen years earlier. ^[1]

This election was conducted in the midst of The Second World War, which was going well for America and the Allied Powers, Dewey campaigned against The New Deal, arguing in support of a smaller government and repealing many of the wartime regulations on the economy, as the end of the war appeared in sight. Roosevelt, now running for an unprecedented 4th term, faced allegations of poor health, which he would attempt to dispel by campaigning vigorously across the country, especially in the last month of the campaign, in October. ^[2] Though many were weary of Roosevelt's long tenure, as Americans were used to Presidents only seeking two terms, Roosevelt's longstanding popularity would prove too difficult to overcome, and major American victories in Europe and the Pacific, such as The Liberation of Paris in France, and the Battle of Leyte Gulf in the Philippines gave Americans little to no reason to switch leadership in this election, and made Roosevelt unbeatable, with him leading Dewey in all pre-election polls.

Though voters nationwide would prefer Roosevelt over Dewey, voters in Wyoming, despite the fact that they had voted for Roosevelt by 6 points just 4 years ago in 1940, choose Dewey over Roosevelt, a sign of the conservative bastion that the state would become in future elections; indeed, Wyoming has only voted for the Democratic nominee twice since then, in 1948 and 1964. Dewey flipped 4 counties that Roosevelt won in 1940; Teton, Natrona, Park, and Platte. Additionally, he significantly closed the gaps in the rest of Wyoming's counties, losing the bellwether county of Albany by just 4.2%, compared to Wendell Willkie who had lost it by 18.5%, losing Sheridan by just 0.8% compared to Willkie's 7.5% loss, Laramie by 1.5% versus Willkie's 13.4% margin, Hot Springs and Carbon counties by 5% versus Willkie's 16.1% and 8.7% losses, respectively. Though his margin was narrow, and the state would remain a tossup in the next cycle, Wyoming's growing Republican trend was evidenced not only by Dewey being the first Republican to win it since 1928, but by Republican success in the 1942 midterm elections, when Republicans gained control of the state's Class II Senate seat and lone House seat.

This marked the first time since Grover Cleveland in 1892 that a Democrat won the presidency without carrying Wyoming. Despite his victory in this election, Dewey would go on to lose the state to Harry Truman in 1948, when he lost in an upset. This would be the last time until 1992 that a Republican would win Wyoming without getting 70% of the vote in at least one county. Wyoming weighed in as 10 points more Republican than the rest of the nation in this election.

Results

1944 United States presidential election in Wyoming ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Thomas E. Dewey	51,921	51.23%
	Democratic	Franklin D. Roosevelt (incumbent)	49,419	48.77%
Total votes			101,340	100.00%

Results by county

County	Thomas Edmund Dewey Republican		Franklin Delano Roosevelt Democratic		Margin		Total votes cast [3]
	#	%	#	%	#	%
Albany	2,970	47.91%	3,229	52.09%	-259	-4.18%	6,199
Big Horn	2,659	53.47%	2,314	46.53%	345	6.94%	4,973
Campbell	1,514	62.87%	894	37.13%	620	25.74%	2,408
Carbon	2,698	47.49%	2,983	52.51%	-285	-5.02%	5,681
Converse	1,601	62.05%	979	37.95%	622	24.10%	2,580
Crook	1,244	64.32%	690	35.68%	554	28.64%	1,934
Fremont	3,193	59.46%	2,177	40.54%	1,016	18.92%	5,370
Goshen	2,674	63.85%	1,514	36.15%	1,160	27.70%	4,188
Hot Springs	877	47.51%	969	52.49%	-92	-4.98%	1,846
Johnson	1,384	64.67%	756	35.33%	628	29.34%	2,140
Laramie	7,326	49.27%	7,542	50.73%	-216	-1.46%	14,868
Lincoln	1,649	43.52%	2,140	56.48%	-491	-12.96%	3,789
Natrona	5,196	51.52%	4,890	48.48%	306	3.04%	10,086
Niobrara	1,312	61.37%	826	38.63%	486	22.74%	2,138
Park	2,571	53.25%	2,257	46.75%	314	6.50%	4,828
Platte	1,776	53.49%	1,544	46.51%	232	6.98%	3,320
Sheridan	3,802	49.61%	3,862	50.39%	-60	-0.78%	7,664
Sublette	683	59.24%	470	40.76%	213	18.48%	1,153
Sweetwater	2,623	31.90%	5,599	68.10%	-2,976	-36.20%	8,222
Teton	637	56.07%	499	43.93%	138	12.14%	1,136
Uinta	1,305	42.66%	1,754	57.34%	-449	-14.68%	3,059
Washakie	1,130	59.26%	777	40.74%	353	18.52%	1,907
Weston	1,097	59.27%	754	40.73%	343	18.54%	1,851
Totals	51,921	51.23%	49,419	48.77%	2,502	2.46%	101,340

County flips from 1940:

Democratic   Hold Republican   Hold   Gain from Democratic

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Teton
• Park
• Platte

See also

• United States presidential elections in Wyoming

References

1. "1944 Presidential Election Results – Wyoming".
2. Jordan, David M.; FDR, Dewey, and the Election of 1944, pp. 119
3. Scammon, Richard M. (compiler); America at the Polls: A Handbook of Presidential Election Statistics 1920-1964; p. 517 ISBN   0405077114