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1944 Republican Party presidential primaries

← 1940 March 14 to May 19, 1944 1948 →
1,057 delegates to the Republican National Convention 529 (majority) votes needed to win
Candidate Thomas E. Dewey John W. Bricker Home state New York Ohio Delegate count 391 65 Contests won 3 1 Popular vote 278,272 366,444 Percentage 12.2% 16.0%   Candidate Earl Warren Harold Stassen Home state California Minnesota Delegate count 50 34 Contests won 1 1 Popular vote 594,439 67,508 Percentage 26.0% 3.0%
Results map by state.
Previous Republican nominee Wendell Willkie Republican nominee Thomas E. Dewey

From March 14 to June 11, 1944, voters of the Republican Party selected delegates to the 1944 Republican National Convention for the purpose of selecting their nominee for president in the 1944 election at the 1944 Republican National Convention held from June 26 to June 28, 1944, in Chicago, Illinois.

Although the result of the elections were inconclusive, maneuvering by the delegates secured the nomination for Governor of New York Thomas E. Dewey before they convened in Chicago. Dewey easily overcame a challenge from Governor of Ohio John W. Bricker and was nominated on the first ballot. In a bid to maintain party unity, Dewey, a moderate, chose the conservative Bricker as his running mate; Bricker was nominated by acclamation.

Background

1940 presidential election

In 1940, the Republican nomination was won by Wendell Willkie over Thomas E. Dewey and Robert A. Taft. Willkie owed his nomination to late momentum, at least in part a result of his avowed internationalism; while Dewey and Taft had taken competing stances as isolationists, their popularity declined in response to the growing anxiety over World War II following the fall of France. Dewey, the 38-year old Manhattan district attorney, was particularly damaged by perception that he lacked the experience necessary to manage increasingly bellicose foreign powers.

Following his loss to incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Willkie retained a public profile. As the United States entered the war, he took an aggressive stance in favor of Roosevelt's diplomatic and military policies, unlike most of his party.

1942 midterms

In the 1942 midterm elections, Republicans ended the Democratic supermajority in the United States Senate. Dewey ascended to leadership of the moderate Eastern wing of the party after his election as Governor of New York, one of the country's most powerful offices.

1943: Willkie declines

As the American war effort progressed, the Republican Party struggled to find common ground on the divisive issue of foreign policy. Wendell Willkie had no such hesitation, publishing his views in the April 1943 book One World, an account of his trip abroad serving as a representative for President Roosevelt. The book alienated Republican nationalists, given Willkie's avowed Wilsonian idealism, and Western foreign policy professionals of all stripes, given his calls to abolish empire and defense of Joseph Stalin. The book was the third non-fiction to sell one million copies since 1900, but his tone and ongoing efforts to ally with the White House alienated Willkie from his adopted party and many of his former supporters. One such alienated supporter was Harold Stassen, whose backing had been crucial to Willkie's nomination in 1940; Stassen now began to consider a campaign of his own. A poll of delegates to the 1940 convention marked Willkie as the weakest possible candidate for 1944; the delegates now favored Dewey, followed by Ohio Governor John W. Bricker. Dewey also led public polling over Willkie.

Members of the party made plans to prevent Willkie from winning the party's nomination in the 1944 election. Clarence Budington Kelland, a member of the Republican National Committee, wrote in a letter to Landon that Harrison E. Spangler, the chair of the party, was attempting to find ten to twelve men to serve as new national figures of the party. Landon and House Minority Leader Joseph W. Martin Jr. worked on stopping Willkie and finding a replacement nominee.

As 1944 began, the frontrunners for the Republican nomination appeared to be Willkie, Taft, and Dewey again. They were joined by General Douglas MacArthur, serving as Allied commander of the Pacific theater, and former Governor of Minnesota Harold Stassen, also serving the war effort in the Pacific as a naval officer. However, Taft surprised many by announcing he was not a candidate and instead backing Governor John W. Bricker, a fellow conservative Ohioan. With Taft out of the race, conservatives were divided between Bricker and General MacArthur. However, the campaign for MacArthur was limited by the General's inability to participate.

Candidates

Major candidates

These candidates participated in multiple state primaries or were included in multiple major national polls.

Candidate			Most recent position	Home state	Campaign	Pledged delegates
Thomas E. Dewey			Governor of New York (1943–54)	New York	(Campaign)	97
John W. Bricker			Governor of Ohio (1939–45)	Ohio		65
Harold Stassen			Governor of Minnesota (1939–43)	Minnesota	(Campaign)	34
Douglas MacArthur			Army Chief of Staff (1930–35)	New York	(Campaign)	2
Earl Warren			Governor of California (1943–53)	California		50
Wendell Willkie			Businessman and 1940 presidential nominee	New York	(Campaign)	0

Favorite sons

The following candidates ran only in their home state's primary or caucus for the purpose of controlling its delegate slate at the convention and did not appear to be considered national candidates by the media.

• State Director of Taxation Joseph H. Bottum of South Dakota
• Representative Charles A. Christopherson of South Dakota
• Senator Chapman Revercomb of West Virginia
• Governor Leverett Saltonstall of Massachusetts
• Businessman Riley A. Bender of Illinois
• Governor Simeon S. Willis of Kentucky
• Governor Dwight Griswold of Nebraska

Declined to run

• Senator Robert Taft of Ohio
• Senator Arthur Vandenberg of Michigan

Polling

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

National polling

Statewide contest by winner

Willkie withdrew from the presidential campaign following his poor results in the Wisconsin primary.

1. ^ This was a non-binding preference primary with no delegates at stake.
2. Businessman Riley A. Bender received 6% of the vote.
3. 60% of the vote was for Charles A. Christopherson and 40% was for Joseph H. Bottum
4. All of the vote was for Senator Chapman Revercomb, the only candidate on the ballot.

The convention

See also

• 1944 Democratic Party presidential primaries

References

1. ^ "Dewey Delegate Count is 138 Short of Needs". The Fresno Bee. 11 Jun 1944. p. 7. Retrieved 31 Jan 2023.
2. Kalb, Deborah (2016-02-19). Guide to U.S. Elections - Google Books. ISBN 9781483380353. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
3. ^ Murphy, Paul (1974). Political Parties In American History, Volume 3, 1890-present. G. P. Putnam's Sons.
4. ^ Smith 1982, pp. 382–86.
5. ^ "US President - R Primaries". OurCampaigns.com. 15 Nov 2004. Retrieved 8 Apr 2020.

Bibliography

• Smith, Richard Norton (1982). Thomas Dewey and His Times.

• 1944 United States Republican presidential primaries
• Thomas E. Dewey
• Douglas MacArthur