It's not like they voted for Nixon as VP. They merely voted for Ike as President, just like every single non-southern State.
Also, Massachusetts becoming that solid dem stronghold began only in 1960, before then it was a kind of swing State.
Ditto.
Hell Truman won more votes in his shocking re-election victory than Roosevelt did in his four landslide elections (although in 1936 there was a strong third party showing by the "Union" ticket).
What I find really amazing though are the results in 1956 compared to 1960:
1956:
Dwight Eisenhower (New York)/Richard Nixon (California) 59.32%Adlai Stevenson (Illinois)/Estes Kefauver (Tennessee) 40.37%Now 1960:
John Kennedy (Massachusetts)/Lyndon Johnson (Texas) 60.22%Richard Nixon (California)/Henry Lodge (Massachusetts) 39.55%Looks like the Lodge name was worth jack sh*t by then.
