Were there any counties shifting from Dewey to Stevenson in 1948-1952?
There was
one: Dawson County in North Georgia. It’s notable that Thurmond received only 2.82 percent of the vote there in 1948, and Dewey did get over 52 percent, making it his third-best Georgia county behind Unionist Fannin and Pickens.
Pitkin, CO seems to be the only McGovern-Ford county outside of their home states of SD and MI. Were there any explanations for Pitkin? It appeared to have a strong Dem swing from 1968-1972.
Pitkin is of course a wealthy “latte liberal” county of the type today’s Democrats appeal to. McGovern could appeal to its populace as he was rejected by all by 4 percent of the nation’s counties for much the same region rural counties today are overwhelmingly rejecting Hilary.