Describe a Dewey 1944/Truman 1948 voter

[Blow by blow, the passion dies]

Perhaps a moderate in rural Wyoming who opposed Dewey's new "Our future lies ahead" campaign style?

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Overwhelmingly farmers.

[Vosem]

Very common in the rural Midwest and Plains.

[WalterWhite]

Someone from Missouri

[Alben Barkley]

The states of Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Colorado, and Wyoming.

Also a whole bunch in other states like Indiana, Missouri, and Oklahoma.

[Vosem]

1944 --> 1948 swing map. A number of weird patterns -- no, FL is not a mistake, and neither is MA. Very interesting to see such a huge divide between SD and ND (also unusual for a relatively modern-ish election to see such a huge divide between KY and TN, but it makes sense in this context).

Note that the national swing was from D+8 to D+5, or R>30, although in the decisive state the swing was larger (from D+6 to D+1, or R>40). Most of the country actually did swing pretty hard to Dewey, including all the places where the media was, but the parts that swung to Truman actually also swung fairly hard, and by enough for Truman to still win. A very interesting pattern -- it didn't really end up being a realigning election because nothing ever looked like this again, but there's an enormous number of states with huge swings in one direction or another, and it feels like 1948 could have been a realignment.

[Pres Mike]

Better question, why did the mighty FDR lose so much support in the Midwest in 1944?

[Alben Barkley]

Better question, why did the mighty FDR lose so much support in the Midwest in 1944?

Isolationist and in some cases even pro-German sentiment.

[darklordoftech]

An anti-war voter who feared Democratic hawkishness towards Germany and Republican hawkishness towards Russia.

[Pres Mike]

Better question, why did the mighty FDR lose so much support in the Midwest in 1944?

Isolationist and in some cases even pro-German sentiment.

Interesting you never hear about that when reading about the American home front. You would think it was 100% support for the war after Pearl Harbor

[Alben Barkley]

Better question, why did the mighty FDR lose so much support in the Midwest in 1944?

Isolationist and in some cases even pro-German sentiment.

Interesting you never hear about that when reading about the American home front. You would think it was 100% support for the war after Pearl Harbor

Here's an NYTimes article from 1944 about how isolationism in Wisconsin could lead to FDR losing the state, which indeed he did:

https://www.nytimes.com/1944/10/22/archives/isolationism-dims-wisconsin-picture-labor-backers-of-roosevelt-have.html