1948 United States presidential election in Mississippi

The 1948 United States presidential election in Mississippi took place on November 2, 1948, in Mississippi as part of the wider United States presidential election of 1948.

The Democratic Party candidate, South Carolina governor Strom Thurmond, overwhelmingly won Mississippi against fellow Democrat, incumbent President Harry S. Truman by a margin of 148,154 votes, or 77.08%. Although Truman was the national Democratic Party candidate, Thurmond managed to be placed on the ballot in Mississippi, South Carolina, Louisiana, and Alabama as the official "Democratic" candidate. Outside of these four states, Thurmond was forced to run under the label of the States’ Rights Democratic Party. The Republican Party candidate, New York governor Thomas E. Dewey, had no impact on the race in Mississippi, only obtaining 5,043 votes total, or 2.62 percent of the popular vote, and failing to attract even ten percent of the vote in any Mississippi county.

Mississippi in this era was a one-party state dominated by the Democratic Party, so that the only competitive contests were Democratic primaries that were by law excluded to non-whites until the landmark court case of Smith v. Allwright. Ever since seeing the potential effect on the United States' image abroad (and ability to win the Cold War against the radically egalitarian rhetoric of Communism)Geselbracht, Raymond H. (editor); The Civil Rights Legacy of Harry S. Truman, p. 53 of the beating and blinding of Isaac Woodard three hours after being discharged from the army, President Truman was attempting to launch a Civil Rights bill, involving desegregation of the military. Southern Democrats immediately made such cries as "unconstitutional", "Communist inspired," "a blow to the loyal South and its traditions," "unwarranted and harmful," "not the answer," and "does irreparable harm to interracial relations".Boyd, William M.; 'Southern Politics 1948-1952', Phylon, Vol. 13, No. 3 (3rd quarter, 1952), pp. 226-235

Southern Democrats walked out at the party's national convention in PhiladelphiaKehl, James A.; 'Philadelphia, 1948: City of Crucial Conventions', Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies, vol. 67, no. 2 (Spring 2000), pp. 313-326 because of Truman's endorsement of civil rights for African Americans, and Mississippi, the state with the highest proportion of blacks in its population, was alongside neighbouring Alabama the most opposed to Truman. Indeed, whereas only half of Alabama's delegation walked out, all of Mississippi's did.Krane, Dale and Shaffer, Stephen D.; Mississippi Government and Politics: Modernizers Versus Traditionalists, p. 82 This segregationist faction met on July 17, 1948, in Birmingham, Alabama, nominating South Carolina governor Strom Thurmond as its nominee for president. Mississippi governor Fielding L. Wright was nominated for vice president. Mississippi pledged its Democratic electors to Thurmond on August 3 without debate,Frederickson, Kari; The Dixiecrat Revolt and the End of the Solid South, 1932-1968, p. 144 and although a group of nine students from Mississippi State College qualified as Truman/Barkley electors after that ticket had sought to find electors from University of Mississippi students, all the nine nominated Truman electors personally supported the Dixiecrats rather than the national party.Frederickson; The Dixiecrat Revolt and the End of the Solid South, p. 178

Among white voters, 92% supported Thurmond.

Polls SourceRankingAs ofChattanooga Daily TimesOctober 15, 1948The Montgomery AdvertiserOctober 24, 1948The Miami NewsOctober 25, 1948Mount Vernon ArgusNovember 1, 1948Oakland TribuneNovember 1, 1948

Results 1948 United States presidential election in MississippiPartyCandidateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Democratic Strom Thurmond 167,538 87.17% 9 National Democratic Harry Truman (incumbent) 19,384 10.09% 0 Republican Thomas E. Dewey 5,043 2.62% 0 Progressive Henry A. Wallace 225 0.12% 0 Totals 192,190 100.00% 9 Voter turnout (voting age) 16.0%Gans, Curtis and Mulling, Matthew; Voter Turnout in the United States, 1788-2009, p. 481

Results by county 1948 United States presidential election in Mississippi by county (.xlsx file for €15)Scammon (compiler); America at the Polls; pp. 249-250 (.xlsx file for €15)CountyDixiecrat/DemocraticRepublicanHarry S. TrumanProgressiveMargin # % # % # % # % # % Adams 2,032 92.36% 95 4.32% 71 3.23% 2 0.09%1,93788.04% 2,200 Alcorn 1,984 64.19% 91 2.94% 1,013 32.77% 3 0.10%97131.42% 3,091 Amite 1,559 95.59% 17 1.04% 55 3.37% 0 0.00%1,50492.22% 1,631 Attala 2,299 93.19% 32 1.30% 130 5.27% 6 0.24%2,16987.92% 2,467 Benton 679 83.83% 11 1.36% 118 14.57% 2 0.25%56169.26% 810 Bolivar 2,579 88.50% 115 3.95% 219 7.52% 1 0.03%2,36080.98% 2,914 Calhoun 1,074 56.59% 36 1.90% 786 41.41% 2 0.11%28815.18% 1,898 Carroll 1,138 92.82% 14 1.14% 74 6.04% 0 0.00%1,06486.78% 1,226 Chickasaw 1,826 93.45% 12 0.61% 115 5.89% 1 0.05%1,71187.56% 1,954 Choctaw 1,110 86.31% 43 3.34% 131 10.19% 2 0.16%97976.12% 1,286 Claiborne 741 95.61% 14 1.81% 19 2.45% 1 0.13%72293.16% 775 Clarke 1,763 91.44% 17 0.88% 144 7.47% 4 0.21%1,61983.97% 1,928 Clay 1,604 95.14% 22 1.30% 59 3.50% 1 0.06%1,54591.64% 1,686 Coahoma 1,959 84.48% 113 4.87% 246 10.61% 1 0.04%1,71373.87% 2,319 Copiah 2,523 95.90% 19 0.72% 89 3.38% 0 0.00%2,43492.52% 2,631 Covington 1,532 90.81% 16 0.95% 135 8.00% 4 0.24%1,39782.81% 1,687 DeSoto 1,299 89.59% 14 0.97% 137 9.45% 0 0.00%1,16280.14% 1,450 Forrest 5,296 90.07% 167 2.84% 406 6.90% 11 0.19%4,89083.17% 5,880 Franklin 1,160 94.54% 12 0.98% 55 4.48% 0 0.00%1,10590.06% 1,227 George 1,032 88.51% 25 2.14% 108 9.26% 1 0.09%92479.25% 1,166 Greene 885 86.94% 14 1.38% 118 11.59% 1 0.10%76775.35% 1,018 Grenada 1,405 91.17% 26 1.69% 109 7.07% 1 0.06%1,29684.10% 1,541 Hancock 1,400 78.87% 151 8.51% 222 12.51% 2 0.11%1,17866.36% 1,775 Harrison 6,325 84.81% 415 5.56% 692 9.28% 26 0.35%5,63375.53% 7,458 Hinds 13,705 89.84% 492 3.23% 1,041 6.82% 17 0.11%12,66483.02% 15,255 Holmes 2,139 96.18% 24 1.08% 61 2.74% 0 0.00%2,07893.44% 2,224 Humphreys 1,116 97.55% 11 0.96% 17 1.49% 0 0.00%1,09996.06% 1,144 Issaquena 209 92.89% 5 2.22% 11 4.89% 0 0.00%19888.00% 225 Itawamba 1,050 60.52% 50 2.88% 634 36.54% 1 0.06%41623.98% 1,735 Jackson 2,671 71.94% 238 6.41% 783 21.09% 21 0.57%1,88850.85% 3,713 Jasper 1,795 92.43% 26 1.34% 121 6.23% 0 0.00%1,67486.20% 1,942 Jefferson 967 97.09% 14 1.41% 15 1.51% 0 0.00%95295.58% 996 1,452 94.04% 51 3.30% 41 2.66% 0 0.00%1,40190.74% 1,544 Jones 5,709 87.45% 193 2.96% 599 9.18% 27 0.41%5,11078.27% 6,528 Kemper 1,389 91.56% 29 1.91% 98 6.46% 1 0.07%1,29185.10% 1,517 Lafayette 1,184 59.80% 48 2.42% 744 37.58% 4 0.20%44022.22% 1,980 Lamar 1,342 91.35% 36 2.45% 91 6.19% 0 0.00%1,25185.16% 1,469 Lauderdale 5,322 87.55% 171 2.81% 578 9.51% 8 0.13%4,74478.04% 6,079 Lawrence 1,261 94.03% 13 0.97% 66 4.92% 1 0.07%1,19589.11% 1,341 Leake 2,387 92.38% 12 0.46% 180 6.97% 5 0.19%2,20785.41% 2,584 Lee 3,127 81.31% 82 2.13% 636 16.54% 1 0.03%2,49164.77% 3,846 Leflore 2,749 92.47% 80 2.69% 139 4.68% 5 0.17%2,61087.79% 2,973 Lincoln 3,082 97.01% 40 1.26% 52 1.64% 3 0.09%3,03095.37% 3,177 Lowndes 2,755 93.80% 66 2.25% 116 3.95% 0 0.00%2,63989.85% 2,937 Madison 1,831 93.18% 51 2.60% 81 4.12% 2 0.10%1,75089.06% 1,965 Marion 2,491 90.75% 49 1.79% 205 7.47% 0 0.00%2,28683.28% 2,745 Marshall 1,215 86.97% 29 2.08% 152 10.88% 1 0.07%1,06376.09% 1,397 Monroe 2,281 77.09% 54 1.82% 624 21.09% 0 0.00%1,65756.00% 2,959 Montgomery 1,573 91.77% 35 2.04% 105 6.13% 1 0.06%1,46885.64% 1,714 Neshoba 2,833 90.51% 33 1.05% 260 8.31% 4 0.13%2,57382.20% 3,130 Newton 2,439 92.04% 39 1.47% 169 6.38% 3 0.11%2,27085.66% 2,650 Noxubee 1,031 91.89% 17 1.52% 74 6.60% 0 0.00%95785.29% 1,122 Oktibbeha 1,786 89.12% 58 2.89% 158 7.88% 2 0.10%1,62881.24% 2,004 Panola 1,935 89.17% 38 1.75% 195 8.99% 2 0.09%1,74080.18% 2,170 Pearl River 1,925 90.76% 46 2.17% 146 6.88% 4 0.19%1,77983.88% 2,121 Perry 764 87.12% 25 2.85% 87 9.92% 1 0.11%67777.20% 877 Pike 3,648 92.59% 69 1.75% 221 5.61% 2 0.05%3,42786.98% 3,940 Pontotoc 1,535 80.16% 28 1.46% 348 18.17% 4 0.21%1,18761.99% 1,915 Prentiss 988 59.34% 74 4.44% 602 36.16% 1 0.06%38623.18% 1,665 Quitman 1,046 90.17% 21 1.81% 91 7.84% 2 0.17%95582.33% 1,160 Rankin 2,677 97.03% 23 0.83% 57 2.07% 2 0.07%2,62094.96% 2,759 Scott 2,339 92.60% 15 0.59% 170 6.73% 2 0.08%2,16985.87% 2,526 Sharkey 745 95.76% 10 1.29% 23 2.96% 0 0.00%72292.80% 778 Simpson 2,342 91.06% 59 2.29% 171 6.65% 0 0.00%2,17184.41% 2,572 Smith 1,900 85.24% 33 1.48% 295 13.23% 1 0.04%1,60572.01% 2,229 Stone 1,053 93.77% 17 1.51% 50 4.45% 3 0.27%1,00389.32% 1,123 Sunflower 2,482 92.85% 55 2.06% 136 5.09% 0 0.00%2,34687.76% 2,673 Tallahatchie 2,122 86.75% 37 1.51% 287 11.73% 0 0.00%1,83575.02% 2,446 Tate 1,196 84.70% 16 1.13% 199 14.09% 1 0.07%99770.61% 1,412 Tippah 1,658 77.04% 66 3.07% 425 19.75% 3 0.14%1,23357.29% 2,152 Tishomingo 1,073 56.95% 98 5.20% 711 37.74% 2 0.11%36219.21% 1,884 Tunica 715 95.33% 12 1.60% 23 3.07% 0 0.00%69292.26% 750 Union 1,420 72.30% 63 3.21% 478 24.34% 3 0.15%94247.96% 1,964 Walthall 1,202 93.03% 5 0.39% 85 6.58% 0 0.00%1,11786.45% 1,292 Warren 3,602 86.38% 245 5.88% 320 7.67% 3 0.07%3,28278.71% 4,170 Washington 2,447 82.14% 271 9.10% 260 8.73% 1 0.03%2,17673.04% 2,979 Wayne 1,235 89.75% 4 0.29% 137 9.96% 0 0.00%1,09879.79% 1,376 Webster 1,078 76.78% 47 3.35% 277 19.73% 2 0.14%80157.05% 1,404 Wilkinson 809 92.56% 21 2.40% 43 4.92% 1 0.11%76687.64% 874 Winston 1,828 86.84% 33 1.57% 240 11.40% 4 0.19%1,58875.44% 2,105 Yalobusha 1,382 88.14% 49 3.13% 135 8.61% 2 0.13%1,24779.53% 1,568Yazoo 2,297 95.99% 26 1.09% 70 2.93% 0 0.00%2,22793.06% 2,393Totals167,53887.17%5,0432.62%19,38410.09%2250.12%148,15477.08%192,190

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Dixiecrat All 82 counties

Analysis Thurmond carried all of Mississippi's 82 counties, forty-five with over ninety percent of the vote and seventy with over eighty percent. Truman only managed to break forty percent in one county, while Dewey was held to less than ten percent in every county. The "weakest" region for Thurmond came from the northeastern corner where he failed to break sixty percent in four counties. These northeastern counties are the least fertile in the state and were (and remain) populated by the smallest proportion of African Americans. They were also — within the one-party Democratic primary system — always opposed to the free-market business and landowning interests, who were Thurmond's chief support base. Consequently, whites in the far northeast of Mississippi — even those with enough money to pay the poll tax — supported the public works, minimum wage laws, and working hour laws of President Truman's "Fair Deal" which were strongly opposed by Black Belt landowners. In these northeastern hill counties preoccupations with race were also less overwhelming.

Thurmond's vote constitutes the highest-ever statewide vote percentage for a candidate who was not a national major party nominee, and the only time a third-party candidate swept every county in any state. This was the first time ever that a Democrat won without carrying Mississippi, and the first time since 1872 that the state voted against the national Democrats.

See also United States presidential elections in Mississippi

Notes

References

Works cited