Tuesday, November 2, 1948
1948 presidential election results
Harry S Truman (Democratic) and running mate Alben W. Barkley won with 303 electoral votes and 49.5% of the popular vote.
Tipping-point state: California, D+0.4 (nation D+4.4). It delivered electoral vote number 266 for the winner. What is a tipping-point state?
| Candidate | Running mate | Party | Electoral votes | Popular vote | Share | States won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harry S Truman Won | Alben W. Barkley | Democratic | 303 | 24,105,810 | 49.50% | 28 |
| Thomas E. Dewey | Earl Warren | Republican | 189 | 21,970,064 | 45.10% | 16 |
| Strom Thurmond | Fielding Wright | States' Rights | 39 | 1,169,114 | 2.40% | 4 |
| Total popular votes counted | 48,691,494 | |||||
Electoral College map
Full-screen mapMargin:<55–1010–2020+points. Grey: no popular vote / no data.
Results by state
Download CSV| State | Harry S Truman | Thomas E. Dewey | Strom Thurmond | Margin | EV | Total votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 0.0% | 19.0% | 79.7% 11 | 60.7 | 11 | 214,980 |
| Arizona | 53.8% 4 | 43.8% | 0.0% | 10.0 | 4 | 177,065 |
| Arkansas | 61.7% 9 | 21.0% | 16.5% | 40.7 | 9 | 242,475 |
| California | 47.6% 25 | 47.1% | 0.0% | 0.4 | 25 | 4,021,538 |
| Colorado | 51.9% 6 | 46.5% | 0.0% | 5.4 | 6 | 515,237 |
| Connecticut | 47.9% | 49.5% 8 | 0.0% | 1.6 | 8 | 883,518 |
| Delaware | 48.8% | 50.0% 3 | 0.0% | 1.3 | 3 | 139,073 |
| Florida | 48.8% 8 | 33.6% | 15.5% | 15.2 | 8 | 577,643 |
| Georgia | 60.8% 12 | 18.3% | 20.3% | 40.5 | 12 | 418,844 |
| Idaho | 50.0% 4 | 47.3% | 0.0% | 2.7 | 4 | 214,816 |
| Illinois | 50.1% 28 | 49.2% | 0.0% | 0.8 | 28 | 3,984,046 |
| Indiana | 48.8% | 49.6% 13 | 0.0% | 0.8 | 13 | 1,656,212 |
| Iowa | 50.3% 10 | 47.6% | 0.0% | 2.7 | 10 | 1,038,264 |
| Kansas | 44.6% | 53.6% 8 | 0.0% | 9.0 | 8 | 788,819 |
| Kentucky | 56.7% 11 | 41.5% | 1.3% | 15.3 | 11 | 822,658 |
| Louisiana | 32.7% | 17.5% | 49.1% 10 | 16.3 | 10 | 416,336 |
| Maine | 42.3% | 56.7% 5 | 0.0% | 14.5 | 5 | 264,787 |
| Maryland | 48.0% | 49.4% 8 | 0.4% | 1.4 | 8 | 596,748 |
| Massachusetts | 54.7% 16 | 43.2% | 0.0% | 11.5 | 16 | 2,107,146 |
| Michigan | 47.6% | 49.2% 19 | 0.0% | 1.7 | 19 | 2,109,609 |
| Minnesota | 57.2% 11 | 39.9% | 0.0% | 17.3 | 11 | 1,212,226 |
| Mississippi | 10.1% | 2.6% | 87.2% 9 | 77.1 | 9 | 192,190 |
| Missouri | 58.1% 15 | 41.5% | 0.0% | 16.6 | 15 | 1,578,628 |
| Montana | 53.1% 4 | 43.1% | 0.0% | 9.9 | 4 | 224,278 |
| Nebraska | 45.8% | 54.2% 6 | 0.0% | 8.3 | 6 | 488,940 |
| Nevada | 50.4% 3 | 47.3% | 0.0% | 3.1 | 3 | 62,117 |
| New Hampshire | 46.7% | 52.4% 4 | 0.0% | 5.8 | 4 | 231,440 |
| New Jersey | 45.9% | 50.3% 16 | 0.0% | 4.4 | 16 | 1,949,555 |
| New Mexico | 56.4% 4 | 42.9% | 0.0% | 13.5 | 4 | 187,063 |
| New York | 45.0% | 46.0% 47 | 0.0% | 1.0 | 47 | 6,177,337 |
| North Carolina | 58.0% 14 | 32.7% | 8.8% | 25.3 | 14 | 791,209 |
| North Dakota | 43.4% | 52.2% 4 | 0.2% | 8.8 | 4 | 220,716 |
| Ohio | 49.5% 25 | 49.2% | 0.0% | 0.2 | 25 | 2,936,071 |
| Oklahoma | 62.7% 10 | 37.3% | 0.0% | 25.5 | 10 | 721,599 |
| Oregon | 46.4% | 49.8% 6 | 0.0% | 3.4 | 6 | 524,080 |
| Pennsylvania | 46.9% | 50.9% 35 | 0.0% | 4.0 | 35 | 3,735,348 |
| Rhode Island | 57.6% 4 | 41.4% | 0.0% | 16.2 | 4 | 327,702 |
| South Carolina | 24.1% | 3.8% | 72.0% 8 | 47.8 | 8 | 142,571 |
| South Dakota | 47.0% | 51.8% 4 | 0.0% | 4.8 | 4 | 250,105 |
| Tennessee | 49.1% 11 | 36.9% | 13.4% 1 | 12.3 | 12 | 550,283 |
| Texas | 65.4% 23 | 24.6% | 9.3% | 40.8 | 23 | 1,147,245 |
| Utah | 54.0% 4 | 45.0% | 0.0% | 9.0 | 4 | 276,306 |
| Vermont | 36.9% | 61.5% 3 | 0.0% | 24.6 | 3 | 123,382 |
| Virginia | 47.9% 11 | 41.0% | 10.4% | 6.9 | 11 | 419,256 |
| Washington | 52.6% 8 | 42.7% | 0.0% | 9.9 | 8 | 905,058 |
| West Virginia | 57.3% 8 | 42.2% | 0.0% | 15.1 | 8 | 748,750 |
| Wisconsin | 50.7% 12 | 46.3% | 0.0% | 4.4 | 12 | 1,276,800 |
| Wyoming | 51.6% 3 | 47.3% | 0.0% | 4.4 | 3 | 101,425 |
Shares are of the votes counted for president; bold numbers are electoral votes won. Margin is the winner’s lead over the runner-up in points.
Closest states in 1948
- Ohio Harry S Truman by 7,107 votes (0.24 pts)
- California Harry S Truman by 17,865 votes (0.44 pts)
- Indiana Thomas E. Dewey by 13,248 votes (0.80 pts)
- Illinois Harry S Truman by 33,612 votes (0.84 pts)
- New York Thomas E. Dewey by 60,959 votes (0.99 pts)
- Delaware Thomas E. Dewey by 1,775 votes (1.28 pts)
- Maryland Thomas E. Dewey by 8,293 votes (1.39 pts)
- Connecticut Thomas E. Dewey by 14,457 votes (1.64 pts)
Flipped since 1944
- Alabama: Democratic → States' Rights (11 EV)
- Colorado: Republican → Democratic (6 EV)
- Connecticut: Democratic → Republican (8 EV)
- Delaware: Democratic → Republican (3 EV)
- Iowa: Republican → Democratic (10 EV)
- Louisiana: Democratic → States' Rights (10 EV)
- Maryland: Democratic → Republican (8 EV)
- Michigan: Democratic → Republican (19 EV)
- Mississippi: Democratic → States' Rights (9 EV)
- New Hampshire: Democratic → Republican (4 EV)
- New Jersey: Democratic → Republican (16 EV)
- New York: Democratic → Republican (47 EV)
- Ohio: Republican → Democratic (25 EV)
- Oregon: Democratic → Republican (6 EV)
- Pennsylvania: Democratic → Republican (35 EV)
- South Carolina: Democratic → States' Rights (8 EV)
- Wisconsin: Republican → Democratic (12 EV)
- Wyoming: Republican → Democratic (3 EV)
Source: 1948
Questions and answers
Who won the 1948 presidential election?
Harry S Truman (Democratic) won the 1948 election with 303 electoral votes, with Alben W. Barkley as vice president.
How many electoral votes did each candidate win in 1948?
Harry S Truman 303; Thomas E. Dewey 189; Strom Thurmond 39 (out of 531).
Who won the popular vote in 1948?
Harry S Truman received the most popular votes: 24,105,810 (49.5%) of 48,691,494 counted.
What was the closest state in 1948?
Ohio, which Harry S Truman won by 7,107 votes (0.24 points).
Which states flipped in 1948?
Compared with 1944, 18 states changed party: Alabama (to States' Rights), Colorado (to Democratic), Connecticut (to Republican), Delaware (to Republican), Iowa (to Democratic), Louisiana (to States' Rights), Maryland (to Republican), Michigan (to Republican), Mississippi (to States' Rights), New Hampshire (to Republican), New Jersey (to Republican), New York (to Republican), Ohio (to Democratic), Oregon (to Republican), Pennsylvania (to Republican), South Carolina (to States' Rights), Wisconsin (to Democratic) and Wyoming (to Democratic).
What was the tipping-point state in 1948?
California. Ranking the states by the winner's margin, it delivered electoral vote number 266; it voted Democratic by 0.4 points, against Democratic by 4.4 points nationally.
Official results As published by The American Presidency Project (UC Santa Barbara) and the state documents it links. How we use this data