1944 Republican Party presidential primaries

1944 Republican Party presidential primaries
	March 14 to May 19, 1944
	March 14 to May 19, 1944
	Results map by state.
Previous Republican nominee; Wendell Willkie;	Republican nominee ; Thomas E. Dewey;

The 1944 Republican presidential primaries were the selection process by which voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 1944 U.S. presidential election. The nominee was selected through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 1944 Republican National Convention held from June 26 to June 28, 1944, in Chicago, Illinois.[1]

At the 1944 Republican National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, Dewey easily overcame Bricker and was nominated on the first ballot. In a bid to maintain party unity, Dewey, a moderate, chose the conservative Bricker as his running mate; Bricker was nominated by acclamation.

Candidates

As 1944 began the frontrunners for the Republican nomination appeared to be Wendell Willkie, the party's 1940 candidate, Senator Robert A. Taft of Ohio, the leader of the party's conservatives, New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey, the leader of the party's powerful, moderate eastern establishment, General Douglas MacArthur, then serving as an Allied commander in the Pacific theater of the war, and former Minnesota Governor Harold Stassen, then serving as a U.S. naval officer in the Pacific.

However, Taft surprised many by announcing that he was not a candidate; instead he voiced his support for a fellow conservative, Governor John W. Bricker of Ohio. With Taft out of the race some GOP conservatives favored General MacArthur. However, MacArthur's chances were limited by the fact that he was leading Allied forces against Japan, and thus could not campaign for the nomination.

Major candidates

These candidates participated in multiple state primaries or were included in multiple major national polls.

Competing in primaries

Candidate	Most recent position	Home state	Campaign
Thomas E. Dewey	Governor of New York (1943–54)	New York	(Campaign)
Douglas MacArthur	Army Chief of Staff (1930–35)	New York	(Campaign)
Harold Stassen	Former Governor of Minnesota (1939–43)	Minnesota	(Campaign)
Wendell Willkie	Businessman and 1940 presidential nominee	New York	(Campaign)

Bypassing primaries

The following candidates did not actively campaign for any state's presidential primary (other than their own), but may have had their name placed on the ballot by supporters or may have sought to influence to selection of un-elected delegates or sought the support of uncommitted delegates.

Candidate		Most recent position	Home state	Campaign
John W. Bricker		Governor of Ohio (1939–45)	Ohio
Earl Warren		Governor of California (1943–53)	California

Favorite sons

The following candidates ran only in their home state's primary or caucus for the purpose of controlling its delegate slate at the convention and did not appear to be considered national candidates by the media.

State Director of Taxation Joseph H. Bottum of South Dakota
Representative Charles A. Christopherson of South Dakota
Senator Chapman Revercomb of West Virginia
Governor Earl Warren of California

Declined to run

Senator Robert Taft of Ohio
Senator Arthur Vandenburg of Michigan

Polling

Graph of opinion polls conducted

National polling

Source	Publication	John W. Bricker	Thomas Dewey	Gen. Douglas MacArthur	Harold Stassen	Earl Warren	Wendell Willkie
Gallup[2]	May 1943	8%	38%	17%	7%	1%	28%
Gallup[2]	June 1943	10%	37%	15%	7%	1%	28%
Gallup[2]	Sep. 1943	8%	32%	19%	6%	1%	28%
Gallup[2]	Dec. 1943	10%	36%	15%	6%	1%	25%
Gallup[2]	Jan. 1944	8%	42%	18%	6%	–	23%
Gallup[2]	Apr. 1944	9%	55%	20%	7%	–	7%
Gallup[2]	May 1944	9%	65%	–	5%	2%	–
Gallup[2]	June 1944	12%	58%	–	6%	–	–

Statewide contest by winner

The Wisconsin primary proved to be the key contest, as Dewey won by a surprisingly wide margin; he took 14 delegates to four for Harold Stassen, while MacArthur won the three remaining delegates. Willkie was shut out in the Wisconsin primary; he did not win a single delegate. His unexpectedly poor showing in Wisconsin forced him to withdraw as a candidate for the nomination.


Date	Primary	Douglas MacArthur	Earl Warren	John W. Bricker	Thomas Dewey	W. Chapman Revercomb	Harold Stassen	Riley A. Bender	Charles A. Christopherson	Wendell Willkie	Joseph H. Bottum	Unpledged
March 14	New Hampshire	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	100%
April 5	Wisconsin	73%	0%	0%	15%	0%	0%	0%	0%	5%	0%	0%
April 11	Illinois	92%	0%	0%	2%	0%	0%	6%	0%	0%	0%	0%
April 11	Nebraska	0%	0%	0%	23%	0%	66%	0%	0%	10%	0%	0%
April 23	Pennsylvania	5%	0%	2%	84%	0%	1%	0%	0%	2%	0%	0%
April 25	Massachusetts	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	100%
May 1	Maryland	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	21%	0%	79%
May 2	South Dakota	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	60%	0%	40%	0%
May 2	Ohio	0%	0%	100%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
May 2	West Virginia	0%	0%	0%	0%	100%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
May 16	California	0%	100%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
May 16	New Jersey	1%	0%	1%	86%	0%	1%	0%	0%	3%	0%	0%
May 19	Oregon	0%	0%	5%	78%	0%	9%	0%	0%	5%	0%	0%

The convention

Convention vote
Presidential ballot	1	Vice-presidential ballot	1
New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey	1,056	Ohio Governor John W. Bricker	1,057
General Douglas MacArthur	1	Abstaining	2

References

Kalb, Deborah (2016-02-19). Guide to U.S. Elections - Google Books. ISBN 9781483380353. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
"US President - R Primaries". OurCampaigns.com. 15 Nov 2004. Retrieved 8 Apr 2020.

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[1] Kalb, Deborah (2016-02-19). Guide to U.S. Elections - Google Books. ISBN 9781483380353. Retrieved 2016-02-19.

[:0-2] "US President - R Primaries". OurCampaigns.com. 15 Nov 2004. Retrieved 8 Apr 2020.