U.S. Presidential Election: November 7th, 1944
No one seriously expected Dewey to defeat Roosevelt. The question was, instead, how well would Dewey perform? If Dewey kept the margins close, he could get the GOP closer to rule Congress come 1946. Better yet, if he kept the margins close, it could propel him to be the heir apparent for the Republican nomination in 1948. Only the most die-hard Republicans, anti-communists, and infuriated Generals expected a Roosevelt defeat. Roosevelt was declared victor relatively early in the evening by the media, and what everyone saw shocked them. Roosevelt not only won, but won in a landslide!
The victory against Goering's Germany and the other European Axis Powers propelled Roosevelt to his second best victory in all four elections, only bested by his campaign against Alf Landon in 1936. Several states expected to go to Dewey up until election Day, states like North Dakota, Wyoming, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Connecticut, narrowly went to Roosevelt. Indiana and New Hampshire barely went to Dewey, as Roosevelt was within a percentage point victory wise in each state. Dewey enjoyed a small uptick in the Pacific Coast states, given the mixed performance in the Pacific Theatre and an increase in the Asian-American vote, but it yielded no fruit. News of Germany's defeat, limited amount of civilian business reopening in the East Coast, and successes near Formosa kept FDR's coveted landslide a possibility and made it realized. (West Coast residents would grow somewhat angry at the calmness and luxury enjoyed by the East Coast, but that would not occur until well after the war ended.) Roosevelt earned around 56.5% of the popular vote to Dewey's 42.6%.
The magnificent performance by Roosevelt spelled doom for down ballot Republicans. Senator Robert Taft of Ohio, expected to have narrowly won re-election, narrowly lost it against his Democratic challenger. Democratic Senators in Iowa and Missouri, trailing their Republican opponents, won out in close but comfortable victories. Two states that Dewey won, Indiana and New Hampshire, saw Democratic victories by margins similarly narrow to Ohio. The Republicans kept damage relatively minimal, however, with victories in states like Wisconsin, New Jersey, Colorado, and Oregon. This gave the Democrats a net four gains in the Senate, going from 58 seats to a more commanding 62.
Bright blue (Democrats) and bright red (Republicans) indicates a hold for the party. Darker colors indicate a win against the other party, respectively.
The House elections similarly went well for the Democrats. Though the Democrats lost some seats, they made a net gain of 24. The narrow Democratic majority was bolstered from a narrow 222 before to a stronger 246. Speaker of House Sam Rayburn was please to see Democratic control of the House would not only continue, but become healthier. He made a special appearance with President Roosevelt later in November, where the President and economist Donald Nelson promised enough civilian enterprise to ensure a decent Christmas for all Americans.
Other than a reconfirmation of State Secretary Willkie, Roosevelt had yet to restructure the rest of his Cabinet after Election Night. He was focused on giving his acceptance speech and preparing for the Prague Conference. Thanks to Roosevelt's current trip to Prague, Vice President Wallace enjoyed considerable influence in deciding the next Presidential Cabinet. Some conservatives were dismayed, but the ongoing war gave Wallace the time to let his voice be heard without serious opposition. It was obvious the Democrats were in charge again, and a soundly defeated Dewey conceded and went back to New York, bitter and unsure of ever running for President again.