WI: Dixiecrats Win 1948 Election

I'm trying to come up with the divergence. i don't know 1948 Democratic politics enough to really come up with anything. But I'm sure there's a puzzle I can figure out.

Anyways, what if we had President Strom Thurmond? Any thoughts as to how that was change the course of politics immediately after? Would love to know and haven't seen any chatter on here.
 
Only way I can figure this is Thurmond being picked as a compromise candidate in the House, because the Dixiecrats could have only won a maximum of 127 EV, which could have thrown the election to the South, but the Republicans had enough delegations to win the White House regardless, so it doesn't even matter. I can't think of any other way for Strom to win in 1948, as a Dixiecrat anyway.
 
Or for a more realistic thing -- the Dixes do their damage in the race. It's a clean sweep of the South and Texas. That would lead to a House decision. In order to not carry the day, Truman and that flank have to capitulate to the Dixiecrats on the issues of importance to them. Truman knows that to have a future he has to more-or-less avoid any segregation issues, nominate any Justices who would not inflame issues (as in someone the Dixiecrats approve of) and the like.

How would an election brokered to Truman with him beholden to some degree to the Dixiecrats sway things?
 
No, no they can't.

First, they can't win 266 Electoral votes since they were only on the ballot in the South
Second, even if they won all of the Southern States, the House would pick either Truman or Dewey
 
The Republicans had a substantial majority in Congress, and Dewey (or Taft, or Vandenburg, or, whoever) could have easily gotten the 25 delegations needed. The Senate might have chosen a Democratic VP (they can only choose from among the top two, and it would be Barkley, probably) or a Republican for continuity's sake. Both Truman and Dewey probably wouldn't have compromised with Thurmond, leading to a Northern moral victory, and Southern approval is basically irrelevant to them.
 
The Republicans had a substantial majority in Congress...
Not after the election, most likely. The reason House and Senate terms end on 4 January, and Presidential terms on 20 January, is so that the new Congress, not the lame-duck Congress, elects the new President and Vice President.

However, overall majority doesn't matter, delegations do. OTL, Republicans controlled 19 delegations, with four split evenly.

It does not seem likely that this Dixiecrat boom would affect Congressional races outside the South, so Republicans would not control any additional delegations. The Dixiecrats (we assume) would control the 11 Southern delegations. That leave 14 for the Democrats. The House cannot elect unless someone breaks ranks. If there was a mild demoralization of Democrats outside the South, Republicans might control six additional delegations, just enough to elect.

If the House fails to elect... The Senate would elect the VP, chosing between Warren and Barkley; almost certainly it would be Barclay, who would become President.
 
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