1948 United States presidential election in Delaware

Main article: 1948 United States presidential election

The 1948 United States presidential election in Delaware took place on November 2, 1948, as part of the 1948 United States presidential election. State voters chose three^[2] representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

1948 United States presidential election in Delaware

← 1944 November 2, 1948[1] 1952 →
All 3 Delaware votes to the Electoral College
Nominee Thomas E. Dewey Harry S. Truman Party Republican Democratic Home state New York Missouri Running mate Earl Warren Alben W. Barkley Electoral vote 3 0 Popular vote 69,588 67,813 Percentage 50.04% 48.76%
County results Dewey   50–60% Truman   40–50%
President before election Harry S. Truman Democratic Elected President Harry S. Truman Democratic

Delaware was won by Governor Thomas E. Dewey (R–New York), running with Governor Earl Warren, with 50.04% of the popular vote, against incumbent President Harry S. Truman (D–Missouri), running with Senator Alben W. Barkley, with 48.76% of the popular vote.^[3][4] This is the last time that New Castle County did not back the statewide winner and when the Democratic candidate would win a presidential election without Delaware.

This election marks one of three times in the 20th century that the state voted for the losing candidate, along with 1932 and 1916. As this was the last election until 2000 when Delaware failed to support the overall winner of the presidency, and the electoral college after which the state has leaned Democratic. However, it has since voted for the popular vote loser only twice, in 2004 and 2024.

Results

1948 United States presidential election in Delaware

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Thomas E. Dewey	69,588	50.04%
	Democratic	Harry S. Truman (inc.)	67,813	48.76%
	Progressive	Henry A. Wallace	1,050	0.75%
	Write-in		622	0.45%
Total votes			139,073	100.00%

Results by county

County	Thomas E. Dewey Republican		Harry S. Truman Democratic		Various candidates Other parties		Margin		Total votes cast
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Kent	8,501	50.63%	8,174	48.68%	115	0.69%	327	1.95%	16,790
New Castle	47,451	48.92%	48,117	49.60%	1,433	1.48%	-666	-0.68%	97,001
Sussex	13,626	53.94%	11,522	45.57%	124	0.49%	2,104	8.37%	25,272
Totals	69,588	50.04%	67,813	48.76%	1,672	1.20%	1,775	1.28%	139,073

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Kent

See also

• United States presidential elections in Delaware