1944 United States presidential election in Wyoming

1944 United States presidential election in Wyoming

← 1940 November 7, 1944 1948 →

Nominee Thomas E. Dewey Franklin D. Roosevelt Party Republican Democratic Home state New York New York Running mate John W. Bricker Harry S. Truman Electoral vote 3 0 Popular vote 51,921 49,419 Percentage 51.23% 48.77%

County Results Dewey   50-60%   60-70% Roosevelt   50-60%   60-70%

President before election Franklin D. Roosevelt Democratic Elected President Franklin D. Roosevelt Democratic

Elections in Wyoming
Federal government Presidential elections 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Presidential caucuses Democratic 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Republican 2008 2012 2016 2024 U.S. Senate elections 1890 1895 1895 sp 1899 1901 1905 1907 1911 1913 1916 1918 1922 1924 1928 1930 1930 sp 1934 1934 sp 1936 1940 1942 1946 1948 1952 1954 1954 sp 1958 1960 1962 sp 1964 1966 1970 1972 1976 1978 1982 1984 1988 1990 1994 1996 2000 2002 2006 2008 2008 sp 2012 2014 2018 2020 2024 2026 U.S. House of Representatives elections 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1989 sp 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
State government General elections 1890 1894 1898 1902 1904 1906 1910 1914 1918 1922 1926 1930 1934 1938 1942 1946 1950 1952 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 Gubernatorial elections 1890 1892 sp 1894 1898 1902 1904 sp 1906 1910 1914 1918 1922 1924 sp 1926 1930 1932 sp 1934 1938 1942 1946 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026 Secretary of State elections 2014 2018 2022 Senate elections 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 House of Representatives elections 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
Cheyenne Mayoral elections 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Casper Mayoral elections 2017 2021 2025
Gillette Mayoral elections 2018 2022 2022
Laramie Mayoral elections 2017 2021 2025
v t e

The 1944 United States presidential election in Wyoming took place on November 7, 1944, as part of the 1944 United States presidential election. State voters chose three representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Wyoming was won by the Republican nominee, Governor of New York Thomas Dewey, running with Governor of Ohio John W. Bricker, by a 2.5% margin of victory, with 51.23 percent of the popular vote against incumbent Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt, running with Missouri Senator Harry S. Truman, with 48.77 percent of the popular vote, becoming the first Republican to win Wyoming since Herbert Hoover in 1928, sixteen years earlier.^[1]

This election was conducted in the midst of The Second World War, which was going well for America and the Allied Powers, Dewey campaigned against The New Deal, arguing in support of a smaller government and repealing many of the wartime regulations on the economy, as the end of the war appeared in sight. Roosevelt, now running for an unprecedented 4th term, faced allegations of poor health, which he would attempt to dispel by campaigning vigorously across the country, especially in the last month of the campaign, in October.^[2] Though many were weary of Roosevelt's long tenure, as Americans were used to Presidents only seeking two terms, Roosevelt's longstanding popularity would prove too difficult to overcome, and major American victories in Europe and the Pacific, such as The Liberation of Paris in France, and the Battle of Leyte Gulf in the Philippines gave Americans little to no reason to switch leadership in this election, and made Roosevelt unbeatable, with him leading Dewey in all pre-election polls.

Though voters nationwide would prefer Roosevelt over Dewey, voters in Wyoming, despite the fact that they had voted for Roosevelt by 6 points just 4 years ago in 1940, choose Dewey over Roosevelt, a sign of the conservative bastion that the state would become in future elections; indeed, Wyoming has only voted for the Democratic nominee twice since then, in 1948 and 1964. Dewey flipped 4 counties that Roosevelt won in 1940; Teton, Natrona, Park, and Platte. Additionally, he significantly closed the gaps in the rest of Wyoming's counties, losing the bellwether county of Albany by just 4.2%, compared to Wendell Willkie who had lost it by 18.5%, losing Sheridan by just 0.8% compared to Willkie's 7.5% loss, Laramie by 1.5% versus Willkie's 13.4% margin, Hot Springs and Carbon counties by 5% versus Willkie's 16.1% and 8.7% losses, respectively. Though his margin was narrow, and the state would remain a tossup in the next cycle, Wyoming's growing Republican trend was evidenced not only by Dewey being the first Republican to win it since 1928, but by Republican success in the 1942 midterm elections, when Republicans gained control of the state's Class II Senate seat and lone House seat.

This marked the first time since Grover Cleveland in 1892 that a Democrat won the presidency without carrying Wyoming. Despite his victory in this election, Dewey would go on to lose the state to Harry Truman in 1948, when he lost in an upset. This would be the last time until 1992 that a Republican would win Wyoming without getting 70% of the vote in at least one county. Wyoming weighed in as 10 points more Republican than the rest of the nation in this election.