How Each State Voted for President During World War II

Have you ever wondered how each state voted for President during the Second World War? World War II was host to at least one presidential election, and it was a pivotal one given the progress of the war. 1944 was a very important year for the Allies, and all eyes were on the United States.

Alabama

Starting our list with 11 electoral votes for the incumbent is Alabama. Alabama still believed in Roosevelt’s leadership and voted for president in the same fashion as it had in the 1940 election.

Arizona

Arizona follows Alabama’s lead when it comes to how it voted for president. With 4 electoral votes going to FDR, it isn’t much of a surprise. His popularity during the war years cannot be understated.

Arkansas

Arkansas wasn’t the odd man out considering how it voted for president. It sent 9 electoral votes to FDR, helping to seal his third and final term as the United States President. One interesting thing to note during this election is most of the Southern states voted Democrat as you’ll see.

California

With 25 electoral votes, it isn’t much of a surprise how California voted for president. FDR might not have been homegrown, but he carried a whopping 56% of the popular vote in the state as well.

Colorado

Colorado is the first real outlier on our list, but there are a few more when looking at how they voted for president. With 6 electoral votes, Colorado opted for Roosevelt’s opponent Thomas E. Dewey.

Connecticut

FDR won out again in Connecticut. The state has 8 electoral college votes and voted for president the same way it did during the 1940 election. It was a fairly close race between FDR and Dewey, with the former only securing 52.3% of the popular vote.

Delaware

The current president’s home state only has a paltry 3 electoral votes to contribute. However, when it came to how it voted for president, it went for FDR during the 1944 election. This was another close race, with FDR only securing around 54% of the popular vote.

Florida

FDR took Florida by a literal landslide it would seem. The Sunshine State’s 8 electoral votes went to FDR with a staggering 70% of the popular vote in the state. Dewey didn’t have a chance when it came to how Florida voted for president.

Georgia

Echoing an earlier statement, Georgia was staunchly democratic in the 1940s. As such, when it came to how the state voted for president, there seemed to be only one option. FDR walked away with all 12 electoral votes and a staggering 81% of the popular vote.

Idaho

While it might have a reputation as a flyover state, that doesn’t make Idaho any less important when it comes to elections. As to how it voted for president, it continued the trend of supporting FDR. At 51% of the popular vote, Idaho leaned towards FDR.

Illinois

Home to Chicago and several other charming little cities, Illinois has a huge population to pull from. Interestingly, it has more electoral votes than California to contribute to the election. This was another close race when it came to how it voted for president, but Illinois ultimately went to FDR.

Indiana

The next three states are departures from the norm, with all 13 electoral votes going to Dewey. This was a fairly close race when it came to how the state voted for president. Dewey only won with 52% of the popular vote.

Iowa

At nearly 52% of the popular vote, Iowa went with Dewey during the election. I can’t speak with much authority on Iowa’s political history, so this is an interesting note on how it voted for president. That said, the state has a fairly sizable 10 electoral votes to contribute.

Kansas

We’re continuing the trend toward Dewey with Kansas. Kansas doesn’t have much in the way of electoral votes, only possessing 8 to contribute. When it comes down to how it voted for president, Kansas had a fairly strong 60% toward Dewey.

Kentucky

While its status as a Southern state is debatable depending on where you are, there is no argument about how Kentucky voted for president. All 11 of its electoral votes went to FDR, helping to secure his win over Dewey in the 1944 election.

Louisiana

Talk about a landslide when it comes to how a state voted for president. FDR was always going to win Louisiana it would see, but at 80% of the popular vote, it was a runaway victory for the incumbent.

Maine

Maine is another odd man out when it comes to how states voted for president. It might not have much in the way of electoral college votes, with a rather small 5 to contribute. However, those 5 all went to Thomas Dewey in the 1944 election.

Maryland

We’re back in democrat territory with how Maryland voted for president. The state had a fairly close race when it came down to how it voted. However, the 8 electoral votes ultimately would go to FDR, securing his historic third term as the president.

Massachusetts

With a state as blue historically as Massachusetts, it probably doesn’t come as a surprise how it voted for president. However, it is a much closer race than you might think loving over the historical data. Those crucial 16 electoral votes were won in a close race where FDR only had 52% of the popular vote.

Michigan

Talk about your neck-and-neck races when it comes to how a state voted for president. Michigan is one of the original hearts of American industry, and it was just about equally divided when it came to the 1944 election. Roosevelt pulled ahead with 50.19% of the popular vote, a razor’s edge if there ever was one.

Minnesota

This is another state with yet another close race at the heart of how it voted for president. Minnesota ultimately went to FDR, but with 52% of the popular vote, it was a fairly close competition between both major candidates.

Mississippi

It still is rather strange seeing how blue even parts of the Deep South could be. While Mississippi only had 9 electoral college votes, they ultimately went to FDR in what could charitably be described as a landslide. The incumbent received 93% of the popular vote to secure the win.

Missouri

Another state, another close race when it comes to how it voted for president. Missouri ultimately went blue in the 1944 election. FDR had a hard-fought victory, however, winning with only 51% of the popular vote.

Montana

There wasn’t much in the way of electoral votes in 1944 for the state of Montana. However, the 4 votes it did have went to FDR. This doesn’t come as much of a shock when looking at how many states voted for the president in the 1944 election.

Nebraska

We’re back with another of the outliers in the 1944 Presidential Election. Nebraska has a slim number of electoral votes, but every bit counts when it comes to how a state voted for president during the election. Nebraska would ultimately go to Dewey.

Nevada

Nevada only has 3 electoral votes, which is probably the most shocking fact I learned while researching this piece. That said, those 3 electoral votes ended up going to FDR in a fairly close race. It is honestly more surprising when someone like Dewey wins a state looking at 1944 as a whole.

New Hampshire

Another state, another win for FDR. New Hampshire ended up awarding its 4 electoral votes to FDR, which isn’t surprising when looking at how most states voted for president. That said, this was another close race, with FDR only securing 52% of the popular vote.

New Jersey

With 16 electoral votes in total, New Jersey is a key state to win for any hopeful president. You are looking at one of the tightest races in all of 1944 with how it voted for president, however. FDR only won New Jersey with 50.31% of the popular vote.

New Mexico

We’ve got another smaller state in terms of electoral votes before continuing to the heavy hitters. New Mexico voted for president in the same manner as most states during this election. Ultimately, all 4 electoral votes would be awarded to FDR.

New York

New York is one of the most populated states in the contiguous United States. As such, it has a staggering 47 electoral votes to award. This was a fairly close race, so it could’ve gone either way when it came to how it voted for president. FDR would secure the victory and receive all 47 votes in the end.

North Carolina

As one of the crown jewels of the Southeast, there is plenty to love around North Carolina. This is another of the states that were deep blue up until around the 1960s. FDR won a handy victory here, with 66% of the popular vote to secure all 14 electoral votes.

North Dakota

We are more than halfway through the list now. Interestingly, Hawaii and Alaska weren’t yet incorporated into the United States. That wouldn’t happen until 1959. However, North Dakota and its 4 electoral votes were certainly up for grabs. It ultimately went to Dewey, being yet another departure on how states voted for president.

Ohio

Ohio has a surprising 25 electoral votes, as much as California possessed in 1944. As to how the state voted for president, it ultimately went to Dewey. It was a close race but Dewey eked out a win against all odds when considering the competition.

Oklahoma

The next few states aren’t going to hold very many surprises on how they voted for president. Oklahoma might not have a ton of electoral votes, but all 10 ultimately went to FDR in the 1944 election. This isn’t entirely surprising, given what we know of history.

Oregon

Oregon’s 6 electoral votes were among many up for grabs in the 1944 election. As to how it voted for president, that won’t be much of a surprise. FDR secured the election narrowly and was more than primed for his final term in office.

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is an outlier when looking at the Eastern Seaboard. That said, it was a fairly close race when it came to how the state voted for president. FDR would win the 35 electoral votes, but with only 51% of the popular vote, it was a close race.

Rhode Island

Rhode Island is a tiny state with a suitably smaller population. That said, it went blue during the 1944 election when it came to how it voted for president. FDR would win by nearly 59% of the popular vote to secure the 4 electoral votes up for grabs.

South Carolina

This is probably the most surprising entry on this list for me. I’m a long-time resident of the state, so it is always a shock to see just how deeply blue South Carolina once voted for president. There were only 8 electoral votes up for grabs, but FDR ran away with the race at 87% of the popular vote.

South Dakota

South Dakota held fast with its neighboring North Dakota. There wasn’t much in the way of electoral votes to nab, but every little bit counts in a race for president. All 4 of South Dakota’s electoral votes ended up going to Dewey in a closer race with 58% of the popular vote in his favor.

Tennessee

Tennessee has always been the odd man out in the Deep South. The state itself remains purple or semi-blue, especially as we approach the 2024 election. 80 years ago, the same held it would seem. This was a close race with 60% of the popular vote going to FDR to win all 12 electoral votes.

Texas

FDR ran away with Texas, which might be surprising looking at today’s political climate. Still, when it came down to how the Lone Star State voted for president, it was overwhelmingly in favor of FDR. The incumbent president received 71% of the popular vote to win all 23 electoral votes.

Utah

We’re steadily approaching the end of our exhaustive look at how every state voted for president. Utah only had 4 electoral votes in 1944, and all of them went to FDR with 60% of the popular vote indicating voting trends.

Vermont

Vermont’s population in 1944 was positively tiny. Interestingly, 57% of the voters ended up going for Dewey. I can’t speak with any authority on political trends in Vermont, but given the backdrop historically it does come across as an oddity for how the state voted for president.

Virginia

Virginia is right near the District of Columbia and always acts as a bit of a wildcard when considering the American South. That said when you look at how it voted for president in 1944, it might not come as much of a surprise. Staying in line with the rest of the South, it ended up going to FDR with 62% of the popular vote and 11 electoral votes in his favor.

Washington

With almost 57% of the popular vote, Washington would end up another win for FDR. It does make for an interesting thought to consider how Dewey would’ve handled the final year of the Second World War. That said, we’ll never know thanks to how so many states voted for president.

West Virginia

West Virginia doesn’t have very many electoral votes to contribute to a race at 8. That said, nearly 55% of the voters in the election ended up siding with FDR in the 1944 election. It isn’t much of a surprise looking at the rest of the South. This is the last entry on our list that sided with the incumbent president.

Wisconsin

This was a fairly close race when you look at how Wisconsin voted for president. Dewey only received around 51% of the popular vote, but it was still a victory in his favor. All 12 electoral votes for the state would end up going to Dewey in a close race.

Wyoming

Last, but certainly not least, is Wyoming. With only 3 electoral votes up for grabs, the state would just be the icing on the cake for any would-be candidate. However, the race ultimately was won by Dewey, who secured 51% of the popular vote for all 3 electoral votes.

The image featured at the top of this post is ©National Archives and Records Administration / Public Domain.