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 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
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. 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 marked one of only three occasions during the 20th century in which Delaware voted for the losing presidential candidate, the others occurring in 1916 and 1932. 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
Results by county County Thomas E. DeweyRepublican Harry S. TrumanDemocratic Henry A. WallaceProgressive All OthersVarious Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # % # %Kent8,50150.63%8,17448.68%470.28%680.41%3271.95%16,790New Castle47,45148.92%48,11749.60%9500.98%4830.50%-666-0.69%97,001Sussex13,63653.94%11,52245.57%530.21%710.28%2,1148.36%25,282Totals69,58850.04%67,81348.76%1,0500.75%6220.45%1,7751.28%139,073
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Kent
See also United States presidential elections in Delaware
References