Prairie Polls: North Dakota's 1944 Electoral Landscape
An analytical deep dive into the state's presidential vote, county by county, examining the dynamics of a nation at war.
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Election Overview
National Context
The 1944 United States presidential election occurred during the height of World War II. Incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt sought his fourth term, facing Republican challenger Thomas E. Dewey. North Dakota, a state with a strong agricultural base and a history of progressive and populist movements, participated in this pivotal national election.
North Dakota's Electorate
In 1944, North Dakota was allocated four electoral votes. The state's voters cast their ballots on November 7, 1944, contributing to the national electoral count. The election results in North Dakota reflected a complex interplay of national sentiment, wartime concerns, and regional political leanings.
Key Contenders
The primary contest was between President Franklin D. Roosevelt, representing the Democratic Party, and Governor Thomas E. Dewey of New York, representing the Republican Party. Minor parties, including the Socialist and Prohibition parties, also fielded candidates, though their impact on the state's results was minimal.
Statewide Results
Vote Distribution
North Dakota ultimately favored the Republican candidate, Thomas E. Dewey, in the 1944 presidential election. This marked a slight shift from the previous election, indicating a nuanced response to the ongoing war and national leadership.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Thomas E. Dewey | 118,535 | 53.84% |
| Democratic | Franklin D. Roosevelt (inc.) | 100,144 | 45.48% |
| Socialist | Norman Thomas | 943 | 0.43% |
| Prohibition | Claude A. Watson | 549 | 0.25% |
| Total Votes | 220,171 | 100.00% | |
County-Level Analysis
Vote Patterns by County
Examining the results at the county level reveals the granular distribution of support for each candidate. The following table details the vote counts and percentages for each county, highlighting the margin of victory and the dominant party in each region.
| County | Dewey (R) | Roosevelt (D) | Thomas (S) | Watson (P) | Margin | Total Votes | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | |||
| Adams | 966 | 58.62% | 668 | 40.53% | 13 | 0.79% | 1 | 0.06% | 298 | 18.08% | 1,648 | |
| Barnes | 3,696 | 55.55% | 2,922 | 43.92% | 22 | 0.33% | 13 | 0.20% | 774 | 11.63% | 6,653 | |
| Benson | 1,726 | 43.04% | 2,261 | 56.38% | 17 | 0.42% | 6 | 0.15% | -535 | -13.34% | 4,010 | |
| Billings | 354 | 62.54% | 209 | 36.93% | 2 | 0.35% | 1 | 0.18% | 145 | 25.62% | 566 | |
| Bottineau | 2,663 | 57.15% | 1,953 | 41.91% | 38 | 0.82% | 6 | 0.13% | 710 | 15.24% | 4,660 | |
| Bowman | 785 | 55.67% | 609 | 43.19% | 15 | 1.06% | 1 | 0.07% | 176 | 12.48% | 1,410 | |
| Burke | 1,540 | 54.47% | 1,226 | 43.37% | 58 | 2.05% | 3 | 0.11% | 314 | 11.11% | 2,827 | |
| Burleigh | 4,616 | 59.95% | 3,061 | 39.75% | 14 | 0.18% | 9 | 0.12% | 1,555 | 20.19% | 7,700 | |
| Cass | 10,661 | 50.37% | 10,390 | 49.09% | 51 | 0.24% | 65 | 0.31% | 271 | 1.28% | 21,167 | |
| Cavalier | 2,011 | 46.68% | 2,274 | 52.79% | 4 | 0.09% | 19 | 0.44% | -263 | -6.10% | 4,308 | |
| Dickey | 2,134 | 61.11% | 1,339 | 38.34% | 9 | 0.26% | 10 | 0.29% | 795 | 22.77% | 3,492 | |
| Divide | 1,225 | 44.19% | 1,513 | 54.58% | 26 | 0.94% | 8 | 0.29% | -288 | -10.39% | 2,772 | |
| Dunn | 1,374 | 59.79% | 919 | 39.99% | 4 | 0.17% | 1 | 0.04% | 455 | 19.80% | 2,298 | |
| Eddy | 974 | 47.56% | 1,042 | 50.88% | 24 | 1.17% | 8 | 0.39% | -68 | -3.32% | 2,048 | |
| Emmons | 2,255 | 76.99% | 656 | 22.40% | 13 | 0.44% | 5 | 0.17% | 1,599 | 54.59% | 2,929 | |
| Foster | 891 | 44.39% | 1,102 | 54.91% | 11 | 0.55% | 3 | 0.15% | -211 | -10.51% | 2,007 | |
| Golden Valley | 709 | 61.23% | 443 | 38.26% | 4 | 0.35% | 2 | 0.17% | 266 | 22.97% | 1,158 | |
| Grand Forks | 5,668 | 42.19% | 7,707 | 57.37% | 18 | 0.13% | 41 | 0.31% | -2,039 | -15.18% | 13,434 | |
| Grant | 1,745 | 80.64% | 410 | 18.95% | 5 | 0.23% | 4 | 0.18% | 1,335 | 61.69% | 2,164 | |
| Griggs | 990 | 44.45% | 1,228 | 55.14% | 4 | 0.18% | 5 | 0.22% | -238 | -10.69% | 2,227 | |
| Hettinger | 1,812 | 76.42% | 554 | 23.37% | 4 | 0.17% | 1 | 0.04% | 1,258 | 53.06% | 2,371 | |
| Kidder | 1,397 | 66.43% | 693 | 32.95% | 5 | 0.24% | 8 | 0.38% | 704 | 33.48% | 2,103 | |
| LaMoure | 2,298 | 61.25% | 1,422 | 37.90% | 14 | 0.37% | 18 | 0.48% | 876 | 23.35% | 3,752 | |
| Logan | 1,904 | 86.47% | 294 | 13.35% | 3 | 0.14% | 1 | 0.05% | 1,610 | 73.12% | 2,202 | |
| McHenry | 3,141 | 61.44% | 1,934 | 37.83% | 24 | 0.47% | 13 | 0.25% | 1,207 | 23.61% | 5,112 | |
| McIntosh | 2,682 | 91.98% | 226 | 7.75% | 8 | 0.27% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,456 | 84.22% | 2,916 | |
| McKenzie | 1,241 | 43.35% | 1,592 | 55.61% | 9 | 0.31% | 21 | 0.73% | -351 | -12.26% | 2,863 | |
| McLean | 2,822 | 53.37% | 2,326 | 43.99% | 130 | 2.46% | 10 | 0.19% | 496 | 9.38% | 5,288 | |
| Mercer | 2,504 | 84.71% | 445 | 15.05% | 5 | 0.17% | 2 | 0.07% | 2,059 | 69.65% | 2,956 | |
| Morton | 3,537 | 65.32% | 1,850 | 34.16% | 20 | 0.37% | 8 | 0.15% | 1,687 | 31.15% | 5,415 | |
| Mountrail | 1,666 | 45.11% | 1,981 | 53.64% | 22 | 0.60% | 24 | 0.65% | -315 | -8.53% | 3,693 | |
| Nelson | 1,506 | 43.77% | 1,925 | 55.94% | 3 | 0.09% | 7 | 0.20% | -419 | -12.18% | 3,441 | |
| Oliver | 756 | 76.83% | 219 | 22.26% | 6 | 0.61% | 3 | 0.30% | 537 | 54.57% | 984 | |
| Pembina | 2,410 | 44.95% | 2,903 | 54.15% | 2 | 0.04% | 46 | 0.86% | -493 | -9.20% | 5,361 | |
| Pierce | 1,992 | 60.07% | 1,307 | 39.41% | 11 | 0.33% | 6 | 0.18% | 685 | 20.66% | 3,316 | |
| Ramsey | 2,505 | 49.28% | 2,539 | 49.95% | 29 | 0.57% | 10 | 0.20% | -34 | -0.67% | 5,083 | |
| Ransom | 2,044 | 55.06% | 1,639 | 44.15% | 21 | 0.57% | 8 | 0.22% | 405 | 10.91% | 3,712 | |
| Renville | 1,046 | 48.34% | 1,095 | 50.60% | 19 | 0.88% | 4 | 0.18% | -49 | -2.26% | 2,164 | |
| Richland | 4,402 | 57.74% | 3,192 | 41.87% | 11 | 0.14% | 19 | 0.25% | 1,210 | 15.87% | 7,624 | |
| Rolette | 1,070 | 37.78% | 1,745 | 61.62% | 12 | 0.42% | 5 | 0.18% | -675 | -23.83% | 2,832 | |
| Sargent | 1,488 | 50.72% | 1,426 | 48.60% | 11 | 0.37% | 9 | 0.31% | 62 | 2.11% | 2,934 | |
| Sheridan | 1,910 | 82.76% | 386 | 16.72% | 6 | 0.26% | 6 | 0.26% | 1,524 | 66.03% | 2,308 | |
| Sioux | 673 | 59.98% | 445 | 39.66% | 1 | 0.09% | 3 | 0.27% | 228 | 20.32% | 1,122 | |
| Slope | 434 | 49.43% | 439 | 50.00% | 5 | 0.57% | 0 | 0.00% | -5 | -0.57% | 878 | |
| Stark | 2,852 | 64.85% | 1,534 | 34.88% | 5 | 0.11% | 7 | 0.16% | 1,318 | 29.97% | 4,398 | |
| Steele | 1,042 | 43.89% | 1,320 | 55.60% | 8 | 0.34% | 4 | 0.17% | -278 | -11.71% | 2,374 | |
| Stutsman | 4,220 | 56.20% | 3,243 | 43.19% | 27 | 0.36% | 19 | 0.25% | 977 | 13.01% | 7,509 | |
| Towner | 1,097 | 47.99% | 1,185 | 51.84% | 3 | 0.13% | 1 | 0.04% | -88 | -3.85% | 2,286 | |
| Traill | 2,370 | 48.68% | 2,479 | 50.91% | 10 | 0.21% | 10 | 0.21% | -109 | -2.24% | 4,869 | |
| Walsh | 2,471 | 34.07% | 4,747 | 65.46% | 10 | 0.14% | 24 | 0.33% | -2,276 | -31.38% | 7,252 | |
| Ward | 5,514 | 48.30% | 5,822 | 50.99% | 58 | 0.51% | 23 | 0.20% | -308 | -2.70% | 11,417 | |
| Wells | 2,529 | 61.59% | 1,557 | 37.92% | 13 | 0.32% | 7 | 0.17% | 972 | 23.67% | 4,106 | |
| Williams | 2,217 | 36.57% | 3,748 | 61.82% | 87 | 1.43% | 11 | 0.18% | -1,531 | -25.25% | 6,063 | |
| Total | 118,535 | 53.84% | 100,144 | 45.48% | 954 | 0.43% | 549 | 0.25% | 18,391 | 8.35% | 220,182 | |
Political Shifts
Counties Flipped Democratic
In the 1944 election, several North Dakota counties shifted their allegiance from the Republican Party in 1940 to the Democratic Party. This trend suggests a subtle realignment in voter sentiment, potentially influenced by wartime factors or specific local dynamics.
- Cavalier County
- Ramsey County
- Slope County
- Towner County
- Traill County
These shifts, while not altering the statewide outcome, provide valuable insight into the evolving political landscape of North Dakota during this period.
Interpretations
The Republican victory in North Dakota in 1944, despite President Roosevelt's national win, can be attributed to several factors. The state's predominantly rural and agricultural economy might have responded differently to wartime policies or candidate platforms. Dewey's campaign likely resonated with segments of the population concerned about the war's duration or seeking a change in leadership, even amidst national unity.
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Disclaimer
Important Notice
This content has been generated by an Artificial Intelligence model, drawing upon publicly available data from Wikipedia. While efforts have been made to ensure accuracy and adherence to the source material, the information is presented for educational and informational purposes only.
This is not political or historical advice. The data reflects a specific point in time and may not encompass all nuances or interpretations. Users are encouraged to consult primary sources and scholarly analyses for comprehensive understanding.
The creators of this page are not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for any actions taken based on the information provided herein.