1952 United States presidential election in North Carolina explained

See main article: 1952 United States presidential election.

Election Name:1952 United States presidential election in North Carolina
Country:North Carolina
Flag Year:1885
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:1948 United States presidential election in North Carolina
Previous Year:1948
Next Election:1956 United States presidential election in North Carolina
Next Year:1956
Votes For Election:All 14 North Carolina votes to the Electoral College
Election Date:November 4, 1952[1]
Image1:Adlai Stevenson close-up.jpg
Nominee1:Adlai Stevenson
Party1:Democratic Party (United States)
Home State1:Illinois
Running Mate1:John Sparkman
Electoral Vote1:14
Popular Vote1:652,803
Percentage1:53.91%
Nominee2:Dwight D. Eisenhower
Party2:Republican Party (United States)
Home State2:New York[2]
Running Mate2:Richard Nixon
Electoral Vote2:0
Popular Vote2:558,107
Percentage2:46.09%
President
Before Election:Harry S. Truman
Before Party:Democratic Party (United States)
After Election:Dwight D. Eisenhower
After Party:Republican Party (United States)

The 1952 United States presidential election in North Carolina took place on November 4, 1952, as part of the 1952 United States presidential election. North Carolina voters chose 14[3] representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

As a former Confederate state, North Carolina had a history of Jim Crow laws, disfranchisement of its African-American population and dominance of the Democratic Party in state politics. However, unlike the Deep South, the Republican Party had sufficient historic Unionist white support from the mountains and northwestern Piedmont to gain one-third of the statewide vote total in most general elections,[4] where turnout was higher than elsewhere in the former Confederacy due substantially to the state's early abolition of the poll tax in 1920.[5] Like Virginia, Tennessee and Oklahoma, the relative strength of Republican opposition meant that North Carolina did not have statewide white primaries, although certain counties did use the white primary.[6] This persistent local Republican threat from mountain Unionist descendants meant that there was never any question of the state Democratic party bolting to support Strom Thurmond.[7] [8] Additionally, the greatest support for Thurmond was found in middle- and upper-class urban areas of the Piedmont,[9] so that the best Dixiecrat counties correlated strongly with the largest urban areas.[10]

During Truman's second term, there was little satisfaction in North Carolina with the President, due to unresolved Civil Rights struggles, strikes, and evidence of corruption in the Democratic Party.[11] At the beginning of the presidential campaign, though, there was no indication that the state would not back new Democratic nominee Adlai Stevenson, and all state Democrats endorsed him.[12] Stevenson began his campaign in North Carolina in late July,[13] but did not return to the state as it was felt by September that Republican nominee and Columbia University President Dwight D. Eisenhower had less chance than in Florida, Texas or the Dixiecrat states of Louisiana and South Carolina.[14] Stevenson was helped by the fact that, much more than in other Southern States, North Carolina's press largely endorsed him over Eisenhower,[14] although in mid-October one of the two largest papers was endorsing the Republican.[15] Nonetheless, polls ten days before the election suggested Stevenson was very likely to carry the state due to the party loyalty created by viable mountain and northwest Piedmont Republican opposition.[16]

Because the Black Belt of the state, unlike the economically conservative Black Belts of the Deep South, was economically more liberal than the Piedmont region where the establishment Democratic faction led since 1929 by O. Max Gardner was based,[17] its entirely white electorate stayed exceedingly loyal to Stevenson – much more so than the Black Belts of other Outer South states. This Democratic loyalty extended to the Outer Banks, which had been a center of anti-Catholic voting when Herbert Hoover carried the state in 1928,[10] so that apart from a seven-vote win in Brunswick County, every county Eisenhower carried was in the urban Piedmont or traditionally GOP mountains. Thus, unlike Texas, Florida and Virginia, urban middle-class Republican voting was inadequate to carry the state for Eisenhower.

North Carolina was ultimately won by Governor Stevenson with 53.91 percent of the popular vote, against Eisenhower with 46.09 percent of the popular vote.[18] [19] Stevenson ran with Alabama Senator John Sparkman and Eisenhower with California Senator Richard Nixon.

Results

Results by county

County[20] Adlai Stevenson
Democratic
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Republican
MarginTotal
%%%
Alamance13,40254.06%11,38845.94%2,0148.12%24,790
Alexander2,66542.56%3,59757.44%-932-14.88%6,262
Alleghany1,80950.28%1,78949.72%200.56%3,598
Anson4,14369.21%1,84330.79%2,30038.42%5,986
Ashe4,53649.85%4,56350.15%-27-0.30%9,099
Avery96420.56%3,72579.44%-2,761-58.88%4,689
Beaufort5,42969.31%2,40430.69%3,02538.62%7,833
Bertie3,55790.26%3849.74%3,17380.52%3,941
Bladen3,50667.22%1,71032.78%1,79634.44%5,216
Brunswick2,95149.94%2,95850.06%-7-0.12%5,909
Buncombe22,42547.85%24,44452.15%-2,019-4.30%46,869
Burke7,73241.03%11,11358.97%-3,381-17.94%18,845
Cabarrus9,14037.78%15,05362.22%-5,913-24.44%24,193
Caldwell7,53345.13%9,16054.87%-1,627-9.74%16,693
Camden99674.55%34025.45%65649.10%1,336
Carteret4,28059.06%2,96740.94%1,31318.12%7,247
Caswell2,59772.75%97327.25%1,62445.50%3,570
Catawba11,55440.73%16,81459.27%-5,260-18.54%28,368
Chatham4,30354.41%3,60645.59%6978.82%7,909
Cherokee3,36351.02%3,22848.98%1352.04%6,591
Chowan1,44872.95%53727.05%91145.90%1,985
Clay1,43949.93%1,44350.07%-4-0.14%2,882
Cleveland9,70956.07%7,60643.93%2,10312.14%17,315
Columbus6,94169.81%3,00130.19%3,94039.62%9,942
Craven6,09268.34%2,82231.66%3,27036.68%8,914
Cumberland8,83954.18%7,47445.82%1,3658.36%16,313
Currituck1,47178.04%41421.96%1,05756.08%1,885
Dare95955.56%76744.44%19211.12%1,726
Davidson10,93143.33%14,29956.67%-3,368-13.34%25,230
Davie2,40637.50%4,01062.50%-1,604-25.00%6,416
Duplin6,39275.14%2,11524.86%4,27750.28%8,507
Durham18,89762.58%11,30137.42%7,59625.16%30,198
Edgecombe8,50481.53%1,92718.47%6,57763.06%10,431
Forsyth24,53548.14%26,43651.86%-1,901-3.72%50,971
Franklin5,37687.90%74012.10%4,63675.80%6,116
Gaston17,78148.14%19,15751.86%-1,376-3.72%36,938
Gates1,24777.41%36422.59%88354.82%1,611
Graham1,59053.54%1,38046.46%2107.08%2,970
Granville4,58379.72%1,16620.28%3,41759.44%5,749
Greene2,97694.12%1865.88%2,79088.24%3,162
Guilford29,02846.57%33,31053.43%-4,282-6.86%62,338
Halifax8,80779.94%2,21020.06%6,59759.88%11,017
Harnett7,59563.82%4,30636.18%3,28927.64%11,901
Haywood8,76158.86%6,12441.14%2,63717.72%14,885
Henderson3,80330.25%8,76869.75%-4,965-39.50%12,571
Hertford2,85983.16%57916.84%2,28066.32%3,438
Hoke1,76174.08%61625.92%1,14548.16%2,377
Hyde91969.36%40630.64%51338.72%1,325
Iredell8,58042.09%11,80457.91%-3,224-15.82%20,384
Jackson4,29653.86%3,68046.14%6167.72%7,976
Johnston9,99764.81%5,42935.19%4,56829.62%15,426
Jones1,67383.48%33116.52%1,34266.96%2,004
Lee4,68869.01%2,10530.99%2,58338.02%6,793
Lenoir6,72375.07%2,23324.93%4,49050.14%8,956
Lincoln5,38946.39%6,22853.61%-839-7.22%11,617
Macon3,39650.51%3,32749.49%691.02%6,723
Madison3,66643.55%4,75156.45%-1,085-12.90%8,417
Martin5,49392.98%4157.02%5,07885.96%5,908
McDowell4,75550.24%4,71049.76%450.48%9,465
Mecklenburg33,04442.70%44,33457.30%-11,290-14.60%77,378
Mitchell1,23623.57%4,00976.43%-2,773-52.86%5,245
Montgomery3,17649.96%3,18150.04%-5-0.08%6,357
Moore5,06648.21%5,44251.79%-376-3.58%10,508
Nash10,42479.82%2,63620.18%7,78859.64%13,060
New Hanover10,33052.54%9,33047.46%1,0005.08%19,660
Northampton4,33488.14%58311.86%3,75176.28%4,917
Onslow4,27577.22%1,26122.78%3,01454.44%5,536
Orange5,15657.49%3,81342.51%1,34314.98%8,969
Pamlico1,42861.26%90338.74%52522.52%2,331
Pasquotank3,57963.01%2,10136.99%1,47826.02%5,680
Pender2,02963.78%1,15236.22%87727.56%3,181
Perquimans1,24565.91%64434.09%60131.82%1,889
Person4,26675.64%1,37424.36%2,89251.28%5,640
Pitt11,27183.65%2,20316.35%9,06867.30%13,474
Polk2,74151.70%2,56148.30%1803.40%5,302
Randolph8,97541.93%12,42958.07%-3,454-16.14%21,404
Richmond7,34068.59%3,36131.41%3,97937.18%10,701
Robeson9,31169.29%4,12730.71%5,18438.58%13,438
Rockingham12,42364.34%6,88535.66%5,53828.68%19,308
Rowan11,29639.18%17,53560.82%-6,239-21.64%28,831
Rutherford7,75548.04%8,38751.96%-632-3.92%16,142
Sampson6,95651.89%6,44948.11%5073.78%13,405
Scotland2,91264.68%1,59035.32%1,32229.36%4,502
Stanly7,20241.64%10,09358.36%-2,891-16.72%17,295
Stokes4,50454.29%3,79245.71%7128.58%8,296
Surry8,20651.95%7,59148.05%6153.90%15,797
Swain1,94953.71%1,68046.29%2697.42%3,629
Transylvania3,64147.36%4,04752.64%-406-5.28%7,688
Tyrrell91670.41%38529.59%53140.82%1,301
Union7,41666.18%3,79033.82%3,62632.36%11,206
Vance5,69776.80%1,72123.20%3,97653.60%7,418
Wake23,39360.84%15,05739.16%8,33621.68%38,450
Warren2,96081.68%66418.32%2,29663.36%3,624
Washington1,97471.83%77428.17%1,20043.66%2,748
Watauga3,60044.30%4,52755.70%-927-11.40%8,127
Wayne7,28160.96%4,66239.04%2,61921.92%11,943
Wilkes7,14338.43%11,44661.57%-4,303-23.14%18,589
Wilson8,68477.17%2,56922.83%6,11554.34%11,253
Yadkin2,78633.46%5,54066.54%-2,754-33.08%8,326
Yancey3,69355.57%2,95344.43%74011.14%6,646
Totals652,80353.91%558,10746.09%94,6967.82%1,210,910

Notes and References

  1. Web site: United States Presidential election of 1952 - Encyclopædia Britannica. July 25, 2017.
  2. Web site: U.S. presidential election, 1952 . Facts on File . October 24, 2013 . Eisenhower, born in Texas, considered a resident of New York, and headquartered at the time in Paris, finally decided to run for the Republican nomination . https://web.archive.org/web/20131029195323/http://www.fofweb.com/History/HistRefMain.asp?iPin=EAPPE0334&SID=2&DatabaseName=American+History+Online&InputText=%22presidential+election+1952%22&SearchStyle=&dTitle=U.S.+presidential+election%2C+1952&TabRecordType=Subject+Entry&BioCountPass=0&SubCountPass=1&DocCountPass=0&ImgCountPass=0&MapCountPass=0&FedCountPass=&MedCountPass=0&NewsCountPass=0&RecPosition=1&AmericanData=Set . October 29, 2013 . dead .
  3. Web site: 1952 Election for the Forty-Second Term (1953-57). July 25, 2017.
  4. Book: Phillips, Kevin P.. The Emerging Republican Majority. 978-0-691-16324-6. 210, 242.
  5. Book: Key, Valdimer Orlando. Southern Politics in State and Nation. Alfred A. Knopf. 1949. 502.
  6. Klarman. Michael J.. 2001. The White Primary Rulings: A Case Study in the Consequences of Supreme Court Decision-Making. Florida State University Law Review. 29. 55–107.
  7. Ader. Emile B.. August 1953. Why the Dixiecrats Failed. The Journal of Politics. 15. 3. 356–369.
  8. Guthrie. Paul Daniel. The Dixiecrat Movement of 1948. Bowling Green State University. August 1955. 144207. 183.
  9. Phillips. The Emerging Republican Majority, p. 297
  10. See Strong. Donald S.. August 1955. The Presidential Election in the South, 1952. The Journal of Politics. 17. 3. 343–389.
  11. Grayson. A.G.. December 1975. North Carolina and Harry Truman, 1944-1948. Journal of American Studies. 9. 3. 283–300.
  12. News: August 3, 1952 . Dixie Sun Smiles on Eisenhower: Ike Could Win 79 Votes in South . C41 . Daily Boston Globe.
  13. News: July 27, 1952. Democrats Expect To Win the South: Leaders Believe Sparkman Will Offset Eisenhower's Appeal to Dixie Bloc. 38. The New York Times.
  14. News: September 18, 1952. South not so Solid, Press Poll Hints: Survey by the A.P. Indicates Eisenhower Might "Pull" 3 to 5 States to G.O.P.. 19. The New York Times. Associated Press.
  15. News: October 12, 1952. Nominees Share 2 Papers: One in North Carolina Endorses Eisenhower, One Stevenson. 78. The New York Times.
  16. News: Popham. John N.. October 24, 1952. Party Fealty Firm in North Carolina: State Has Remained Regular During Fair Deal and Seems Likely to Do So No . Special to the New York Times. 18. The New York Times.
  17. Key. Southern Politics in State and Nation, pp. 215-217
  18. Web site: 1952 Presidential General Election Results – North Carolina. July 25, 2017.
  19. Web site: The American Presidency Project – Election of 1952. July 25, 2017.
  20. Web site: Our Campaigns. NC US President Race, November 04, 1952.