biggest upsets in U.S. presidential history. And it was her 19-year-old grandson's first time voting for president. All Rights Reserved. "Very, very important.". In the first round, a victorious candidate requires an absolute majority in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. One of my kids or somebody usually takes me. In 1948, the Republicans again chose Dewey as their presidential nominee, with Governor Earl Warren of California as his running mate. Just turned 18, it would be her first ballot cast for a U.S. president. With victory looking like a foregone conclusion for Dewey, the New York governor ran an uninspiring, risk-averse campaign. Thomas D. Mcavoy/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images. Numerous polls and pundits predicted a win for the Michigan native, New York governor and prominent gang-busting attorney. Rachel voted at the public safety complex in Guilford Tuesday morning, with storm clouds threatening. Rachel Russello has voted in every presidential election since 1946 and had no intention of missing this one: "It's very, very important." Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. But I cannot miss an election," she said. His onetime secretary of commerce (as well as Roosevelt’s vice president from 1941-45), Henry Wallace, who had a following among liberals, decided to run against his former boss as the Progressive Party’s candidate for the Oval Office. Even though not all the votes had been tallied at the time of the Tribune’s deadline, editors were confident in the multiple polls widely favoring Dewey to win. "It felt really good to vote," Alex said. CT Coronavirus Red Zone Map: 10 Towns Added, 6 Removed, Camp Rising Sun Selected As Premier Subaru's Local Charity, Gorgeous Wreath and Poinsettia Fundraiser for the Orchard House, Virtual Open House for Girls in Grades 6-12, PG, Guilford Weather Forecast For The Week Ahead, Guilford: Check Out 5 Local Homes For Sale, Beloved Coach Mourned; Teacher Unions Ask For Action: CT News. Rising inflation and labor unrest had contributed to the Democrats losing control of both chambers of Congress in 1946 for the first time in 14 years. The surprise victory of the plain-spoken Democratic nominee, Harry S Truman, would become one of the biggest upsets in U.S. presidential history—and it would forever be memorialized, thanks to an embarrassing newspaper gaffe. 725). On January 20, 1949, in America’s first nationally televised inauguration, Truman was sworn in to his first full term as America’s 33rd president. Tuesday, at 92, Rachel Russello of Guilford voted in her 18th presidential election with her son and her grandson by her side. And I never have. Four years later, he left the White House (he had been eligible to seek another term but announced in 1952 he would not do so) and retired to his hometown of Independence, Missouri. “Give ‘em hell, Harry” became a popular slogan among his supporters. The surprise victory of the plain-spoken Democratic nominee, Harry S. Truman, … "This is a very important election," she said. "Never. One newspaper contended his four major speeches could be reduced to four sentences: “Agriculture is important. The president embarked on a “whistle-stop” tour, traveling across America by train and giving speeches in which he spoke out against the “do-nothing” Republican-controlled 80th Congress. She opted not to do an absentee ballot, opting rather to vote in person. But in the 1948 elections, Truman faced significant political head winds. The future lies ahead.”. He died in 1971 at age 68. Heading into Election Day on November 2, 1948, it seemed like Thomas Dewey had the U.S. presidency in the bag. Each ballot can have at most three rounds. The president was on his way back to Washington from Missouri when his train stopped in St. Louis. © 2020 A&E Television Networks, LLC. Year after year, decade after decade. On Election Day, the newspaper had been required to go to press earlier than usual due to a printers’ strike. At 92, Rachel Russello of Guilford voted in her 18th presidential election with her son and her grandson by her side. Harry S. Truman’s unexpected election victory over Thomas Dewey was forever imprinted in history, thanks in part to a famous photo. Meanwhile, Truman launched an aggressive, populist-style campaign. The Democratic nominee, Truman, had ascended to the presidency following Franklin Roosevelt’s sudden death on April 12, 1945, just three months after he’d been sworn in for an unprecedented fourth term. But she was all smiles as her son Frank Russello and her grandson Alex Russello helped her from her walker into their car. Thurmond, the Dixiecrat, earned 39 electoral votes and 2.4 percent of the popular vote. It was in the station where Truman picked up a two-day-old copy of the Tribune. ", And grandson Alex agreed that voting in the election is "very important.". (The Tribune wasn’t the only one to mistakenly call the election for the New York governor; in covering the returns, a leading radio announcer, H.V. Presidential elections were held in Czechoslovakia on 19 June 1946. Nearly nine out of 10 of Connecticut's towns are in the state's red zone for coronavirus infections. Truman's underdog ticket racked up 303 electoral votes and 49.6 percent of the popular vote to Dewey’s 189 electoral votes and 45.1 percent of the popular vote. "I don't want to ever miss an election. So they reported that he had done just that. Heading into Election Day on November 2, 1948, it seemed like Thomas Dewey had the U.S. presidency in the bag. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. But, as a now-famous photograph would show, everyoneincluding the editors of the Chicago Tribunegot it wrong. In 1944, he won the Republican nomination for the White House but lost the general election to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. GUILFORD, CT — In the 1946 presidential election, the first one after World War II, there was a first-time voter named Rachel. Further diminishing Truman’s prospects were divisions within his own political party. Truman was even facing competition from within his own cabinet. The President was elected by the Federal Assembly, an electoral body that consists of all members of the Chamber of Deputies (300 members) and the Chamber of Nations (150 members) for at total of 450 members. Kaltenborn, informed his listeners that even though Truman was ahead, Dewey ultimately would wind up on top.). Our rivers are full of fish. Dewey made his name throughout the 1930s by prosecuting dozens of big-name mobsters, including Lucky Luciano and Waxey Gordon. FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. On Election Day, thanks to a coalition of voters that included organized labor, farmers, African Americans and Jews, Truman and his running mate, Senator Alben Barkley of Kentucky, pulled off their shocking victory. A now-famous photograph taken two days after the president’s come-from-behind triumph. His record helped in his election to governor of New York in 1942. Meanwhile, Dewey served as governor of New York through 1954 then he returned to practicing law. An interactive version of each map is also available, letting you change history. The plain-spoken Truman, a U.S. senator from Missouri before his brief vice-presidency, went on to lead the United States through the end of World War II and the transition to a peacetime economy. You cannot have freedom without liberty. But, as a now-famous photograph would show, everyone—including the editors of the Chicago Tribune—got it wrong. And every four years, Rachel cast her ballot. The Philippine presidential and vice presidential elections of 1946 were held on April 23, 1946 (pursuant to Commonwealth Act No. His civil rights initiatives had alienated the conservative, Southern wing of the organization. Numerous polls and pundits predicted a win for the Michigan native, New York governor and prominent gang-busting attorney. President Harry Truman, with wife Bess and daughter Margaret, waving from train during whistle-stop at Pocatello, Idaho in 1948. Truman died the following year at age 88. This page links to the results of those historical elections, including a larger map, results and synopsis of the race. This had spurred the formation of the States’ Rights Democratic Party (or Dixiecrats) and the selection of Governor Strom Thurmond of South Carolina as their presidential nominee. Holding the paper, which blared the erroneous banner headline, "Dewey Defeats Truman," Truman flashes a triumphant smile. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! To view maps and results from all prior presidential elections on a single page, see this historical elections timeline.