1952 United States presidential election — 42nd quadrennial U.S. presidential election
Eisenhower's 1952 landslide ended 20 years of Democratic presidential dominance, marking the first Republican White House victory since 1932.
Key Facts
- Eisenhower popular vote share
- 55.18%
- Eisenhower total votes
- 34 million+ votes
- Years since last Republican president
- 20 years
- First election without incumbent since
- 1928
- First televised presidential campaign
- 1952
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Republican discontent over the Korean War, Cold War anxieties, and President Truman's unpopularity created an opening for a popular war hero. General Eisenhower, celebrated for his World War II leadership, secured the Republican nomination over conservative Senator Robert Taft with backing from party moderates, while Democrats nominated Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson II.
On November 4, 1952, Americans voted in the first televised presidential election. Eisenhower and running mate Richard Nixon defeated Stevenson and John Sparkman by a wide margin. Eisenhower campaigned on Korean War dissatisfaction and personal popularity, winning 55.18% of the popular vote and carrying states across the South that had voted Democratic since Reconstruction.
Eisenhower's victory ended two decades of Democratic control of the presidency and set a new record for popular votes received by a presidential candidate, surpassing Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1936 total. Republicans made gains among urban and suburban Southerners and White ethnic voters in the Northeast and Midwest, foreshadowing demographic shifts in the party coalitions.
Political Outcome
Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower defeated Democrat Adlai Stevenson II in a landslide, winning 55.18% of the popular vote and breaking the solid South in four states.
Democratic presidency under Harry S. Truman
Republican presidency under Dwight D. Eisenhower