1940 Republican Party presidential primaries


The 1940 Republican presidential primaries were the selection process by which voters of the Republican Party chose delegates to nominate a candidate President of the United States at the 1940 Republican National Convention. The nominee was selected at the convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from June 24–28, 1940,.
The primaries were contested mainly by Manhattan District Attorney Thomas E. Dewey and Senators Robert A. Taft and Arthur Vandenberg, though only a few states' primaries featured two or more of these men.
By the start of the convention, only 300 of the 1,000 convention delegates had been pledged to a candidate, allowing businessman Wendell Willkie to be chosen as the Republican nominee without entering his name into any direct primaries or binding delegate selections.

Background

In the months leading up to the opening of the 1940 Republican National Convention, the three leading candidates for the GOP nomination were considered to be Senators Robert A. Taft of Ohio and Arthur Vandenberg of Michigan, and District Attorney Thomas E. Dewey of New York.
Taft was the leader of the GOP's conservative, isolationist wing, and his main strength was in his native Midwest and parts of the South.
Vandenberg, the senior Republican in the Senate, was the "favorite son" candidate of the Michigan delegation and was considered a possible compromise candidate.
Dewey, the District Attorney for Manhattan, had risen to national fame as the "Gangbuster" prosecutor who had sent numerous infamous mafia figures to prison, most notably "Lucky" Luciano, the organized-crime boss of New York City. In one of the most-watched races of the 1938 midterm elections, Dewey narrowly lost the New York gubernatorial election to incumbent Herbert Lehman.
However, each of the three leading candidates had exploitable weaknesses. Taft's outspoken isolationism and opposition to any American involvement in the European war convinced many Republican leaders that he could not win a general election. Dewey's relative youth – he was only 38 in 1940 – lack of foreign-policy experience weakened his candidacy as the Nazi threat emerged.
With less than one-third of convention delegates bound to any candidate through the primary campaign, an opening for a dark horse candidate existed.

Candidates

The following political leaders were candidates for the 1940 Republican presidential nomination:

Major candidates

These candidates participated in multiple state primaries or were included in multiple major national polls.

Competing in primaries

Bypassing primaries

The following candidates did not actively campaign for any state's presidential primary, but may have had their name placed on the ballot by supporters or may have sought to influence to selection of un-elected delegates or sought the support of uncommitted delegates.

Favorite sons

The following candidates ran only in their home state's primary or caucus for the purpose of controlling its delegate slate at the convention and did not appear to be considered national candidates by the media.
The following persons were listed in a major national poll or were the subject of media speculation surrounding their potential candidacy, but declined to actively seek the nomination.

National polling

State polling

Illinois

Massachusetts

Michigan

Ohio

Wisconsin

Statewide contests

March 12 – New Hampshire

The New Hampshire primary was the first in the nation and widely considered one of the most notable at the outset of the process. The state elected four delegates at-large and two from each of the state's two congressional districts.
Though all delegates were formally uncommitted, J. Howard Gile of Nashua announced his intention to vote for Thomas Dewey — against the Dewey campaign's wishes. The Dewey campaign asked Gile to withdraw from the race; it was assumed Dewey had bypassed New Hampshire in respect and recognition of favorite-son presidential candidate Senator Styles Bridges, who ran as a delegate at-large.
In the Second Congressional District, James P. Richardson expressed his support of Dewey but did not formally pledge himself to any candidate. Most of the elected delegates expressed a non-binding preference for Senator Bridges.

April 2 – Wisconsin

The first competitive race was between Dewey and Vandenberg in Wisconsin. The state was expected to be favorable to Vandenberg, the Senator from neighboring Michigan. Vandenberg was also an opponent of expanded trade agreements, a supporter of dairy and beet farmers, an isolationist, and a supporter of the St. Lawrence Waterway project — all positions expected to gain him strong support in the state. It was also said that Vandenberg had the stronger, more popular slate of delegates. He was also seen to have the support of the state's many Progressive Party voters as against Dewey, but may have been hurt by those voters' last-second swing to support President Roosevelt in the Democratic primary.
Dewey gained support from voters and political leaders by announcing his support for the expansion of the St. Lawrence Waterway. After his endorsement, many of the state's Congressmen opted not to take sides in the race. Dewey also took a hit when the leadership of the state's active Progressive Party objected to a Dewey supporter's use of "Progressive" in campaign material.
Taft did not compete in the state.
Dewey, unlike Vandenberg, personally campaigned in Wisconsin. He held a barnstorming tour across the state in the final week of March.
Although Wisconsin held a delegate election and a preference poll on primary day, Dewey's name was not entered the latter; his campaign opted only to run a slate of delegates.
On election day, Dewey delegates won handily.
DatePrimaryDeweyVandenberg
April 2Wisconsin73%27%

April 9 – Illinois

The Illinois primary was initially expected to be one of the more competitive votes of the process. Congressman Hamilton Fish III filed to run in the election as an isolationist candidate, but later withdrew his name. Dewey was considered the heavy favorite to win the primary regardless.
Mayor of New York Fiorello La Guardia was also submitted as a candidate without his knowledge, but did not sign a statement of candidacy necessary to appear on the ballot and declined to be considered.
Dewey was left unopposed in the state's preference poll. None of the state's delegates, who were elected separately, were bound by the "advisory" result.
DatePrimaryThomas Dewey
April 9Illinois100%

April 9 – Nebraska

April 23 – Pennsylvania

April 30 – Massachusetts

In Massachusetts, all delegates were as a rule formally uncommitted, but could pledge themselves to a candidate if they wished. Two delegates from Springfield, Dudley Wallace and Clarence Brooks, attempted to pledge themselves to Dewey but were not granted the privilege.
In general, the division was not based on any presidential candidacy but was between an establishment Republican slate and an insurgent Townsendite slate supporting the institution of an old-age pension.
The establishment slate listed as delegates at-large Governor Leverett Saltonstall, Senator Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., U.S. House Minority Leader Joseph W. Martin Jr., and State Treasurer John W. Haigis. The insurgent slate listed William H. McMasters, Byron P. Hayden, Harry P. Gibbs, and Seldon G. Hill.

May 5 – South Dakota

May 6 – Maryland

May 7 – California

May 14 – Ohio

May 14 – West Virginia

May 17 – Oregon

May 21 – New Jersey

Following the results of the Wisconsin primary, Robert Taft withdrew his name from the New Jersey preference primary ballot, leaving Dewey unopposed. However, Wendell Willkie received a strong 5.55% of the vote as a write-in candidate.

Post-primary events and Convention

The Nazi Army's rapid blitz into France in May 1940 shook American public opinion, even as Taft was telling a Kansas audience that America must concentrate on domestic issues to prevent Roosevelt from using the international crisis to extend socialism at home. Both Dewey and Vandenberg also continued to oppose any aid to Britain that might lead to war with Germany. Nevertheless, sympathy for the embattled British was mounting daily, and this aided Willkie's candidacy. By mid-June, little over one week before the Republican Convention opened, the Gallup poll reported that Willkie had moved into second place with 17%, and that Dewey was slipping. Fueled by his favorable media attention, Willkie's pro-British statements won over many of the delegates. As the delegates were arriving in Philadelphia, Gallup reported that Willkie had surged to 29%, Dewey had slipped 5 more points to 47%, and Taft, Vandenberg and former President Herbert Hoover trailed at 8%, 8%, and 6% respectively. Hundreds of thousands, perhaps as many as one million, telegrams urging support for Willkie poured in, many from "Willkie Clubs" that had sprung up across the country. Millions more signed petitions circulating everywhere.
At the 1940 Republican National Convention itself, keynote speaker Harold Stassen, the Governor of Minnesota, announced his support for Willkie and became his official floor manager. Hundreds of vocal Willkie supporters packed the upper galleries of the convention hall. Willkie's amateur status, his fresh face, appealed to delegates as well as voters. The delegations were selected not by primaries but by party leaders in each state, and they had a keen sense of the fast-changing pulse of public opinion. Gallup found the same thing in polling data not reported until after the convention: Willkie had moved ahead among Republican voters by 44% to only 29% for the collapsing Dewey. As the pro-Willkie galleries repeatedly yelled "We Want Willkie", the delegates on the convention floor began their vote. Dewey led on the first ballot but steadily lost strength thereafter. Both Taft and Willkie gained in strength on each ballot, and by the fourth ballot it was obvious that either Willkie or Taft would be the nominee. The key moments came when the delegations of large states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New York left Dewey and Vandenberg and switched to Willkie, giving him the victory on the sixth ballot. The voting went like this:
ballot:123456
Thomas E. Dewey3603383152505711
Ohio Senator Robert A. Taft189203212254377310
Wendell L. Willkie105171259306429633
Michigan Senator Arthur Vandenberg7673726142-
Pennsylvania Governor Arthur H. James74665956591
Massachusetts Rep. Joseph W. Martin4426----
Hanford MacNider3234282642
Frank E. Gannett333011911
New Hampshire Senator Styles Bridges19911--
Former President Herbert Hoover17---209
Oregon Senator Charles L. McNary3101089-

Willkie's nomination is still considered by most historians to have been one of the most dramatic moments in any political convention. Having given little thought to who he would select as his vice-presidential nominee, Willkie left the decision to convention chairman and Massachusetts Congressman Joe Martin, the House Minority Leader, who suggested Senate Minority Leader Charles L. McNary of Oregon. Despite the fact that McNary had spearheaded a "Stop Willkie" campaign late in the balloting, the candidate picked him to be his running mate.
Charles L. McNary848
Dewey Short108
Styles Bridges2