Presidential Primaries and Caucuses: The 1952 Democratic Party Primaries
1951 was not a good year for Harry Truman. The incumbent President had won an upset, come-from-behind victory in 1948. He was eligible to run for re-election in 1952 and he considered running for re-election. In Gallup polls taken before 1951, Truman finished strongly in first place, at anywhere between 35 and 44 percent. His closest opponent in these polls was Franklin Roosevelt Jr. who came in at anywhere between 12 and 22 percent.
That all changed in the next two years. As 1952 began, Truman saw his standing in opinion polls dripping rapidly. The war in Korea had began, and as casualties mounted, there was no end in sight in conflict, which was now going into its third year, Senator Joseph McCarthy's anti-Communist crusade was stirring up public fears of the “Red Menace” at home. Disclosure of widespread corruption among federal employees, including some high-level members of Truman's administration, spelled bad news for Truman.
Truman's first viable opponent was populist Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver. Kefauver had chaired a nationally televised investigation of organized crime in 1951. He had earned a reputation as a crusader against crime and corruption. The Gallup poll of February 15 showed Truman's popularity crashing. Nationally Truman was now the choice of only 36% of Democrats, compared to 21% for Kefauver. Among independent voters, Truman had only 18% support in Gallup's polling, while Kefauver led with 36%.
The message came through loud and clear for Truman in the New Hampshire primary, the first of 14 such contests held by the Democratic Party in 1952. When the primary arrived, Truman had not stated whether he would seek re-election. No other candidate had won Truman's backing. Although the Twenty-second Amendment had been ratified by this time, Truman could run for another term due to a grandfather clause in the amendment. Then Kefauver won an upset over Truman in the primary, winning 19,800 votes to Truman's 15,927. The contest was winner-take-all and capturing all eight delegates. Rather than gloat about his victory, Kefauver was gracious and said that he did not consider his victory "a repudiation of Administration policies, but a desire for new ideas and personalities."
Truman took the defeat very hard. He was stung by this loss, and after some soul-searching, he concluded that 1952 would not be a repeat of 1948 for him. Truman soon announced that he would not seek re-election. Later in his memoirs however, Truman maintained that he had decided not to run for re-election well before his defeat by Kefauver.
After Truman announced his withdrawal from the race, Kefauver became the front-runner for the nomination. His style of populism was well-suited for the primary system. He went on to win most of the remaining primaries, scoring victories in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Nebraska, Oregon and California. Minnesota Senator Hubert Humphrey won his home state, while Georgia Senator Richard Russell won the Florida Primary. There was no victor in the West Virginia Primary.
But in 1952, primaries were not the main method of delegate selection for the national convention. Kefauver came to the 1952 Democraric Party Convention in Chicago still needing a few hundred votes still for a majority of the delegates. Those states that did not hold primaries were guided by the leadership of local party leadership of bosses. Although he began the balloting far ahead of the other declared candidates, Kefauver eventually lost the nomination to Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson, the choice of the Democratic Party political bosses. Stevenson was a one-term governor who was up for reelection in 1952. He had resisted calls to enter the race. He was nominated as the result of a "Draft Stevenson" movement. He had delivered an eloquent keynote speech on the opening night of the convention.
Party bosses, especially the mayors and governors of large Northern and Midwestern states and cities, had enough clout in 1952 to choose the Democratic nominee. These bosses included President Truman. He had risen politically thanks to the help of Kansas City Democratic Party boss Tom Prendergast. All of these bosses strongly disliked Kefauver. His investigations of organized crime had revealed connections between mafia figures and many of the big-city Democratic political organizations. The party bosses considered Kefauver to be a maverick who could not be trusted, and they refused to support him for the nomination.
At the convention, with President Truman taking the lead, the party establishment began to search for a better alternative. They considered Senator Richard Russell of Georgia, who had a lot of Southern support. But his support of racial segregation and opposition to civil rights for Southern African-Americans led Northern delegates to reject him as a racist. Harry Truman liked U.S. diplomat W. Averell Harriman of New York, but Harriman had not yet ever held an elective office and Truman wanted someone with more political experience, Truman next turned to his Vice-President, Alben Barkley, but labor union leader considered the 74 year old Vice-President to be too old for the job.
The one candidate who seemed to tick all of the boxes for Truman and the bosses was Governor Adlai Stevenson II of Illinois. He was the grandson of former Vice-President Adlai E. Stevenson. He was a gifted orator, an intellectual, and a political moderate. In the spring of 1952 Truman had previously tried to convince Stevenson to take the presidential nomination, but Stevenson refused. He told Truman that he wanted to run for re-election as Governor of Illinois.
The 1952 Democratic National Convention was held in the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, the same venue where the Republicans had gathered two weeks earlier. The primary season had been decisively in Kefauver's favor and he had momentum coming in. Truman was still angry at the Tennessee Senator, who he pejoratively called Senator "Cow-Fever's". Kefauver had defeat of him in New Hampshire, but the Tennessee Senator was unable to get enough delegate strength at the convention to win the nomination outright.
It took three ballots for Stevenson to pull ahead of Kefauver and win the nomination, ultimately by a margin of 617.5 to 275.5. They chose a ticket of Adlai Stevenson and Alabama Senator John Sparkman as his running mate. The duo went on to lost the election to Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard M. Nixon on November 4, 1952. Despite the defeat, Stevenson was four years later again selected as the Democratic presidential nominee at the 1956 Democratic National Convention, this time with Kefauver as his running mate.
That all changed in the next two years. As 1952 began, Truman saw his standing in opinion polls dripping rapidly. The war in Korea had began, and as casualties mounted, there was no end in sight in conflict, which was now going into its third year, Senator Joseph McCarthy's anti-Communist crusade was stirring up public fears of the “Red Menace” at home. Disclosure of widespread corruption among federal employees, including some high-level members of Truman's administration, spelled bad news for Truman.
Truman's first viable opponent was populist Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver. Kefauver had chaired a nationally televised investigation of organized crime in 1951. He had earned a reputation as a crusader against crime and corruption. The Gallup poll of February 15 showed Truman's popularity crashing. Nationally Truman was now the choice of only 36% of Democrats, compared to 21% for Kefauver. Among independent voters, Truman had only 18% support in Gallup's polling, while Kefauver led with 36%.
The message came through loud and clear for Truman in the New Hampshire primary, the first of 14 such contests held by the Democratic Party in 1952. When the primary arrived, Truman had not stated whether he would seek re-election. No other candidate had won Truman's backing. Although the Twenty-second Amendment had been ratified by this time, Truman could run for another term due to a grandfather clause in the amendment. Then Kefauver won an upset over Truman in the primary, winning 19,800 votes to Truman's 15,927. The contest was winner-take-all and capturing all eight delegates. Rather than gloat about his victory, Kefauver was gracious and said that he did not consider his victory "a repudiation of Administration policies, but a desire for new ideas and personalities."
Truman took the defeat very hard. He was stung by this loss, and after some soul-searching, he concluded that 1952 would not be a repeat of 1948 for him. Truman soon announced that he would not seek re-election. Later in his memoirs however, Truman maintained that he had decided not to run for re-election well before his defeat by Kefauver.
After Truman announced his withdrawal from the race, Kefauver became the front-runner for the nomination. His style of populism was well-suited for the primary system. He went on to win most of the remaining primaries, scoring victories in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Nebraska, Oregon and California. Minnesota Senator Hubert Humphrey won his home state, while Georgia Senator Richard Russell won the Florida Primary. There was no victor in the West Virginia Primary.
But in 1952, primaries were not the main method of delegate selection for the national convention. Kefauver came to the 1952 Democraric Party Convention in Chicago still needing a few hundred votes still for a majority of the delegates. Those states that did not hold primaries were guided by the leadership of local party leadership of bosses. Although he began the balloting far ahead of the other declared candidates, Kefauver eventually lost the nomination to Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson, the choice of the Democratic Party political bosses. Stevenson was a one-term governor who was up for reelection in 1952. He had resisted calls to enter the race. He was nominated as the result of a "Draft Stevenson" movement. He had delivered an eloquent keynote speech on the opening night of the convention.
Party bosses, especially the mayors and governors of large Northern and Midwestern states and cities, had enough clout in 1952 to choose the Democratic nominee. These bosses included President Truman. He had risen politically thanks to the help of Kansas City Democratic Party boss Tom Prendergast. All of these bosses strongly disliked Kefauver. His investigations of organized crime had revealed connections between mafia figures and many of the big-city Democratic political organizations. The party bosses considered Kefauver to be a maverick who could not be trusted, and they refused to support him for the nomination.
At the convention, with President Truman taking the lead, the party establishment began to search for a better alternative. They considered Senator Richard Russell of Georgia, who had a lot of Southern support. But his support of racial segregation and opposition to civil rights for Southern African-Americans led Northern delegates to reject him as a racist. Harry Truman liked U.S. diplomat W. Averell Harriman of New York, but Harriman had not yet ever held an elective office and Truman wanted someone with more political experience, Truman next turned to his Vice-President, Alben Barkley, but labor union leader considered the 74 year old Vice-President to be too old for the job.
The one candidate who seemed to tick all of the boxes for Truman and the bosses was Governor Adlai Stevenson II of Illinois. He was the grandson of former Vice-President Adlai E. Stevenson. He was a gifted orator, an intellectual, and a political moderate. In the spring of 1952 Truman had previously tried to convince Stevenson to take the presidential nomination, but Stevenson refused. He told Truman that he wanted to run for re-election as Governor of Illinois.
The 1952 Democratic National Convention was held in the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, the same venue where the Republicans had gathered two weeks earlier. The primary season had been decisively in Kefauver's favor and he had momentum coming in. Truman was still angry at the Tennessee Senator, who he pejoratively called Senator "Cow-Fever's". Kefauver had defeat of him in New Hampshire, but the Tennessee Senator was unable to get enough delegate strength at the convention to win the nomination outright.
It took three ballots for Stevenson to pull ahead of Kefauver and win the nomination, ultimately by a margin of 617.5 to 275.5. They chose a ticket of Adlai Stevenson and Alabama Senator John Sparkman as his running mate. The duo went on to lost the election to Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard M. Nixon on November 4, 1952. Despite the defeat, Stevenson was four years later again selected as the Democratic presidential nominee at the 1956 Democratic National Convention, this time with Kefauver as his running mate.