1952 United States presidential election

The 1952 United States presidential election happened on November 4, 1952. This election was between Governor of Illinois Adlai Stevenson and General Dwight D. Eisenhower. Eisenhower won the election by 442 electoral votes. Adlai Stevenson got only 89 electoral votes.

Incumbent President Harry S. Truman was eligible to run again because the newly passed 22nd amendment did not apply to the incumbent president at that time. Truman chose not to run, so the Democratic Party nominated Adlai Stevenson.

Eisenhower was 62 when he won the election. This was the first time an older candidate was elected since James Buchanan was elected in 1856 at 65,^[1] something that wouldn't happen again until 69-year old Ronald Reagan won the 1980 election.

Republican candidates:

• Dwight D. Eisenhower, former Supreme Allied NATO Commander from New York (1951-1952) (Nominee)
• Douglas McArthur, General of the Army from New York (1951-1953)
• Robert Taft, U.S. Senator from Ohio (1939-1953)
• Harold Stassen, president of the University of Pennsylvania (1948-1953) and former Governor of Minnesota (1939-1943)
• Earl Warren, 30th Governor of California (1943-1953)

Candidates gallery

• Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR)
  Dwight D. Eisenhower
  from New York
  (1951–1952)
• General of the Army
  Douglas MacArthur
  from New York
  (1944-1964)
• Senator
  Robert A. Taft
  from Ohio
  (1939-1952)
• Former Governor
  Harold Stassen
  from Minnesota
  (1939-1943)
• Governor
  Earl Warren
  from California
  (1943-1953)

Democratic candidates:

• Adlai Stevenson II, 31st Governor of Illinois (1949-1953) (Nominee)
• Estes Kefauver, U.S. Senator from Tennessee (1949-1963)
• Richard Russell, Jr., U.S. Senator from Georgia (1933-1971)
• W. Averell Harriman, former Director of the Mutual Security Agency from New York (1951-1953)
• Alben W. Barkley, 35th Vice President of the United States from Kentucky (1949-1953)
• Robert S. Kerr, U.S. Senator from Oklahoma (1949-1963)
• Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States from Missouri (1945-1953)

• Governor
  Adlai Stevenson II
  of Illinois
  (1949–1953)
• Senator
  Estes Kefauver
  from Tennessee
  (1949–1963)
• Senator
  Richard Russell Jr.
  from Georgia
  (1933–1971)
• Director of the Mutual Security Agency
  W. Averell Harriman
  from New York
  (1949–1953)
• Vice President
  Alben W. Barkley
  from Kentucky
  (1949–1953)
• Senator
  Robert S. Kerr
  from Oklahoma
  (1947-1963)
• President
  Harry S. Truman
  from Missouri
  (1945–1953)

Barkley was 74 years old and not accepted by labor union leaders because of his age.

Truman's running mate was going to be Senator Estes Kefauver, but he did not choose to run in the election. Truman's presidential disapproval rating was 66% at the end of his presidential term.^[2]

Election results in these states were less than or ten percentage points. Colors represent the winning party, using the present-day convention in which red indicates Republican and blue indicates Democrat.

1. Kentucky, 0.07%
2. Tennessee, 0.27%
3. South Carolina, 1.44%
4. Missouri, 1.56%
5. Rhode Island, 1.84%
6. West Virginia, 3.85%
7. Delaware, 3.88%

• 1952 Presidential General Election Results