Roosevelt’s county lead nearly 80,000
President’s 1940 figure is sliced
Returns from 1,020 of Allegheny County’s 1,024 election districts gave President Roosevelt a lead approaching 80,000 votes over Governor Dewey and rang up another smashing victory for the President in this Democratic stronghold.
Although Mr. Roosevelt’s margin of victory over his opponent may be about 23,000 votes below his county lead over the late Wendell Willkie in 1940, it blasted the expressed hopes of Republican leaders that they could hold the President to something like a 50,000 plurality.
Returns from 1,020 districts gave:
| Roosevelt | 321,679 |
| Dewey | 243,097 |
The President came out of Pittsburgh with a lead of 54,718, four districts missing, then proceeded to roll up another commanding lead in the third-class cities, boroughs and townships. His Pittsburgh vote, however, was close to 20,000 below that he received in 1940.
Governor Dewey took five city wards away from Roosevelt – the 7th, 19th, 26th, 28th and 29th, but not by sufficient margins to stop the Roosevelt rush, In 1940, Mr. Willkie succeeded in capturing four city wards. The city vote, with four districts missing stood at:
| Roosevelt | 157,367 |
| Dewey | 102,649 |
The Roosevelt lead was amassed in almost every section of the county – not confined to heavily Democratic Pittsburgh and the highly industrial third-class cities, although the latter gave him approximately the same vote as in 1940, with the exception of McKeesport. That city showed a drop of roughly 2,000 votes for both candidates, as compared with its 1940 totals.
In the townships, Mr. Dewey made his best race in Mt. Lebanon, where he handed the President almost a five-to-one beating. Complete returns there gave Dewey 9,803 votes, Roosevelt 2,105.
Township totals showed the following result:
| Roosevelt | 49,926 |
| Dewey | 47,261 |
The Mt. Lebanon vote, however, Was offset by a disappointingly low vote in Wilkinsburg, the county’s largest borough, which has the reputation of going Republican by wide margins. With only two districts missing, Dewey polled 8,217 Votes to Roosevelt’s 4,556. In 1940, Willkie polled 10,183 to the President’s 5,888.
Returns from the boroughs gave:
| Roosevelt | 87,693 |
| Dewey | 79,402 |
Other Democrats lead
Approximately 565,000 ballots were cast in the county – plus an estimated 50,000 soldier ballots – bringing the total to about 615,000, something like 30,000 less than in 1940.
Democratic nominees for state offices also showed an early lead over their Republican opponents on the face of almost complete returns from the county.
U.S. Senator James J. Davis, Republican incumbent, was trailing his Democratic opponent, Francis J. Myers of Philadelphia; Returns from 1,009 districts gave:
| Myers | 310,320 |
| Davis | 240,314 |
Returns from 1,016 districts in the fight between Federal Judge Charles Alvin Jones of Edgeworth, the Democratic choice, and Judge Howard W. Hughes of Washington County, the Republican candidate showed Judge Jones out in front with a comfortable lead.
Returns from 1,016 districts follow:
| Jones | 312,398 |
| Hughes | 239,553 |
Judge Jones is expected to run particularly strong in the county where he has shown unusual strength in past campaigns. He was appointed to his present post on the Federal Third Circuit Court of Appeals by President Roosevelt in 1939. He had previously been a Democratic candidate for Governor in 1938 and for several years served as County Solicitor of Allegheny County.
Run neck and neck
The Democratic candidates for two vacancies on the state’s Superior Court bench were also leading their Republican opponents on returns from 1,016 districts. The two Democratic candidates, Auditor General F. Clair Ross of Butler and Judge Chester H. Rhodes of Stroudsburg, were running well ahead of Common Pleas Court Judge J. Frank Graff of Kittanning and his Republican running mate, former Governor Arthur H. James, now serving on the Superior Court bench by appointment of Governor Edward Martin.
Returns from 1,016 districts of the county showed the following results in the Superior Court fight:
| Ross | 312,375 |
| Rhodes | 306,890 |
| Graff | 234,565 |
| James | 233,257 |
The two Democratic candidates for State Treasurer and Auditor General, the state’s highest fiscal offices, were also showing their heels to their Republican opponents.
Wagner leads
The 1.014 districts reporting gave G. H. Wagner, Democratic candidate for Auditor General, and his opponent, State Senator G. Harold Watkins, Republican of Luzerne County, the following vote:
| Wagner | 306,364 |
| Watkins | 233,382 |
In the contest for State Treasurer, 1,014 districts gave the Democratic nominee, Ramsey S. Black of Harrisburg, a lead over Edgar W. Baird, now City Treasurer of Philadelphia. Available returns show:
| Black | 305,257 |
| Baird | 236,607 |
Weiss leads
Two Democratic incumbent Congressmen were assured of victory. They were Congressman Samuel A. Weiss, of Glassport, who was leading Republican Ray A. Liddle 65,334 to 29,108 in the 33rd district, and Congressman Herman P. Eberharter who was leading Republican Gregory Zatkovich 75,778 to 30,660 in returns from 174 out of 190 districts.
The Congressional race in the 29th, 30th and 31st district were of the neck-and-neck variety. Attorney James G. Fulton was leading incumbent Democrat James A. Wright in returns from 224 of 232 districts in the 31st district.