Election 1944: Gallup Polls

The Pittsburgh Press (October 27, 1944)

americavotes1944

Poll: Five big states hold key to election with race neck-and-neck

Pennsylvania still 50–50; 21 states too close to be certain for either candidate
By Dr. George Gallup, Director, American Institute of Public Opinion

How civilian vote stands today

Definitely for Roosevelt today

Roosevelt Dewey
South Carolina 87% 13%
Mississippi 87% 13%
Georgia 80% 20%
Louisiana 78% 22%
Alabama 77% 23%
Florida 71% 29%
Arkansas 70% 30%
North Carolina 69% 31%
Virginia 64% 36%
Tennessee 64% 36%
Texas 64% 36%
Arizona 58% 42%
Utah 57% 43%
Rhode Island 56% 44%
Montana 54% 46%
Nevada 54% 46%
California 54% 46%
Washington 54% 46%

179 electoral votes

Definitely for Dewey today

Roosevelt Dewey
Nebraska 37% 63%
Kansas 37% 63%
South Dakota 37% 63%
North Dakota 40% 60%
Iowa 44% 56%
Colorado 45% 55%
Vermont 45% 55%
Indiana 46% 54%
Wisconsin 46% 54%

66 electoral votes

Pivotal states

Roosevelt Dewey
Kentucky 53% 47%
Connecticut 52% 48%
Maryland 51% 49%
Massachusetts 50% 50%
Pennsylvania 50% 50%
Delaware 50% 50%
Oklahoma 50% 50%
Oregon 50% 50%
Missouri 49% 51%
West Virginia 49% 51%
New Hampshire 49% 51%
New York 49% 51%
New Mexico 49% 51%
New Jersey 48% 52%
Illinois 48% 52%
Idaho 48% 52%
Ohio 47% 53%
Michigan 47% 53%
Maine 47% 53%
Wyoming 47% 53%
Minnesota 47% 53%

286 electoral votes

With Election Day little more than a week away, latest figures in the Institute’s state-by-state poll show Roosevelt-Dewey sentiment almost equally divided.

Twenty-one pivotal states, in which sentiment is too close to list them in either candidate’s column, are the big battleground.

Pennsylvania is still equally divided – neither candidate showing the slightest advantage.

The results in this poll, it must be remembered, are obtained from civilian voters only. Service voters cannot be polled under the law, and the service vote may determine the outcome if the civilian vote is as close as now indicated.

Dewey shows strength

Any advantage which the Democrats may have gained through heavy registration in large industrial centers has been offset in the last two weeks by increased evidence of Dewey strength.

The situation is substantially the same as it was when the last nationwide poll was printed on Oct. 15.

With an estimated voter turnout of 47 million civilians, President Roosevelt is found polling 51 percent of the popular vote and Governor Dewey 49 percent. This does not include any votes of men and women in the armed services.

Indications are still that the decision as to the winner will rest in five large industrial states which are still hovering near the 50-50 line — Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Connecticut.

122 electoral votes in doubt

The electoral votes of these very important states total 122. If Mr. Roosevelt gets all of them his electoral vote would assume landslide proportions. If, on the other hand, Mr. Dewey got them he would win with a comfortable majority.

State-by-state analysis shows 18 states with 179 electoral votes definitely in the Roosevelt column and nine states with 66 electoral votes definitely in the Dewey column.

The remaining 21 states with 286 electoral votes are pivotal areas where the lead for either candidate is less than 54 percent.

Among the pivotal states, Mr. Dewey has the advantage at present in 13 and Mr. Roosevelt in three.

Roosevelt improves total

Compared to the poll published Oct. 15, Mr. Roosevelt has improved his total of states definitely for him and Mr. Dewey has lost ground; but of pivotal states leaning to one candidate or the other, Mr. Dewey has gained ground and Mr. Roosevelt lost ground.

The comparison is as follows:

Today Oct. 15
Definitely for Roosevelt 119 158
Definitely for Dewey 66 121
Leaning toward Roosevelt 27 85
Leaning toward Dewey 189 107

Adding the states leaning toward Dewey to the states definitely for him gives him 255 electoral votes; adding the definite Roosevelt states to those leaning toward him gives him 206 votes.

The remaining 70 electoral votes are in the five states dividing evenly.

It takes 266 electoral votes to win.

Aside from the normal margin of error in all polling operations, an error which in this country and four foreign countries amounts to between three and four percent, information is not available on one important segment of the voting population – voters in the Armed Forces.

Military regulations forbid the polling of these voters, and the readers therefore must take this tact into account in interpreting the results shown here. No one knows how the soldiers will vote in any specific state, but it is believed that in some states the soldier vote may add as much as one percent to the Roosevelt figure.

In a state which on the basis of poll samples is found to be evenly divided, the vote of the Armed Forces can obviously be the deciding factor.

Final figures on political sentiment in the 48 states, based on polling which will be going on this week and next, will be reported Monday, Nov. 6.

October 28
Presidential trial heat

Special Survey

If the presidential election were held today, how would you vote – for Franklin Roosevelt or for Thomas Dewey?

Upstate New York only

Roosevelt 40%
Dewey 60%

New York City only

Roosevelt 57%
Dewey 43%

November 1
Presidential trial heat

Special Survey

If the presidential election were held today, how would you vote – for Franklin Roosevelt or for Thomas Dewey?

Roosevelt Dewey
New York 49% 51%
New Jersey 49% 51%
Massachusetts 50% 50%
Connecticut 52% 48%
Pennsylvania 50% 50%

November 3
Voter awareness

Interviewing Date 10/14-19/44
Survey #332
Question #9a

Will you tell me who the Democratic vice-presidential candidate is?

Roosevelt supporters only

Correct answer (Truman) 55%
Incorrect answer 45%

Dewey supporters only

Correct answer 69%
Incorrect answer 31%
Interviewing Date 10/14-19/44
Survey #332
Question #9b

Will you tell me who the Republican vice-presidential candidate is?

Roosevelt supporters only

Correct answer (Bricker) 54%
Incorrect answer 46%

Dewey supporters only

Correct answer 81%
Incorrect answer 19%

November 5
Presidential trial heat

Interviewing Date 10/28 – 11/3/44
Survey #334
Question #5

If the presidential election were held today, how would you vote – for Franklin Roosevelt or for Thomas Dewey?

By sex

Roosevelt Dewey
Men 49% 51%
Women 52% 48%

November 6
Presidential trial heat: FINAL POLL

Special Survey

If the presidential election were held today, how would you vote – for Franklin Roosevelt or for Thomas Dewey?

States definitely for Roosevelt

Roosevelt Dewey
South Carolina 89% 11%
Mississippi 89% 11%
Georgia 81% 19%
Texas 78% 22%
Louisiana 78% 22%
Alabama 78% 22%
Arkansas 72% 28%
Florida 71% 29%
North Carolina 71% 29%
Tennessee 64% 36%
Virginia 64% 36%
Arizona 58% 42%
Rhode Island 56% 44%
Utah 56% 44%
Washington 54% 46%
Kentucky 54% 46%
Nevada 54% 46%
Montana 54% 46%

165 electoral votes

States definitely for Roosevelt

Roosevelt Dewey
Kansas 36% 64%
South Dakota 36% 64%
Nebraska 38% 62%
North Dakota 38% 62%
Colorado 44% 56%
Iowa 44% 56%
Wisconsin 44% 56%
Vermont 45% 55%
Indiana 45% 55%
Michigan 46% 54%

85 electoral votes

Pivotal states

Roosevelt Dewey
California 53% 47%
Maryland 53% 47%
Connecticut 52% 48%
Pennsylvania 51% 49%
Massachusetts 51% 49%
New Hampshire 51% 49%
Oklahoma 51% 49%
Oregon 51% 49%
Idaho 51% 49%
West Virginia 51% 49%
Delaware 51% 49%
New York 50%- 50%+
Missouri 49% 51%
New Mexico 49% 51%
Illinois 49% 51%
Maine 48% 52%
Ohio 48% 52%
New Jersey 48% 52%
Wyoming 47% 53%
Minnesota 47% 53%

281 electoral votes

These figures do not include any soldier votes.

November 11
Presidential election: ANALYSIS

Final comparisons must wait until complete and official election returns are made public. But on the basis of virtually complete returns to date, Roosevelt received 53.3% of the total major-party vote cast, including both civilian and soldier votes, or an estimated 52.3% of the civilian votes only, excluding soldiers.

Since military regulations did not permit the polltakers to question soldiers, their forecasts – and this is important to remember – excluded the soldier vote.

Following is the record of the three major polltakers – Elmo Roper (Fortune Survey), the Crossley Poll, conducted by Archibald Crossley, and the Institute poll – as compared to the civilian popular vote of 52.3% for Roosevelt at last reports.

Forecast for Roosevelt Error
Roper 53.6% 1.3%
Crossley 51.2% 1.1%
Institute 51.5% 0.8%

Returns to date make it appear that the Institute’s error state-by-state – it gave popular vote figures on each of the 48 states – averaged only 2.2 percentage points.

Following is the record for the 48 states, based on latest available election returns which are about 98% complete for the nation.

Roosevelt (all votes) Roosevelt (civilian votes) Roosevelt Gallup Poll Deviation
Arizona 59% 58% 58% 0
Oregon 52% 51% 51% 0
Pennsylvania 51% 51% 51% 0
Montana 55% 54% 54% 0
New Hampshire 52% 51% 51% 0
Massachusetts 52% 51% 51% 0
Connecticut 52.5% 51.5% 52% +0.5
Arkansas 71.5% 71.5% 72% +0.5
Idaho 51.5% 50.5% 51% +0.5
Ohio 49.5% 48.5% 48% -0.5
Kentucky 54.5% 53.5% 54% +0.5
Colorado 45% 45% 44% -1
Florida 70% 70% 71% +1
Indiana 47% 46% 45% -1
Wyoming 49% 48% 47% -1
South Carolina 87.5% 87.5% 89% -1.5
New Jersey 50.5% 49.5% 48% -1.5
New York 52% 51% 49.5% -1.5
North Carolina 69.5% 69.5% 71% +1.5
Maine 47.5% 46.5% 48% +1.5
Maryland 51.5% 51.5% 53% +1.5
Rhode Island 58% 58% 56% -2
Missouri 51% 51% 49% -2
Nevada 53% 52% 54% +2
Illinois 52% 51% 49% -2
Kansas 39% 38% 36% -2
Virginia 62.5% 62% 64% +2
Delaware 54.5% 53.5% 51% -2.5
Georgia 83.5% 83.5% 81% -2.5
Nebraska 41.5% 40.5% 38% -2.5
Iowa 47.5% 46.5% 44% -2.5
New Mexico 53% 52% 49% -3
Louisiana 81% 81% 78% -3
Michigan 50% 49% 46% -3
Vermont 43% 42% 45% +3
Alabama 81.5% 81.5% 78% -3.5
Oklahoma 55.5% 54.5% 51% -3.5
Texas 81.5% 81.5% 78% -3.5
Mississippi 92.5% 92.5% 89% -3.5
Washington 57.5% 57.5% 54% -3.5
West Virginia 56% 55% 51% -4
California 57% 57% 53% -4
Wisconsin 49% 48% 44% -4
Tennessee 61% 60% 64% +4
South Dakota 41.5% 40.5% 36% -4.5
Minnesota 52.5% 51.5% 47% -4.5
Utah 61% 61% 56% -5
North Dakota 46% 46% 38% -8