Eisenhower vs. Stevenson TODAY

[FerrisBueller86]

If Dwight Eisenhower and Adlai Stevenson could be brought back to life today and nominated for president, who would win?  What would the electoral map look like?  As you know, the 1952 and 1956 elections were part of the old order, when the Northeast voted Republican and the South voted Democratic.

I have no idea what the electoral map would look like, but I think it would be safe to say that the Rocky Mountain states and Great Plains states would vote for Eisenhower.  For some odd reason, these parts of the country have always been Republican.  Thus, North Dakota, Idaho, and Utah voted with Massachusetts and Rhode Island back then but now vote with Mississippi and Alabama.

How would the South vote?  This was the only region where Stevenson did well in 1952 and 1956.  Would the South vote for him again, or would it vote for Eisenhower out of partisan loyalty?  What about the Northeast?  Would it vote for Eisenhower again, or would it vote for Stevenson out of partisan loyalty?

[A18]

That's actually a really interesting question. I think Eisenhower might be able to appeal to Democrats, so he'd probably do better in the northeast than Bush, but it definitely would be a big change.

I don't know how things would play out in the south.

[Rob]

[Notre Dame rules!]

The South is solidly Republican, and solidly pro-military.   Ike wins in a romp.

[Rob]

The South is solidly Republican, and solidly pro-military.   Ike wins in a romp.

It's also worth noting that southerners weren't exactly thrilled with Stevenson back then, either- the GOP started cracking the South in the '50's.

[Notre Dame rules!]

I agree.  The old coalition of Democrats was already showing signs of strain.

[Ebowed]

1952: Eisenhower picked up Texas, Virginia, Tennessee, and Florida.

1956: Eisenhower gets those four plus Louisiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia.  The rest of the South stays with Stevenson.  Also, in 1956, Missouri switched from Eisenhower to Stevenson.

The elections in 1952 in Rhode Island, Minnesota, and Illinois were relatively close ("close" in the sense that Stevenson wasn't completely slaughtered).  Kentucky was super-close, just barely going for Stevenson.  Missouri was also close (in the sense that Stevenson had a reasonable chance of winning).  In 1956, Eisenhower recieved a higher percentage of the black vote and strenghthened his lead in the North and Midwest.

My, how times were different then.  These days, Stevenson would pick up every state Kerry won minus Wisconsin, Michigan, and New Hampshire.  Pennsylvania, Oregon, Delaware, and New Jersey would also be vulnerable.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

It would be way less polarizing than the 2004 election. Both Eisenhower and Stevenson are many times more preferable than Bush.  I wouldn't care that much which of them won.

The result might look a big odd due to the decrease in polarization. For example, Eisenhower would have a shot at NY.

[Erc]

Ike wins.

-or-

Major third party candidate comes out on the right, in which case it's anybody's game.  Probably goes to the House.

[MaC]

Ike would probably be for ending this Iraq war, which would help in the polls. since today the majority of Americans dislike our involvement there

[Akno21]

Neither would win the nomination.

[phk]

Ike even won in Los Angeles and San Francisco counties, but lost in Fresno county.

[Rob]

Ike even won in Los Angeles and San Francisco counties, but lost in Fresno county.

Those were very different places back then, so it's not very surprising.

[phk]

It'd be somewhat like Clinton vs Mondale.

[WalterMitty]

didnt stevenson have a southerner on the ticket in both 52 and 56?

[Ebowed]

didnt stevenson have a southerner on the ticket in both 52 and 56?

Yes, in 1952 he had Alabama Senator John Sparkman, a moderate with most issues except civil rights (though occasionally he'd give help to the pro-civil righters), and in 1956 he had Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver, a pro-civl rights liberal.