1952-1956 and The West
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  1952-1956 and The West
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Mr. Smith
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« on: November 06, 2018, 03:01:15 AM »

Why did Adlai Stevenson actually improve in The West against Eisenhower? Was The West really just that reflexively anti-incumbent?

I already knew California made a slight swing to the left, but was that really what made the difference?

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RINO Tom
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« Reply #1 on: November 06, 2018, 12:00:39 PM »

Good question, and I wasn't really aware of that shift.  It's truly hard to explain.  Maybe an isolationist streak?  I know Ike is often remembered for one speech against the Military Industrial Complex, but I think he was certainly regarded as the more hawkish candidate?  No idea.
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Mr. Smith
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« Reply #2 on: November 06, 2018, 01:51:52 PM »

Good question, and I wasn't really aware of that shift.  It's truly hard to explain.  Maybe an isolationist streak?  I know Ike is often remembered for one speech against the Military Industrial Complex, but I think he was certainly regarded as the more hawkish candidate?  No idea.

Yeah, but it's the Midwest that's been traditionally isolationist, yet The West was actually more Democratic.
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tinman64
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« Reply #3 on: November 06, 2018, 02:37:35 PM »

Ike's percentages plummeted in the plains in '56. Not enough to risk losing these traditionally Republican states, but still significant. Witness these differences in his percentage totals...
 
'52 Ike                     '56 Ike

ND 70.97 %             61.72 %
SD 69.27 %             58.39 %
NE 69.15 %             65.51 %
KS 68.77 %             65.44 %

And noticeable drops in the west...

'52 Ike                     '56 Ike

MT 59.39 %             57.13 %
WY 62.71 %             60.08 %
CO 60.29 %             59.49 %
ID 65.42 %              61.17 %
WA 54.33 %             53.91 %
OR 60.54%              55.25 %
CA 56.83 %             55.39 %
NV 61.45 %             57.97 %

But he increased his percentage in the following states...

'52 Ike                      '56 Ike

AZ 58.35 %             60.99 %
NM 55.39 %             57.81 %
TX 53.13 %              55.26 %
OK 54.59 %              55.13 %
UT 58.93 %              64.56 %

In the plains, I would guess it had something to do with farm prices?
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Chinggis
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« Reply #4 on: November 08, 2018, 04:51:58 PM »

Eisenhower's Secretary of Agriculture, Ezra Taft Benson, implemented some "pro-market" reforms that were very unpopular with farmers. I dont know the details but it likely involved slashing subsidies. Ironically, Benson may have also been the reason for Eisenhower's surge in Utah, as he was an LDS Apostle and the first Mormon ever appointed to the Cabinet.
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mianfei
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« Reply #5 on: September 11, 2019, 10:34:43 AM »

Eisenhower's Secretary of Agriculture, Ezra Taft Benson, implemented some "pro-market" reforms that were very unpopular with farmers. I don’t know the details but it likely involved slashing subsidies. Ironically, Benson may have also been the reason for Eisenhower's surge in Utah, as he was an LDS Apostle and the first Mormon ever appointed to the Cabinet.
Also, 1956 was the peak of the great 1950s drought on the Plains, so it’s only natural that Stevenson gained there and in the West. Like in 1988 amidst another big drought, South Dakota and Montana voted more Democratic than the nation at-large in 1956 – this despite Eisenhower winning Silver Bow County, which has never voted Republican since.
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morgankingsley
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« Reply #6 on: September 14, 2019, 05:26:58 PM »

I think 1952 and 1956 can be seen as the first real indicator of the trends that would go for the rest of the century. The south being the one place Eisenhower undisputably lost in 1952, being a area he narrowly won in 1956, while Stevenson actually improved in most other places west of Minnesota
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