Dixiecrats

Had Dewey won any two of the three states, the Dixiecrats would have succeeded in their goal of forcing the election into the House of Representatives.

In response, Thurmond became a candidate for president on the third party ticket of the States' Rights Democratic Party (also known as the Dixiecrats).

The Dixiecrats had no chance of winning the election themselves, since they could not get on the ballot in enough states to win the necessary electoral votes.

The Dixiecrats were weakened, however, when most Southern Democratic leaders (such as Governor Herman Talmadge of Georgia and "Boss" E. H. Crump of Tennessee) refused to support the party.

Thurmond's Dixiecrats carried only four Southern states, a lower total than predicted.

Truman became the first Democrat ever to be elected president without carrying Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, or South Carolina (the Dixiecrats' states).

Wallace's Progressives received only 2.4% of the national popular vote, well below their expected vote total and slightly less than the Dixiecrats, and Wallace did not take as many liberal votes from Truman as many political pundits had predicted.