In 1948, Harry S. Truman (Democratic) won 303 of 531 electoral votes, defeating Thomas E. Dewey by 114 EV during the New Deal Coalition era. In 1968, Richard Nixon (Republican) won 301 of 538, defeating Hubert Humphrey by 110 EV during the Cold War Realignment era. Turnout: 52.2% vs 62.5%.
vs
1948
New Deal Coalition
Harry S. Truman
Democratic
Electoral votes
303 of 531
EV margin
114
Popular vote
49.5%
Turnout
52.2%
Runner-up
Thomas E. Dewey (Rep)
In the greatest political upset in American history, Truman defeated the heavily favored Dewey despite nearly every poll and pundit predicting a Dewey victory. The famous photograph of a grinning Truman holding a Chicago Tribune front page reading 'Dewey Defeats Truman' captured the shock. The Democratic Party had fractured — Strom Thurmond's Dixiecrats took 39 electoral votes, and Henry Wallace's Progressive Party drew liberal votes — yet Truman prevailed by running an aggressive 'whistle-stop' campaign across the country.
1968
Cold War Realignment
Richard Nixon
Republican
Electoral votes
301 of 538
EV margin
110
Popular vote
43.4%
Turnout
62.5%
Runner-up
Hubert Humphrey (Dem)
Richard Nixon won a narrow victory in a tumultuous year marked by the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, riots at the Democratic convention in Chicago, and the Vietnam War. Nixon appealed to the 'Silent Majority' and promised a secret plan to end the war. Alabama Governor George Wallace ran on the American Independent Party ticket, winning five Deep South states and 46 electoral votes, nearly throwing the election to the House. Humphrey surged late after partially distancing himself from Johnson's Vietnam policy.