1944 - Roosevelt vs. Dewey
Roosevelt campaigns in 1944; Courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library
The Democrats nominate incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt for a fourth term. The Republicans nominate New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey.
In response to the new federal ban on direct contributions to candidates, the Congress of Industrial Organizations forms the first political action committee, or PAC, which is funded through donations by union members rather than directly through its treasury. CIO leaders ask members to donate at least $1 apiece — “a buck for Roosevelt,” as the slogan goes.
But the new fundraising vehicle quickly comes under attack. One major opponent, surprisingly, is a Democrat, Representative Martin Dies, Jr., of Texas, who opposes the New Deal program. Dies, the chairman of the Special House Committee on Un-American Activities, launches an investigation of the CIO PAC, subpoenaing records of telephone calls from the PAC’s New York offices to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and various Roosevelt administration officials. Dies subsequently accuses the latter of violating the Hatch Act’s ban on campaign activity by government employees, but Roosevelt’s Attorney General, Francis Biddle, declines to pursue the matter.
The GOP, predictably, doesn’t approve of the CIO’s fundraising efforts, either. Governor John W. Bricker of Ohio, the party’s vice presidential nominee, accuses the CIO of trying to “buy” a fourth term for Roosevelt “with money extracted from the honest and patriotic workers of this country.” The Republicans also accuse the CIO of violating the Smith-Connally Act, but Attorney General Biddle concludes that the labor organization’s political fundraising is legal.
Ultimately, the CIO PAC and a related committee, the National Citizens PAC, raise a total of $883,616 to help Roosevelt. That assistance proves crucial, as the Democrats once again struggle to raise money. Roosevelt eventually amasses just $1,375,539, less than half of the $2,773,606 raised by Dewey. (The GOP actually spends $2,008,100, compared with $1,331,713 spent by the Democrats.)
But Dewey’s financial advantage isn’t enough to overcome Roosevelt’s personal popularity and his status as a wartime president. In November, Roosevelt wins reelection with 53.4 percent of the popular vote to 45.9 percent for Dewey, and takes the Electoral College 432–99.
SOURCES: “The New Force,” Time, July 24, 1944; “Dies Links PAC to White House,” Associated Press, July 29, 1944; Turner Catledge, “Bricker Says PAC Seeks to ‘Buy’ Election With Money of Workers,” The New York Times, September 10, 1944; “Biddle Denies PAC Violates Gift Law,” The New York Times, September 26, 1944; “Six Groups Report Political Donations,” The New York Times, October 31, 1944; “GOP Campaign Expenditures Twice That of Demos,” Associated Press, November 4, 1944.
Previous year: 1943
Previous election year: 1900 - McKinley vs. Bryan
Next year: 1974
Next election year: 1960 - Kennedy vs. Nixon