Truman’s 1948 Victory Although large crowds turned out for Truman’s coast-to-coast “whistle-stop” campaign, most experts thought he had little chance to win the election, given the defections from his party on both the left and right. Polls predicted that Dewey would win about 50 percent of the popular vote and Truman around 45 percent, but the last one was taken two weeks before election day.

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