South Dakota — 1948 presidential election
Recent presidential results
Akashicstate1948 presidential electionSouth Dakota · PresidentDeweyR+4.8
How it voted
Share of the 1948 vote
| Thomas E. Dewey ✓Republican | 51.8% | 129,651 |
|---|---|---|
| Harry S. TrumanDemocratic | 47.0% | 117,653 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 1.1% | 2,801 |
1948presidential margin
D+60R+60
66 counties, each filled by 1948 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.
Gold marks a county an independent or third-party candidate carried.
South Dakota cast 4 electoral votes this cycle.
County-level results (66 counties) — table
| County | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|
| Aurora County, SD | Democratic | D+9.3 |
| Beadle County, SD | Democratic | D+8.8 |
| Bennett County, SD | Democratic | D+22.4 |
| Bon Homme County, SD | Republican | R+4.7 |
| Brookings County, SD | Republican | R+15.4 |
| Brown County, SD | Democratic | D+11.7 |
| Brule County, SD | Democratic | D+21.5 |
| Buffalo County, SD | Democratic | D+3.2 |
| Butte County, SD | Republican | R+23.3 |
| Campbell County, SD | Republican | R+57.0 |
| Charles Mix County, SD | Democratic | D+26.1 |
| Clark County, SD | Republican | R+2.1 |
| Clay County, SD | Republican | R+3.4 |
| Codington County, SD | Democratic | D+9.3 |
| Corson County, SD | Other / independent | Tied |
| Custer County, SD | Republican | R+14.0 |
| Davison County, SD | Democratic | D+15.0 |
| Day County, SD | Democratic | D+12.5 |
| Deuel County, SD | Republican | R+1.2 |
| Dewey County, SD | Republican | R+8.2 |
| Douglas County, SD | Republican | R+27.7 |
| Edmunds County, SD | Republican | R+8.7 |
| Fall River County, SD | Republican | R+20.2 |
| Faulk County, SD | Republican | R+4.1 |
| Grant County, SD | Democratic | D+2.0 |
| Gregory County, SD | Democratic | D+2.0 |
| Haakon County, SD | Republican | R+18.0 |
| Hamlin County, SD | Republican | R+9.5 |
| Hand County, SD | Republican | R+1.3 |
| Hanson County, SD | Democratic | D+5.1 |
| Harding County, SD | Republican | R+4.8 |
| Hughes County, SD | Republican | R+23.3 |
| Hutchinson County, SD | Republican | R+40.9 |
| Hyde County, SD | Republican | R+19.1 |
| Jackson County, SD | Republican | R+6.8 |
| Jerauld County, SD | Republican | R+10.5 |
| Jones County, SD | Republican | R+11.4 |
| Kingsbury County, SD | Republican | R+26.7 |
| Lake County, SD | Republican | R+14.9 |
| Lawrence County, SD | Republican | R+26.0 |
| Lincoln County, SD | Republican | R+20.3 |
| Lyman County, SD | Republican | R+4.7 |
| Marshall County, SD | Democratic | D+9.1 |
| McCook County, SD | Republican | R+19.5 |
| McPherson County, SD | Republican | R+53.3 |
| Meade County, SD | Republican | R+9.9 |
| Mellette County, SD | Other / independent | Tied |
| Miner County, SD | Democratic | D+7.2 |
| Minnehaha County, SD | Republican | R+8.7 |
| Moody County, SD | Republican | R+1.8 |
| Oglala Lakota County, SD | Democratic | D+11.1 |
| Pennington County, SD | Republican | R+12.8 |
| Perkins County, SD | Republican | R+12.7 |
| Potter County, SD | Republican | R+0.2 |
| Roberts County, SD | Democratic | D+18.9 |
| Sanborn County, SD | Democratic | D+2.7 |
| Spink County, SD | Democratic | D+7.7 |
| Stanley County, SD | Republican | R+18.4 |
| Sully County, SD | Republican | R+17.5 |
| Todd County, SD | Democratic | D+11.9 |
| Tripp County, SD | Democratic | D+1.9 |
| Turner County, SD | Republican | R+33.3 |
| Union County, SD | Democratic | D+0.7 |
| Walworth County, SD | Republican | R+3.0 |
| Yankton County, SD | Democratic | D+0.5 |
| Ziebach County, SD | Democratic | D+4.1 |
South Dakota results by county
66 counties. Third-party and independent votes are reported by the county source as one combined figure; every named candidate is listed in the complete result below.
| Led by | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurora County | Harry S. Truman+219 | 1,05645.0% | 1,27554.3% | 160.7% | 2,347 |
| Beadle County | Harry S. Truman+710 | 3,66245.1% | 4,37253.9% | 770.9% | 8,111 |
| Bennett County | Harry S. Truman+281 | 47738.1% | 75860.5% | 171.4% | 1,252 |
| Bon Homme County | Thomas E. Dewey+206 | 2,28351.8% | 2,07747.1% | 481.1% | 4,408 |
| Brookings County | Thomas E. Dewey+1,068 | 3,97557.4% | 2,90742.0% | 440.6% | 6,926 |
| Brown County | Harry S. Truman+1,516 | 5,63243.4% | 7,14855.1% | 1921.5% | 12,972 |
| Brule County | Harry S. Truman+590 | 1,05638.5% | 1,64660.0% | 421.5% | 2,744 |
| Buffalo County | Harry S. Truman+21 | 31348.0% | 33451.2% | 50.8% | 652 |
| Butte County | Thomas E. Dewey+661 | 1,72660.7% | 1,06537.5% | 511.8% | 2,842 |
| Campbell County | Thomas E. Dewey+1,108 | 1,51878.0% | 41021.1% | 170.9% | 1,945 |
| Charles Mix County | Harry S. Truman+1,286 | 1,80036.5% | 3,08662.5% | 491.0% | 4,935 |
| Clark County | Thomas E. Dewey+66 | 1,62550.6% | 1,55948.5% | 280.9% | 3,212 |
| Clay County | Thomas E. Dewey+148 | 2,22851.1% | 2,08047.7% | 531.2% | 4,361 |
| Codington County | Harry S. Truman+693 | 3,34945.0% | 4,04254.3% | 500.7% | 7,441 |
| Corson County | Harry S. Truman+0 | 1,15449.6% | 1,15449.6% | 170.7% | 2,325 |
| Custer County | Thomas E. Dewey+300 | 1,21756.7% | 91742.7% | 140.7% | 2,148 |
| Davison County | Harry S. Truman+1,068 | 2,99642.0% | 4,06457.0% | 681.0% | 7,128 |
| Day County | Harry S. Truman+708 | 2,43842.9% | 3,14655.4% | 971.7% | 5,681 |
| Deuel County | Thomas E. Dewey+33 | 1,35749.9% | 1,32448.7% | 381.4% | 2,719 |
| Dewey County | Thomas E. Dewey+132 | 86553.6% | 73345.4% | 150.9% | 1,613 |
| Douglas County | Thomas E. Dewey+565 | 1,30163.7% | 73636.0% | 50.2% | 2,042 |
| Edmunds County | Thomas E. Dewey+240 | 1,49354.0% | 1,25345.3% | 190.7% | 2,765 |
| Fall River County | Thomas E. Dewey+689 | 2,03759.7% | 1,34839.5% | 260.8% | 3,411 |
| Faulk County | Thomas E. Dewey+83 | 1,05451.5% | 97147.4% | 221.1% | 2,047 |
| Grant County | Harry S. Truman+80 | 1,97248.6% | 2,05250.5% | 360.9% | 4,060 |
| Gregory County | Harry S. Truman+70 | 1,72348.4% | 1,79350.3% | 461.3% | 3,562 |
| Haakon County | Thomas E. Dewey+234 | 75357.9% | 51939.9% | 282.2% | 1,300 |
| Hamlin County | Thomas E. Dewey+282 | 1,60854.0% | 1,32644.5% | 451.5% | 2,979 |
| Hand County | Thomas E. Dewey+35 | 1,40250.5% | 1,36749.2% | 90.3% | 2,778 |
| Hanson County | Harry S. Truman+93 | 86047.0% | 95352.1% | 150.8% | 1,828 |
| Harding County | Thomas E. Dewey+50 | 52950.9% | 47946.1% | 323.1% | 1,040 |
| Hughes County | Thomas E. Dewey+659 | 1,73961.4% | 1,08038.1% | 120.4% | 2,831 |
| Hutchinson County | Thomas E. Dewey+1,697 | 2,90670.0% | 1,20929.1% | 360.9% | 4,151 |
| Hyde County | Thomas E. Dewey+264 | 81759.2% | 55340.1% | 90.7% | 1,379 |
| Jackson County | Thomas E. Dewey+80 | 62452.7% | 54445.9% | 171.4% | 1,185 |
| Jerauld County | Thomas E. Dewey+209 | 1,08554.6% | 87644.1% | 261.3% | 1,987 |
| Jones County | Thomas E. Dewey+108 | 52255.1% | 41443.7% | 121.3% | 948 |
| Kingsbury County | Thomas E. Dewey+994 | 2,33262.6% | 1,33835.9% | 581.6% | 3,728 |
| Lake County | Thomas E. Dewey+744 | 2,83756.9% | 2,09342.0% | 521.0% | 4,982 |
| Lawrence County | Thomas E. Dewey+1,569 | 3,77862.5% | 2,20936.5% | 581.0% | 6,045 |
| Lincoln County | Thomas E. Dewey+945 | 2,77159.5% | 1,82639.2% | 591.3% | 4,656 |
| Lyman County | Thomas E. Dewey+89 | 99351.9% | 90447.3% | 150.8% | 1,912 |
| Marshall County | Harry S. Truman+291 | 1,41944.4% | 1,71053.5% | 692.2% | 3,198 |
| McCook County | Thomas E. Dewey+677 | 2,06459.5% | 1,38740.0% | 200.6% | 3,471 |
| McPherson County | Thomas E. Dewey+1,423 | 2,03476.2% | 61122.9% | 230.9% | 2,668 |
| Meade County | Thomas E. Dewey+372 | 2,05354.5% | 1,68144.6% | 350.9% | 3,769 |
| Mellette County | Harry S. Truman+0 | 48249.3% | 48249.3% | 131.3% | 977 |
| Miner County | Harry S. Truman+185 | 1,18845.9% | 1,37353.1% | 261.0% | 2,587 |
| Minnehaha County | Thomas E. Dewey+2,277 | 14,04753.8% | 11,77045.1% | 3081.2% | 26,125 |
| Moody County | Thomas E. Dewey+61 | 1,69150.2% | 1,63048.4% | 481.4% | 3,369 |
| Oglala Lakota County | Harry S. Truman+162 | 64144.1% | 80355.2% | 100.7% | 1,454 |
| Pennington County | Thomas E. Dewey+1,463 | 6,39256.0% | 4,92943.2% | 920.8% | 11,413 |
| Perkins County | Thomas E. Dewey+328 | 1,42455.0% | 1,09642.4% | 672.6% | 2,587 |
| Potter County | Thomas E. Dewey+5 | 1,04449.7% | 1,03949.5% | 180.9% | 2,101 |
| Roberts County | Harry S. Truman+1,066 | 2,21139.1% | 3,27758.0% | 1642.9% | 5,652 |
| Sanborn County | Harry S. Truman+56 | 99048.0% | 1,04650.8% | 251.2% | 2,061 |
| Spink County | Harry S. Truman+392 | 2,31045.6% | 2,70253.3% | 551.1% | 5,067 |
| Stanley County | Thomas E. Dewey+163 | 52258.9% | 35940.5% | 60.7% | 887 |
| Sully County | Thomas E. Dewey+174 | 57958.4% | 40540.8% | 80.8% | 992 |
| Todd County | Harry S. Truman+171 | 62543.5% | 79655.4% | 171.2% | 1,438 |
| Tripp County | Harry S. Truman+73 | 1,84548.3% | 1,91850.2% | 551.4% | 3,818 |
| Turner County | Thomas E. Dewey+1,534 | 3,04866.3% | 1,51432.9% | 380.8% | 4,600 |
| Union County | Harry S. Truman+32 | 2,20549.4% | 2,23750.1% | 230.5% | 4,465 |
| Walworth County | Thomas E. Dewey+94 | 1,60750.9% | 1,51348.0% | 351.1% | 3,155 |
| Yankton County | Harry S. Truman+28 | 2,90449.3% | 2,93249.8% | 571.0% | 5,893 |
| Ziebach County | Harry S. Truman+40 | 46347.2% | 50351.3% | 141.4% | 980 |
Nominees: Harry S. Truman (D) · Thomas E. Dewey (R) · Strom Thurmond (States' Rights Democratic)
South Dakota's presidential margins
1892–2024, the 1948 contest in context
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1892 | −36.5% |
| 1896 | +0.2% |
| 1900 | −15.6% |
| 1904 | −49.4% |
| 1908 | −23.8% |
| 1912 | +42.1% |
| 1916 | −3.9% |
| 1920 | −41.0% |
| 1924 | −36.3% |
| 1928 | −21.0% |
| 1932 | +29.2% |
| 1936 | +11.5% |
| 1940 | −14.8% |
| 1944 | −16.7% |
| 1948 | −4.8% |
| 1952 | −38.5% |
| 1956 | −16.8% |
| 1960 | −16.4% |
| 1964 | +11.2% |
| 1968 | −11.3% |
| 1972 | −8.6% |
| 1976 | −1.5% |
| 1980 | −28.8% |
| 1984 | −26.5% |
| 1988 | −6.3% |
| 1992 | −3.5% |
| 1996 | −3.5% |
| 2000 | −22.7% |
| 2004 | −21.3% |
| 2008 | −8.4% |
| 2012 | −18.0% |
| 2016 | −29.8% |
| 2020 | −26.2% |
| 2024 | −29.2% |
Source. Compiled historical county records — 1948 presidential returns · official county-level results. Real returns — nothing estimated.