National Politics: Republican Primaries and Convention 1952

1952 Republican Primaries.

Although Eisenhower still had not officially declared his intention to seek the Republican nomination, officials within the Dewey-controlled East Coast Republican-party machine placed General Eisenhower's name on the ballot in New Hampshire, the first—and arguably most important—of the primaries. Eisenhower—or Ike, as he was known politically, to suggest a more congenial image for voters—scored a victory of 46,661 to 35,838 votes over Robert Taft in New Hampshire, despite that Eisenhower had not campaigned and that he had not publicly expressed his positions on the issues. Frustrated Taft supporters spoke of Ike as the "phantom candidate."

Eisenhower's Candidacy.

On 11 April Eisenhower announced his retirement as head of NATO, and the highly popular general began to campaign actively. Taft finished the primaries with nearly a hundred more delegates than Eisenhower—and only...

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