The Age of Eisenhower: America and the World in the 1950s

by William I. Hitchcock

became clear that Eisenhower was leading—slightly. By the time the last delegate had spoken—the Virgin Islands named its single delegate for Eisenhower—the vote stood at 595 for Eisenhower, 500 for Taft, 81 for Earl Warren, 20 for Harold Stassen, and 10 for Douglas MacArthur. Ike was nine votes short. The leader of the Minnesota delegation, Senator Edward J. Thye, leaped to his feet and asked to be recognized, whereupon he switched his state’s votes, formerly pledged to Stassen, to Eisenhower. Other delegations rose to do the same, making a second ballot unnecessary. By the time all the votes were counted, Eisenhower had 845 votes to 280 for Taft. Governor Warren, still hoping a deadlocked convention might turn to him as a fallback choice, held on to his delegates until the bitter end.