“The Nebraska Primary”

This cartoon depicts a large pool of primary candidates early in the 1948 campaign before the field narrowed. Printed in the Washington Evening Star on the day of the critical Nebraska primary, it shows the Republican Party elephant as a watchful mother chastising her sons for their bitter infighting. She knows a divisive primary may hurt the prospects of the party's eventual nominee in the general election. The candidates included Michigan Senator Arthur H. Vandenberg, Ohio Senator Robert A. Taft, Governor Thomas E. Dewey, former Minnesota Governor Harold E. Stassen, General Douglas MacArthur, and California Governor Earl Warren. Dewey ultimately secured the nomination and Warren became his running mate. They narrowly lost the general election to Democratic candidates Harry S. Truman and Alben W. Barkley.