Dixiecrat
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Dixiecrat was the informal term for Southern Democrats who in 1948 refused to support President Harry S. Truman for reelection because he was too liberal on racial issues. The official name was the States Rights Party. They formed a third party that nominated South Carolina Governor Strom Thurmond, who carried four states in the Deep South where he was the official nominee of the Democratic party, gaining 39 electoral votes. Thurmond had 1.2 million popular votes, or 2.4% of the national total. The party did not nominate any other candidates at any level, and dissolved after Truman won the election. Dixiecrats went back to their old party.
Further reading
- Zachary Karabell. The Last Campaign: How Harry Truman Won the 1948 Election (2001) excerpt and text search