1952 United States presidential election in Virginia

Following the end of Reconstruction Virginia voted for every Democratic presidential nominee except for Al Smith in the 1928 election. U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd opposed President Harry S. Truman's support for civil rights and chose to remain neutral in presidential elections. This allowed his political machine to support Republican presidential candidates while voting for Democratic candidates down ballot. Following this election Virginia would support every Republican presidential nominee from 1952 to 2004 except for Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1964 election. In 2008, the state voted for Democrat Barack Obama and has since remained a Democratic-leaning state, largely due to the huge growth of Northern Virginia and the D.C. suburbs. By 2020, Joe Biden became the first Democrat to post a double-digit victory since Roosevelt himself in 1944. Virginia was the only southern state that Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter failed to win in the 1976 election. Despite polls being uncertain, Virginia would be comfortably won by Republican nominees, Columbia University President Dwight D. Eisenhower, running with California Senator Richard Nixon. Polls ==Results==

Results by county or independent city Counties and independent cities that flipped from Democratic to Republican • Accomack • Albemarle • Alleghany • Amelia • Alexandria • Bedford • Bristol • Buena Vista • Charlottesville • Clarke • Clifton Forge • Culpeper • Cumberland • Danville • Fauquier • Essex • Frederick • Fluvanna • Giles • Gloucester • Fredericksburg • Hanover • Henrico • Hampton • James City • Lancaster • Loudoun • King William • Louisa • Lynchburg • Martinsville • Middlesex • New Kent • Norfolk • Northampton • Nottoway • Orange • Petersburg • Powhatan • Prince Edward • Princess Anne • Rappahannock • Richmond • Suffolk • Warren • Waynesboro • York Counties and independent cities that flipped from Dixiecrat to Democratic • Halifax ==Analysis==

Eisenhower won Virginia by a 12.97 point margin, making this the first time Virginia voted for a Republican since it was won by Herbert Hoover in 1928, and the best Republican performance in Virginia to this point. Virginia was Eisenhower's strongest state in the old Confederacy, marking a shift from Virginia being previously regarded as a safe blue state to more of a red state. Eisenhower ultimately won the national election with 55.18 percent of the vote, making Virginia two points more Republican than the nation at-large. This was the first occasion any Confederate State voted more Republican than the nation since Virginia itself in 1888 voted 0.30 points more Republican while its blacks remained enfranchised and large numbers of white Readjusters had joined the GOP. Nevertheless, the basis of Republican strength remained the old Readjuster and pro-gold standard regions of the Shenandoah Valley and Southwest Virginia. This was also the first election after Colonial Heights was incorporated as an independent city. Eisenhower won Colonial Heights by a close margin of roughly three points. In the decades since, Colonial Heights has established itself as one of the most Republican-leaning independent cities in Virginia, and has yet to be won by a Democratic presidential candidate. Eisenhower's 1952 and 1956 victories in Colonial Heights of three points and four points remain the two lowest margins of victory for a Republican presidential candidate . ==See also==