Evening star., 1952-10-24

For Dixie, this is a political yea.
without parallel. The Southland
has been wooed ardently, in per
son. for the first time, by botl
presidential candidates.
In return, Southerners are car.
rying on heavy Irritation with
Gen. Eisenhower, and probably will
reward him with the biggest out
pouring of votes ever accorded
the G. o. P. below the Mason ane
Dixon line. At the same time, the!
evidently are going to hold ou
enough ballots to make sure mos
of Dixie and the border State
stick to their traditional love o.
the Democratic Party.
At this point, it is by no mean
sure that Gen. Eisenhower Cal
take a single Southern State. Bu
if the election were held today
newsmen from the area think h
would have just about a 50-5l
chance at Texas. Louisiana ant
Florida and their A electoral votes
Those three States are rated {
toss-up, as they were in an earlier
survey around Labor Day.
Virginia Very Doubtful.
Virginia still is considered tiltec
slightly toward Gov. Stevenson
but more doubtful than ever as Z
result of Senator Byrd's refusal t.
indorse the Illinois Governor.
Once-shaky Kentucky, now ex
|pected to go Democratic. has beer
replaced in the doubtful column
by neighboring Tennessee. The 2;
electoral votes of Virginia ant
Tennessee thus are listed as ques,
ton marks leaning toward Gov
Stevenson.
In addition to Kentucky, news.
men believe Alabama, Arkansas
Georgia, Mississippi, North ane
South Carolina. Oklahoma ane
West Virginia with a total of g.
Ivotes-are about as sure for Gov
Stevenson as anything can be il
politics.
General Leads in Electoral Votes.
When this lineup is combined
with survey results from five Mid
die Atlantic and II Western ant
Rocky Mountain States, the esti
mates are that Gen. Eisenhower
lis leading in or likely to take /:
States with 167 electoral votes
while Gov. Stevenson has an edge
in or is expected to capture l.
States with 127 votes. Thre,
States with "A votes are on tn,
fence. It takes 266 to win tn,
election.
In the South, as in other sec.
|tions. registrations are heavy. Anc
interest is at such a pitch voting
may be heavy, too. in perhaps the
closest approach to a two-partJ
election the area ever has seen.
In State after State. editors anc
political writer's say Gen. Eisen.
hover unquestionably has made 6
hit with his personal sparkle anc
his hammering on the issues o1
communism, corruption and time.
Ifor-a-change. Many think thu
backlash from the drubbing HI
has been taking from President
Truman is helping the G. O.P.
Most newsmen say, too, the gen.
eral got a lift from the airing ot
the financial status of his vict
presidential teammate, Senator
Nixon of California.
General Gains in 8 States.
What it adds up to is that thu
general is credited with making
anywhere from slight to substan.
tial headway in at least nine O.
the Southern and border State,
since the first survey around thu
beginning Of September. Th'
States are Alabama, Arkansas
Florida. Mississippi, North Caro-
lima, Oklahoma, South Carolina
Tennessee and West Virginia.
Those apparent advances hav'
been accomplished in spite of ear
lier predictions that the governor
would be the more likely of tn,
two to pick up, particularly in Ar
kansas and Florida, as the cam
paign rolled along.
The Democratic nominee il
listed as showing some improve
ment in Kentucky, Georgia ans
doubtful Louisiana.
All the relatively more impres
sive Eisenhower gains still aren'
enough to make a single Southern
or border State more than a 50-5l
bet to go Republican at this point
For tradition runs deep in South
ern families that have voted Dem
ocratic for generations. All Il
of the States-they now have 154
electoral votes-have toed the lint
for the Democratic or States
Rights Democratic tickets in tht
last five or more presidential elec.
Itions.
AS a Georgia editor put it, 6
lot ofa Southern folks talk Eisen.
hower-"but it is doubtful the,
will vote as they talk"
How Each State Looks.
This is the way the surveyor.
sized up the situation in the indi'
vidual States in the mid-Octobel
canvass electoral votes in pa.
rentheses)
Texas (24).
The hottest election scrap Tex.
ans can remember still is one o1
the closest. In mid-October, al
in late August, Gov. Stevenson
and Gen. Eisenhower were gallop.
ing neck and neck toward the
wire. And it was up to the silent
or undecided voter who would gel
there first.
Fist fights, a cleavage in the
Democratic Party and a Republi.