Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1952-09-16
:. THE EVENING STAR
Election Survey Finds
Ioss-Up in Western,
Mountain States
By Douglas B. Cornell
Associated Press Ssoff Writer

By Douglas B. Cornell
Associated Press Ssuff Writer
NEW YORK. Sept. 16.-The
Mountain and Western States. al
most as solidly Democratic as the
South for 20 years, now are re-
garded by editors and correspond
ents as leaning Republican but
still 1852 toss-up.
An Associated Press survey.
based on individual county esti-
mates by editors and political
writer's in each state, indicates
their combined opinion is that
only one of the ii States could be
considered reasonably safe for the
Democrats if the election were
held at this time. The Democrats
captured 10 of II in 1913.
How They Line Up Now.
If present trends hold good
through November 4-and many
of the States still must be kept
on the doubtful liSt-the news
paper men say the 70 electoral
votes of the Mountain and West
ern States should line up this way
behind the presidential nominees:
For Republican Dwight d.
Eisenhower: California 80, Oregon
6. Washington 9, Idaho 4, Utah 4.
New Mexico 4, Montana 4, Nevada
3, Wyoming 8; total SO.
For Democrat Adlai E. Steven
son: Arizona 4.
Undecided: Colorado 6.
APP surveys Of New York, Penn
sylvania. New Jersey, Maryland
and Delaware, released yesterday,
indicate that editors and political
writer's hold a composite belief
that If the people were voting to-
day the los electoral ballots of
those i've states would go to Gen.
Eisenhower by a narrow margin.
The Eastern votes. plus 50 from
the West would give the G. o. p.
nominee 174 of the 266 needed toI
clinch a victory.
Could Shift Either Way.
But in the West, as in the East.
even a slight shifting Of the po-
litical winds could blow almost
any State in an entirely different
direction by the time November 4
rolls around.
The views of editors and cor
respondents in the Mountain and
Western region add up to an opin-
ion that most of the States are so
close at this point as to be very
much in doubt. A majority of
the participating ne wSpapers
which have taken a stand are
backing Gen. Eisenhower for the
presidency. -.
The West has a consistent rec
ord of voting Democratic in every
presidential election from 1882 on.
Oregon was the only one of the IL
States to go Republican four years
ago.
On just three other occasions
within the last two decades have
any other of these States voted for
Republican for President. Colo
RADIO did it in 1910 and 1914 and
Wyoming in 1914.
Have COP. Governors.
All the Mountain and Western
States except Montana now have
Republican governors. The cur
rents thus reflected, editors and
political appraisers say, may lead
this year to a swing of many of
their home States into the Repub-
lican camp.
Editors report that the principal
reason is a widespread feeling
amOng the people that it's time for
a change. They speak also of "too
much TrumaniSm" dissatisfaction
with imitation, high taxes, foreign
policy, war in Korea; corruption
and communism in Government"
To a much lesser degree than in
the Middle Atlantic States is there
mention of Eisenhower's personal
popularity as a campaign factor.
Many newSmen who made esti-
mates Of local trends were not
completely convinced they were
correct in their judgments. New
Mexico editors. for example, sent
their estimates along with such
comments as:
Its a guess right now" or tits
too early" and remember what
happened in 1948."
The way the candidates cam
paign is mentioned frequently as
q factor that may have a telling
effect on the November election
results in a number of states.
Composite Oregon View.
The composite view of 80 edi-
tors and writer's who took sound
ings in Oregon was that Gen.
Eisenhower would carry the state
without much trouble, whereas
Gov. Thomas E. Dewey of New
York won it from President Tru-
man in 1913 by less than $4,000
votes out of a total of more than
100000 cast.
But that was before Gov.
Stevenson brought his campaign
into the state.
A Republican editor had said
that in his county Stevenson's
vote would Jump 20 per cent or
more" if the Democratic nomi-
nee made even as much as one
whistle stop there.
Editors and a Portland polling
organization agreed that Gov.
Stevenson did make gains as a
result of invading Oregon last
r1Vk 4.