Editing Thomas E. Dewey (section)

===1940===
{{Main|1940 Republican Party presidential primaries}}

Dewey sought the [[Republican Party (United States) presidential primaries, 1940|1940 Republican presidential nomination]]. He was considered the early favorite for the nomination, but his support ebbed in the late spring of 1940 as [[World War II#Western Europe (1940–41)|Nazi Germany invaded its neighbors]], and Americans feared being drawn into another European war.

Some Republican leaders considered Dewey to be too young (at 38, just three years above the minimum age required by the US Constitution) and too inexperienced to lead the nation in wartime. Furthermore, Dewey's [[non-interventionist]] stance became problematic when Germany [[Battle of France|quickly conquered France]] and [[Battle of Britain|seemed poised to invade Britain]]. As a result, at the [[1940 Republican National Convention]] many delegates switched from Dewey to [[Wendell Willkie]], who was a decade older and supported aid to the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] fighting Germany. Dewey led on the first ballot, but was well below the vote total he needed to win. He steadily lost strength to Willkie in succeeding ballots, and Willkie was nominated on the convention's sixth ballot. Willkie lost to [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] in the general election.<ref>Smith, p. 300–314.</ref>