Senator from Missouri Harry S. Truman, and Dewey ran with Ohio Governor John W. Bricker, an opponent during the 1944 Republican primaries, as vice president.

The presidential election of 1944 was a very partisan for New York, with more than 99.6% of the electorate casting votes for either the Democratic Party or the Republican.

Governor Dewey's stance on the New Deal put him and his campaign in sharp contradiction with the majority of voters across the country, including states such as New York, which had suffered through years of over 15% unemployment during the Great Depression, and who largely attributed the economic recovery to Roosevelt's leadership, and heightened federal regulation and spending.

Along with his first run for governor in 1938, the 1944 presidential election marked the only time that Dewey lost a statewide vote in New York.

New York was one of six states that became more Democratic compared to 1940, alongside Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois, North Dakota, and Rhode Island.