Dewey might have been able to pull it off against Roosevelt had it not been for the Second World War. With the War in the Pacific still raging and the War in Europe going very well, it was hard to see Roosevelt going down in defeat, despite growing cracks in the New Deal coalition. Support for Roosevelt's domestic program was on a downward swing. Dewey was seen as a young and innovative governor who had made a name for himself prosecuting organized crime figures; even though he lost the first time around, he was seen as someone with a future. But still, he simply couldn't beat one of the political giants of the 20th Century, especially during a time of war.
