"The 1944 Presidential Elections served as one of the most transformational in American history, as the first election in which the "Solid" Southern United States, which Democrats had often relied on as a reliable voting bloc began to shift in favor of the Republican Party. Historians often attribute the positions which President Henry Wallace held regarding his support of trade unionism in the South and his criticisms on the racial disenfranchisement of black communities, which was often fueled by corrupt political machines. These stances alienated many Southern politicians, who began to view Wallace's stances against segregation as "a betrayal of President Roosevelt's patriotic values" and "communist infiltration into the rights of individual states".
As of 1944, discontent in the South was so high, several state leaders had discussed running under a third-party "Dixiecrat" ticket, led by Arkansas governor Homer Adkins. Meanwhile, the conservative Senator from Ohio, John Bricker would be eagerly nominated by the Grand Old Party, buoyed by his fiery criticisms of the incumbent's policies as "a front for the Hillman-Browder Communist Party". Following his nomination, the party apparatus began suggesting moderate running mates such as Massachusetts senator Henry Cabot Lodge or California governor Earl Warren, drumming up support outside of the Midwest. However, Bricker had been a longtime supporter of the "Conservative Coalition" which united conservative Republicans and Southern Democrats against Roosevelt and Wallace's more liberal policies.
While the Coalition had always been a de-facto alliance and had never held much influence outside of policy-making, Bricker remained determined to bring his vision of an anti-Wallace alliance into reality. Eventually, the other half of Bricker's conservative coalition emerged in the form of Wilbert Lee "Pappy" O'Daniels, junior Texas Senator and famed Western swing musician. While it was clear that O'Daniels joining the Republican ticket would be political suicide, it was an open secret that the Senator would not run for re-election, often being viewed by his constituents as an inefficient legislator. Immediately, this announcement plunged the Party of Lincoln into sheer chaos as liberals denounced Bricker's betrayal of Republican values while the conservatives praised his bold decision and the moderates seemed to be in a state of catatonic shock.
Similar to Bricker himself, Wallace had realized the importance of extending an olive branch towards the South, choosing Burnet Maybank as his running mate, an active supporter of the New Deal, and a fanatic proponent of racial segregation and white supremacy. The resulting election would be one of the strangest in American history, with 1940 Republican nominee Wendell Willkie campaigning on behalf of the Wallace campaign, along with several other prominent liberals. Pappy O'Daniels would briefly restart his musical career, as Republican voters sang his campaign songs from Tulsa to Montgomery, while Virginia Senator Harry Byrd used his stranglehold over local politics to turn the state towards the Grand Old Party.
In the end, Bricker's "March Through Dixie" would fail to win him the Presidency, as loyal Republican states in New England received massive turnout in Wallace's favor. States such as Arkansas and Florida were only won by Bricker with the slimmest of margins as he even failed to win Texas, the home of his running mate. And while Maybank would later ascend to the Vice Presidency alongside Wallace, the Senator from South Carolina would later regret his support for Wallace following the President's desegregation of the Armed Forces, eventually resigning in 1946. Following the election, the Republican party apparatus would later view Bricker's southern outreach as a major reason behind their defeat, eventually leading to Thomas Dewey's nomination in 1948 under the promise of liberal leadership.
But in truth, there was little chance that Bricker would have defeated the popular wartime incumbent riding off of Roosevelt's coattails, even if he had chosen Lodge or Warren as running mate. This would soon be realized after Dewey's defeat at the hands of a more moderate Democratic ticket led by the famed General Eisenhower. While Bricker would remain distrusted by his Republican peers for the rest of his political career, his March Through Dixie would be survived by subsequent Republican campaigns. For without his groundbreaking strategy, Richard Nixon's 1956 Presidential campaign would have never achieved victory without a platform built on advocacy for state's rights or the utilization of a Southern running mate."
-Excerpt from "Elephants Over Dixie: The End of the Solid South", by William Blythe