Two governors from opposite coasts headed the Republican ticket in 1948, Thomas Dewey of New York, and Earl Warren of California. Dewey was reprising his candidacy, having made a respectable showing against an arguably unbeatable Franklin Roosevelt in 1944. By 1948, FDR was long in the grave, and Dewey faced a much weaker Harry Truman. Warren, the hugely popular governor of the Sunshine State, had come in second in the Republican primaries and was a natural choice for VP, once Dewey had locked up the nomination. Most political observers predicted almost certain victory for the ticket in November.