American politician and lawyer Thomas Dewey challenged two sitting Presidents for that office and lost to both Franklin Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman. Dewey carried the dubious distinction of having newspaper headlines prematurely proclaiming him the winner in the campaign against Truman in 1948. Dewey was elected governor of New York in 1942, 1946, and 1950. Following his retirement from the governorship in 1954, Dewey remained an active presence in the national Republican party.