Shivers disputed the Truman administration]]'s claim on the Tidelands and disapproved of Truman's veto that would have vested tideland ownership in the states. Bucking the tradition of the "Solid South, Shivers delivered Texas in the 1952 presidential election for Dwight D. Eisenhower, only the second time that Texas had supported a Republican for president since Reconstruction (the other was 1928). The state Republican Party reciprocated by nominating Shivers for governor and so ran as the nominee of both parties. Shivers is believed to have lost popularity with some voters over his disloyalty to the Democratic Party. He also became less popular because of his opposition to "Brown" and his link to the Veterans' Land Board scandal.