Cika wannan jumla: Ba tare da yarjejeniyar zaman lafiya ba, MacArthur ya yanke shawarar kada ya yi murabus yayin da a lokaci guda ya rubuta wasiƙu ga Wood yana cewa zai fi farin ciki da karɓar takarar Republican idan aka ba shi. A ƙarshen 1947 da farkon 1948, MacArthur ya karɓi manyan Republican da yawa a Tokyo. A ranar 9 ga Maris, 1948 MacArthur ya ba da sanarwar manema labarai inda ya bayyana sha'awarsa ta zama dan takarar shugaban kasa na Republican, yana mai cewa zai yi alfahari idan Jam'iyyar Republican ta tsayar da shi, amma ba zai yi murabus daga Sojojin ba don yaƙin neman zaɓe na shugaban ƙasa. Wood ya tilasta sanarwar manema labarai, wanda ya gaya wa MacArthur cewa ba shi yiwuwa a yi kamfen ga mutumin da ba a yi takarar shugaban kasa ba, kuma MacArthur na iya bayyana takararsa ko kuma ganin Wood ya daina yin kamfen a gare shi. Magoya bayan MacArthur sun yi ƙoƙari sosai don lashe zaben Wisconsin na Republican da aka gudanar a ranar 6 ga Afrilu, 1948. MacArthur ya ki yin yakin neman zabe ya cutar da damarsa sosai kuma Harold Stassen ya yi mamakin kowa da kowa. Rashin nasara a Wisconsin wanda ya biyo baya da rashin nasara a Nebraska ya kawo karshen damar MacArthur na lashe zaben Republican, amma MacArthur ya ki janye sunansa har sai da
1948 Republican National Convention, wanda Gwamna Thomas Dewey na New York ya zaba.