View source for 1936 United States presidential election

{{Short description|none}}
{{Use American English|date = April 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2013}}
{{Infobox election
| election_name = 1936 United States presidential election
| country = United States
| flag_year = 1912
| type = presidential
| ongoing = no
| previous_election = 1932 United States presidential election
| previous_year = 1932
| next_election = 1940 United States presidential election
| next_year = 1940
| votes_for_election = 531 members of the [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]]
| needed_votes = 266 electoral
| turnout = 61.0%<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/turnout.php|title=Voter Turnout in Presidential Elections|work=The American Presidency Project|publisher=[[UC Santa Barbara]]}}</ref> {{increase}} 4.2 [[percentage point|pp]]
| election_date = November 3, 1936

| image1 = [[Image:FDR in 1933 (cropped).jpg|x200px]]
| nominee1 = '''[[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]'''
| party1 = Democratic Party (United States)
| home_state1 = [[New York (state)|New York]]
| running_mate1 = '''[[John Nance Garner]]'''
| electoral_vote1 = '''523'''
| states_carried1 = '''46'''
| popular_vote1 = '''27,747,636'''
| percentage1 = '''60.8%'''

| image2 = [[Image:LandonPortr (cropped).jpg|x200px]]
| nominee2 = [[Alf Landon]]
| party2 = Republican Party (United States)
| home_state2 = [[Kansas]]
| running_mate2 = [[Frank Knox]]
| electoral_vote2 = 8
| states_carried2 = 2
| popular_vote2 = 16,679,543
| percentage2 = 36.5%

| map = {{1936 United States presidential election imagemap}}
| map_size = 350px
| map_caption = Presidential election results map. <span style="color:blue;">Blue</span> denotes states won by Roosevelt/Garner, <span style="color:red;">red</span> denotes those won by Landon/Knox. Numbers indicate the number of electoral votes allotted to each state.
| title = President
| before_election = [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]
| before_party = Democratic Party (United States)
| after_election = [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]
| after_party = Democratic Party (United States)
}}
The '''1936 United States presidential election''' was the 38th quadrennial [[United States presidential election|presidential election]], held on Tuesday, November 3, 1936. In the midst of the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]], incumbent [[History of the Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] defeated [[History of the Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] governor [[Alf Landon]] of [[Kansas]] in a [[landslide victory]]. Roosevelt won the highest share of the popular vote (60.8%) and the [[Electoral College (United States)|electoral vote]] (98.49%, carrying every state except Maine and Vermont) since the largely uncontested [[1820 United States presidential election|1820 election]]. The sweeping victory consolidated the [[New Deal Coalition]] in control of the [[Fifth Party System]].<ref>Paul Kleppner et al. ''The Evolution of American Electoral Systems'' pp 219–225.</ref>

Roosevelt and Vice President [[John Nance Garner]] were renominated without opposition. With the backing of party leaders, Landon defeated [[Progressivism in the United States|progressive]] Senator [[William Borah]] at the [[1936 Republican National Convention]] to win his party's presidential nomination. The populist [[Union Party (United States)|Union Party]] nominated Congressman [[William Lemke]] for president.

The election took place as the Great Depression entered its eighth year. Roosevelt was still working to push the provisions of his [[New Deal]] [[economic policy]] through Congress and the courts. However, the New Deal policies he had already enacted, such as [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security]] and [[unemployment benefits]], had proven to be highly popular with most Americans. Landon, a political moderate, accepted much of the New Deal but criticized it for waste and inefficiency.

Roosevelt went on to win the greatest electoral landslide since the rise of hegemonic control between the Democratic and Republican parties in the 1850s. Roosevelt took 60.8% of the popular vote, while Landon won 36.56% and Lemke won 1.96%. Roosevelt carried every state except Maine and Vermont, which together cast eight electoral votes. By winning 523 electoral votes and 98.49% of the electoral vote total, this was the largest share of the Electoral College since 1820 and the second-largest number of raw electoral votes ever received by a candidate, and the largest ever for a Democrat. Roosevelt also won by the widest margin in the popular vote for a Democrat in history, although [[Lyndon B. Johnson|Lyndon Johnson]] would later win a slightly higher share of the popular vote in [[1964 United States presidential election|1964]], with 61.1%. Roosevelt's 523 electoral votes marked the first of only three times in [[American history]] when a presidential candidate received over 500 electoral votes in a presidential election (the others being in [[1972 United States presidential election|1972]] and [[1984 United States presidential election|1984]]) and made Roosevelt the only Democratic president to accomplish this feat.

== Nominations ==

=== Democratic Party nomination ===
{{Main|1936 Democratic National Convention}}

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align:center;"
|-
| style="background:#f1f1f1;" colspan="30"|[[File:Democratic Disc.svg|65px|center|link=Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party (United States)]]<big>'''1936 Democratic Party ticket '''</big>
|-
! style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#3333FF; width:200px;"| [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|{{color|white|Franklin D. Roosevelt}}]]
! style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#3333FF; width:200px;"| [[John Nance Garner|{{color|white|John Nance Garner}}]]
|-
| style="width:3em; font-size:100%; color:#000; background:#C8EBFF; width:200px;"|'''''for President'''''
| style="width:3em; font-size:100%; color:#000; background:#C8EBFF; width:200px;"|'''''for Vice President'''''
|-
| [[File:FDR in 1933 2.jpg|center|200x200px]]
| [[File:John Nance Garner (1).jpg|center|200x200px]]
|-
| [[List of presidents of the United States|32nd]]<br />[[President of the United States]]<br /><small>(1933–1945)</small>
| [[List of vice presidents of the United States|32nd]]<br />[[Vice President of the United States]]<br /><small>(1933–1941)</small>
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%"
|- <sup>†</sup>
| colspan="5" style="text-align:center; width:700px; font-size:120%; color:white; background:#33f;"|
|-
! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:120%;"|[[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]
! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:120%;"|[[Henry Skillman Breckinridge]]
! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:120%;"|[[Upton Sinclair]]
! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:120%;"|[[John S. McGroarty]]
! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:120%;"|[[Al Smith]]
|-
|[[File:Franklin D. Roosevelt - NARA - 196715.jpg|center|120x120px]]
|[[File:Henry Breckinridge.jpg|center|120x120px]]
|[[File:Upton Sinclair, 1935.jpg|center|120x120px]]
|[[File:John S McGroarty 1893.jpg|center|120x120px]]
|[[File:AlfredSmith.jpg|center|120x120px]]
|-
|{{center|[[President of the United States|U.S. President]] from [[New York (state)|New York]] <small>(1933–1945)</small>}}
|{{center|[[United States Assistant Secretary of War|Assistant Secretary of War]]<br /><small>(1913–1916)</small>}}
|{{center|Novelist and Journalist from [[California]]}}
|{{center|[[United States House of Representatives|Congressman]] from [[California]]<br /><small>(1935–1939)</small>}}
|{{center|[[Governor of New York]] from [[New York (state)|New York]]<br /><small>(1919-1920, 1923–1928)</small>}}
|-
|{{center|<small>'''4,830,730 votes'''</small>}}
|{{center|<small>136,407 votes</small>}}
|{{center|<small>106,068 votes</small>}}
|{{center|<small>61,391 votes</small>}}
|{{center|<small>8,856
votes</small>}}
|}

Before his assassination, there was a challenge from [[Louisiana]] Senator [[Huey Long]]. But, due to his untimely death, President Roosevelt faced only one primary opponent other than various [[favorite son]]s. [[Henry Skillman Breckinridge]], an anti-New Deal lawyer from New York, filed to run against Roosevelt in four primaries. Breckinridge's challenge of the popularity of the New Deal among Democrats failed miserably. In New Jersey, President Roosevelt did not file for the preference vote and lost that primary to Breckinridge, even though he did receive 19% of the vote on write-ins. Roosevelt's candidates for delegates swept the race in New Jersey and elsewhere. In other primaries, Breckinridge's best showing was 15% in Maryland. Overall, Roosevelt received 93% of the primary vote, compared to 2.5% for Breckinridge.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Guide to U.S. Elections |publisher=[[CQ Press]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-60426-536-1 |editor-last=Kalb |editor-first=Deborah |location=Washington, DC |pages=392}}</ref>

The Democratic Party Convention was held in [[Philadelphia]] between July 23 and 27. The delegates unanimously re-nominated incumbents President Roosevelt and Vice-president [[John Nance Garner]]. At Roosevelt's request, the two-thirds rule, which had given the South a ''de facto'' veto power, was repealed.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left"
|+The balloting
|-
!Presidential ballot!! !!Vice-presidential ballot!!
|-
![[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] !!1100!! [[John Nance Garner]] !!1100
|}

=== Republican Party nomination ===
{{Main|1936 Republican National Convention}}

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align:center;"
|-
| style="background:#f1f1f1;" colspan="30"|[[File:Republican Disc.svg|65px|center|link=Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party (United States)]]<big>'''1936 Republican Party ticket'''</big>
|-
! style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#E81B23; width:200px;"| [[Alf Landon|{{color|white|Alf Landon}}]]
! style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#E81B23; width:200px;"| [[Frank Knox|{{color|white|Frank Knox}}]]
|-  style="color:#000; font-size:100%; background:#FFD0D7;"
| style="width:3em; width:200px;"|'''''for President'''''
| style="width:3em; width:200px;"|'''''for Vice President'''''
|-
| [[File:LandonPortr.jpg|center|200x200px]]
| [[File:Fknox.jpg|center|200x200px]]
|-
| [[List of governors of Kansas|26th]]<br />[[Governor of Kansas]]<br /><small>(1933–1937)</small>
| [[Media proprietor|Publisher]] of the<br />[[Chicago Daily News]]<br /><small>(1931–1940)</small>
|-
|}

<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:LandonPortr.jpg|[[Governor of Kansas|Governor]] '''[[Alf Landon]]''' of [[Kansas]]
File:Williameborah.jpg|[[United States Senate|Senator]] '''[[William Borah]]''' from [[Idaho]]
File:Fknox.jpg|Publisher '''[[Frank Knox]]''' from [[Illinois]]<br />''{{small|(withdrew; endorsed Landon)}}''
File:President Hoover portrait.jpg|Former [[President of the United States|President]] '''[[Herbert Hoover]]''' from [[California]]<br />''{{small|(did not actively run)}}''
File:Chas G Dawes-H&E.jpg|Former [[Vice President of the United States|vice president]] '''[[Charles G. Dawes]]''' from [[Illinois]]<br />''{{small|(declined to run)}}''
File:Charles Linza McNary cph.3b18950 (cropped 3x4).jpg|[[United States Senate|Senator]] '''[[Charles L. McNary]]''' from [[Oregon]]<br />''{{small|(declined to run)}}''
</gallery>

[[File:1936 Republican presidential primaries.JPG|thumb|Republican primaries by state results]]
Following the landslide defeat of former president [[Herbert Hoover]] at the previous presidential election in 1932, combined with devastating congressional losses that year, the Republican Party was largely seen as rudderless. In truth, Hoover maintained control of the party machinery and was hopeful of making a comeback, but any such hopes were dashed as soon as the 1934 mid-term elections, which saw further losses by the Republicans and made clear the popularity of the New Deal among the public. The expected third-party candidacy of prominent Senator [[Huey Long]] briefly reignited Hoover's hopes, but they were just as quickly ended by Long's assassination in September 1935. While Hoover thereafter refused to actively disclaim any potential draft efforts, he privately accepted that he was unlikely to be nominated, and even less likely to defeat Roosevelt in any rematch. Draft efforts did focus on former vice-president [[Charles G. Dawes]] and Senate Minority Leader [[Charles L. McNary]], two of the few prominent Republicans not to have been associated with Hoover's administration, but both men quickly disclaimed any interest in running.

The 1936 Republican National Convention was held in [[Cleveland]], Ohio, between June 9 and 12. Although many candidates sought the Republican nomination, only two, Governor Landon and Senator [[William Borah]] from Idaho, were considered to be serious candidates. While County Attorney [[Earl Warren]] from California, [[Governor of South Dakota|Governor]] [[Warren Green]] of South Dakota, and [[Stephen A. Day]] from Ohio won their respective primaries, the seventy-year-old Borah, a well-known [[progressivism|progressive]] and "insurgent,"  won the Wisconsin, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Oregon primaries, while also performing quite strongly in Knox's Illinois and Green's South Dakota.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Borah and Nye want to form new national party. Washington, D.C., May 6. There have been new rumors that Senator Borah of Idaho and Senator Nye of North Dakota and other insurgent Republicans want to start a new National party with the purpose of unhorsing the present Republican National Committee. The leadership will fall to Senators William E. Borah and Gerald P. Nye caught as they were confering together at the Capitol today, 5/6/1937|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/2016871639/|access-date=2021-10-26|website=Library of Congress}}</ref> The party machinery, however, almost uniformly backed Landon, a wealthy businessman and [[centrism|centrist]], who won primaries in Massachusetts and New Jersey and dominated in the [[caucus]]es and at state [[Political convention|party conventions]].

With Knox withdrawing to become Landon's selection for vice-president (after the rejection of New Hampshire [[Governor of New Hampshire|Governor]] [[Styles Bridges]]) and Day, Green, and Warren releasing their delegates, the tally at the convention was as follows:
* Alf Landon 984
* William Borah 19

=== Other nominations ===
Many people, most significantly [[Democratic National Committee]] Chairman [[James Farley]],<ref>Kane, Harnett; ''Huey Long's Louisiana Hayride'', p. 126. {{ISBN|1455606111}}</ref> expected [[Huey Long]], the colorful Democratic senator from Louisiana, to run as a third-party candidate with his "[[Share Our Wealth]]" program as his platform. Polls made during 1934 and 1935 suggested Long could have won between six<ref>Hair, William Ivy; ''The Kingfish and His Realm: The Life and Times of Huey P. Long''; {{ISBN|080712124X}}</ref> and seven million<ref>Carpenter, Ronald H.; ''Father Charles E. Coughlin: Surrogate Spokesman for the Disaffected''; p. 62 {{ISBN|0-313-29040-7}}</ref> votes, or approximately fifteen percent of the actual number cast in the 1936 election.

Popular support for Long's [[Share Our Wealth]] program raised the possibility of a 1936 presidential bid against incumbent Franklin D. Roosevelt.<ref>[[#Snyder|Snyder (1975)]], p. 121.</ref><ref name="FDR">{{cite news |last=Leuchtenburg|first=William E.|date=Fall 1985|title=FDR And The Kingfish|url=https://www.americanheritage.com/fdr-and-kingfish|work=American Heritage|access-date=June 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626100221/https://www.americanheritage.com/fdr-and-kingfish|archive-date=June 26, 2020}}</ref> When questioned by the press, Long gave conflicting answers on his plans for 1936. While promising to support a progressive Republican like Sen. [[William Borah]], Long claimed that he would only support a Share Our Wealth candidate.<ref>[[#Snyder|Snyder (1975)]], p. 122.</ref> At times, he even expressed the wish to retire: "I have less ambition to hold office than I ever had." However, in a later Senate speech, he admitted that he "might have a good parade to offer before I get through".<ref name="Snyder 1975, p. 125">[[#Snyder|Snyder (1975)]], p. 125.</ref> Long's son [[Russell B. Long]] believed that his father would have run on a third party ticket in 1936.<ref>[[#Snyder|Snyder (1975)]], pp. 126–127.</ref> This is evidenced by Long's writing of a speculative book, ''[[My First Days in the White House]]'', which laid out his plans for the presidency after the 1936 election.<ref name="First days">{{cite news |last=Brown|first=Francis|date=September 29, 1935|title=Huey Long as Hero and as Demagogue; My First Days in the White House. By Huey Pierce Long. 146 pp. Harrisburg, Pa.: The Telegraph Press.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/09/29/archives/huey-long-as-hero-and-as-demagogue-my-first-days-in-the-white-house.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=June 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608222739/https://www.nytimes.com/1935/09/29/archives/huey-long-as-hero-and-as-demagogue-my-first-days-in-the-white-house.html|archive-date=June 8, 2020}}</ref><ref>[[#Sanson|Sanson (2006)]], p. 274.</ref>{{efn|group=note|The book was published posthumously in 1935.<ref name="First days"/>}}

Long biographers [[T. Harry Williams]] and William Ivy Hair speculated that Long planned to challenge Roosevelt for the Democratic nomination in 1936, knowing he would lose the nomination but gain valuable publicity in the process. Then he would break from the Democrats and form a [[Third party (United States)|third party]] using the [[Share Our Wealth]] plan as its basis. He hoped to have the public support of Father [[Charles Coughlin]], a [[Catholic]] priest and [[Populism|populist]] [[talk radio]] personality from [[Royal Oak, Michigan]]; Iowa agrarian radical [[Milo Reno]]; and other dissidents like [[Francis Townsend]] and the remnants of the [[End Poverty in California]] movement.<ref>[[#Kennedy|Kennedy (2005) [1999]]], pp. 239–40.</ref> Diplomat [[Edward M. House]] warned Roosevelt "many people believe that he can do to your administration what [[Theodore Roosevelt]] did to the Taft administration in [[1912 United States presidential election|'12]]."<ref name="Snyder 1975, p. 125"/>

In spring 1935, Long undertook a national speaking tour and regular radio appearances, attracting large crowds and increasing his stature.<ref>[[#Hair|Hair (1996)]], p. 284.</ref> At a well attended Long rally in Philadelphia, a former mayor told the press "There are 250,000 Long votes" in this city.<ref name="Kennedy, David page 240">[[#Kennedy|Kennedy (2005) [1999]]], p. 240.</ref> Regarding Roosevelt, Long boasted to the ''New York Times''' [[Arthur Krock]]: "He's scared of me. I can out promise him, and he knows it."<ref>[[#Snyder|Snyder (1975)]], p. 128.</ref> While addressing reporters in late summer of 1935, Long proclaimed:

{{blockquote|"I'll tell you here and now that Franklin Roosevelt will not be the next President of the United States. If the Democrats nominate Roosevelt and the Republicans nominate Hoover, Huey Long will be your next President."<ref>{{cite web |title=FDR And The Kingfish|url=https://www.americanheritage.com/fdr-and-kingfish#1}}</ref>}}

As the 1936 election approached, the Roosevelt administration grew increasingly concerned by Long's popularity.<ref name="Kennedy, David page 240"/> [[Democratic National Committee]] Chairman [[James Farley]] commissioned a secret poll in early 1935 "to find out if Huey's sales talks for his 'share the wealth' program were attracting many customers".<ref>[[#Kennedy|Kennedy (2005) [1999]]], p. 239.</ref> Farley's poll revealed that if Long ran on a third-party ticket, he would win about 4&nbsp;million votes (about 10% of the electorate).<ref name="Kennedy, David page 241">[[#Kennedy|Kennedy (2005) [1999]]], p. 241.</ref> In a memo to Roosevelt, Farley wrote: "It was easy to conceive of a situation whereby Long by polling more than 3,000,000 votes, might have the balance of power in the 1936 election. For example, the poll indicated that he would command upwards of 100,000 votes in New York State, a pivotal state in any national election and a vote of that size could easily mean the difference between victory and defeat ... That number of votes would mostly come from our side and the result might spell disaster".<ref name="Kennedy, David page 241"/>

In response, Roosevelt in a letter to his friend [[William Dodd (ambassador)|William E. Dodd]], the US ambassador to Germany, wrote: "Long plans to be a candidate of the [[Hitler]] type for the presidency in 1936. He thinks he will have a hundred votes at the Democratic convention. Then he will set up as an independent with Southern and mid-western Progressives ... Thus he hopes to defeat the Democratic Party and put in a reactionary Republican. That would bring the country to such a state by 1940 that Long thinks he would be made dictator. There are in fact some Southerners looking that way, and some Progressives drifting that way ... Thus it is an ominous situation".<ref name="Kennedy, David page 241"/>

However, Long was assassinated in September 1935. Some historians, including Long biographer [[T. Harry Williams]], contend that Long had never, in fact, intended to run for the presidency in 1936. Instead, he had been plotting with Father [[Charles Coughlin]], a Catholic priest and [[populism|populist]] [[talk radio]] personality, to run someone else on the soon-to-be-formed "Share Our Wealth" Party ticket. According to Williams, the idea was that this candidate would split the [[left-wing politics|left-wing]] vote with President Roosevelt, thereby electing a Republican president and proving the electoral appeal of Share Our Wealth. Long would then wait four years and run for president as a Democrat in 1940.

Prior to Long's death, leading contenders for the role of the sacrificial 1936 candidate included Idaho Senator William Borah, Montana Senator and running mate of [[Robert M. La Follette]] in 1924 [[Burton K. Wheeler]], and Governor [[Floyd B. Olson]] of the [[Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party]]. After Long's assassination, however, the two senators lost interest in the idea, while Olson was diagnosed with terminal [[stomach cancer]].

Father Coughlin, who had allied himself with Dr. [[Francis Townsend]], a left-wing political activist who was pushing for the creation of an old-age [[pension]] system, and Rev. [[Gerald L. K. Smith]], was eventually forced to run Representative [[William Lemke]] (R-North Dakota) as the candidate of the newly created "[[Union Party (United States)|Union Party]]", with [[Thomas C. O'Brien]], a lawyer and former District Attorney for Boston, as Lemke's running-mate. Lemke, who lacked the charisma and national stature of the other potential candidates, fared poorly in the election, barely managing two percent of the vote, and the party was dissolved the following year.

The [[Socialist Party]] again ran [[Norman Thomas]] who had been their candidate in 1928 and for Vice President [[George A. Nelson]], a Wisconsin dairy farmer and writer on farming issues.

The [[Communist Party USA|Communist Party]] (CPUSA) nominated [[Earl Browder]] and for vice president their 1932 candidate [[James W. Ford]], who had been the first African American nominee.

[[William Dudley Pelley]], Chief of the [[Silver Legion of America|Silver Shirts]] Legion, ran on the ballot for the [[Christian Party (United States, 1930s)|Christian Party]] in Washington State, but won fewer than two thousand votes.

==Campaign==
=== Pre-election polling ===
This election is notable for ''[[The Literary Digest]]'' poll, which was based on ten million questionnaires mailed to readers and potential readers; 2.38 million were returned. The ''Literary Digest'' had correctly predicted the winner of the last five elections, and announced in its October 31 issue that Landon would be the winner with 57.08% of the vote (v Roosevelt) and 370 electoral votes.

The cause of this mistake has often been attributed to improper sampling: more Republicans subscribed to the ''Literary Digest'' than Democrats, and were thus more likely to vote for Landon than Roosevelt. Indeed, every other poll made at this time predicted Roosevelt would win, although most expected him to garner no more than 370 electoral votes.<ref name="Dark">Derbyshire, Wyn; ''Dark Realities: America's Great Depression''; p. 213 {{ISBN|1907444777}}</ref> However, a 1976 article in ''The American Statistician'' demonstrates that the actual reason for the error was that the ''Literary Digest'' relied on voluntary responses. As the article explains, the 2.38 million "respondents who returned their questionnaires represented only that subset of the population with a relatively intense interest in the subject at hand, and as such constitute in no sense a random sample ... it seems clear that the minority of anti-Roosevelt voters felt more strongly about the election than did the pro-Roosevelt majority."<ref>Bryson, Maurice C. 'The Literary Digest Poll: Making of a Statistical Myth' ''The American Statistician'', 30(4):November 1976</ref> A more detailed study in 1988 showed that both the initial sample and [[Participation bias|non-response bias]] were contributing factors, and that the error due to the initial sample taken alone would not have been sufficient to predict the Landon victory.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Squire|first=Peverill|date=1988|title=Why the 1936 Literary Digest Poll Failed|url=https://issuu.com/chilesoc/docs/why-the-1936-literary-digest-poll|access-date=2020-11-15|work=Public Opinion Quarterly|language=en}}</ref>

The magnitude of the error by the ''Literary Digest'' (39.08% for the popular vote margin for Landon v Roosevelt) destroyed the magazine's credibility, and it folded within 18 months of the election, while [[George Gallup]], an advertising executive who had begun a scientific poll, [[Historical polling for U.S. Presidential elections#1936 United States presidential election|predicted that Roosevelt would win the election]], based on a [[quota sample]] of 50,000 people.

His correct predictions made public opinion polling a critical element of elections for journalists, and indeed for politicians. The [[Gallup Poll]] would become a staple of future presidential elections, and remains one of the most prominent election polling organizations.

=== Campaign ===
[[File:Manchester Elm Street 1936 LOC fsa 8a02859.jpg|thumb|A 1936 election poster in [[Manchester, New Hampshire]]]]
Landon proved to be an ineffective campaigner who rarely travelled. Most of the attacks on FDR and Social Security were developed by Republican campaigners rather than Landon himself. In the two months after his nomination, he made no campaign appearances. Columnist [[Westbrook Pegler]] lampooned, "Considerable mystery surrounds the disappearance of Alfred M. Landon of Topeka, Kansas ... The Missing Persons Bureau has sent out an alarm bulletin bearing Mr. Landon's photograph and other particulars, and anyone having information of his whereabouts is asked to communicate direct with the Republican National Committee."<ref>''Time'', August 31, 1936</ref>

Landon respected and admired Roosevelt and accepted most of the New Deal but objected that it was hostile to business and involved too much waste and inefficiency. Late in the campaign, Landon accused Roosevelt of corruption – that is, of acquiring so much power that he was subverting the Constitution:

<blockquote>The President spoke truly when he boasted ... 'We have built up new instruments of public power.' He spoke truly when he said these instruments could provide 'shackles for the liberties of the people ...  and ... enslavement for the public.' These powers were granted with the understanding that they were only temporary. But after the powers had been obtained, and after the emergency was clearly over, we were told that another emergency would be created if the power was given up. In other words, the concentration of power in the hands of the President was not a question of temporary emergency. It was a question of permanent national policy. In my opinion the emergency of 1933 was a mere excuse ... National economic planning—the term used by this Administration to describe its policy—violates the basic ideals of the American system ... The price of economic planning is the loss of [[economic freedom]]. And economic freedom and personal liberty go hand in hand.<ref>''Time'' October 26, 1936</ref></blockquote>

Franklin Roosevelt's most notable speech in the 1936 campaign was an address he gave in Madison Square Garden in New York City on 31 October. Roosevelt offered a vigorous defense of the New Deal:

{{blockquote|For twelve years this Nation was afflicted with hear-nothing, see-nothing, do-nothing Government. The Nation looked to Government but the Government looked away. Nine mocking years with the golden calf and three long years of the scourge! Nine crazy years at the ticker and three long years in the breadlines! Nine mad years of mirage and three long years of despair! Powerful influences strive today to restore that kind of government with its doctrine that that Government is best which is most indifferent.

For nearly four years you have had an Administration which instead of twirling its thumbs has rolled up its sleeves. We will keep our sleeves rolled up.

We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace—business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering. They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob.

Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me—and I welcome their hatred.<ref>{{cite web |title=Franklin Delano Roosevelt Madison Square Garden Speech (1936) |url=https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/coretexts/_files/resources/texts/1936%20FDR%20New%20Deal%20Liberalism.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/coretexts/_files/resources/texts/1936%20FDR%20New%20Deal%20Liberalism.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |access-date=7 July 2021}}</ref>}}

== Results ==
[[File:PresidentialCounty1936Colorbrewer.gif|thumb|right|400px|Election results by county.{{legend|#1560BD|[[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]|border=1px #AAAAAA solid}}
{{legend|#E32636|[[Alf Landon]]|border=1px #AAAAAA solid}}]]
Roosevelt won in a landslide, carrying 46 of the 48 states and bringing in many additional Democratic members of Congress. After [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]'s 61.05% share of the popular vote in 1964, Roosevelt's 60.8% is the second-largest percentage in U.S. history (since 1824, when the vast majority of or all states have had a popular vote), and his 98.49% of the electoral vote is the highest in two-party competition.

The Republican Party saw its total in the [[United States House of Representatives]] reduced to 88 seats and in the United States Senate to 16 seats in their [[1936 United States House of Representatives elections|respective]] [[1936 United States Senate elections|elections]] and only won four governorships in the [[1936 United States gubernatorial elections|1936 elections]].<ref name="book" /> Roosevelt won the largest number of electoral votes ever recorded at that time, and has so far only been surpassed by [[Ronald Reagan]] in [[1984 United States presidential election|1984]], when seven more electoral votes were available to contest. Garner also won the highest percentage of the electoral vote of any vice president.

Landon won only eight electoral votes, tying [[William Howard Taft]]'s total in his [[1912 United States presidential election|unsuccessful re-election campaign in 1912]]. As of 2023, this is the equal lowest electoral vote total for a major-party candidate; the lowest number since was Reagan's 1984 opponent, [[Walter Mondale]], who won only thirteen electoral votes.

Roosevelt's net vote totals in the twelve largest cities increased from 1,791,000 votes in the 1932 election to 3,479,000 votes which was the highest for any presidential candidate from 1920 to 1948. Philadelphia and [[Columbus, Ohio]], which had voted for Hoover in the 1932 election, voted for Roosevelt in the 1936 election. Although the majority of black voters had been Republican in the 1932 election Roosevelt won two-thirds of black voters in the 1936 election.<ref name="book">{{cite book |last=Murphy |first=Paul |date=1974 |title=Political Parties In American History, Volume 3, 1890-present |publisher=[[G. P. Putnam's Sons]]}}</ref>

[[Norman Thomas]], who had received 884,885 votes in the 1932 election saw his totals decrease to 187,910.<ref name="book" />

4.78% of Landon's votes came from the eleven states of the former Confederacy, with him taking 19.09% of the vote in that region.{{sfn|Sherman|1973|p=263}}

This was the last Democratic landslide in the West, as Democrats won every state except Kansas (Landon's home state) by more than 10%. West of the Great Plains States, Roosevelt only lost eight counties. Since 1936, only Richard Nixon in 1972 (winning all but 19 counties){{citation needed|date=January 2021}} and Ronald Reagan in 1980 (winning all but twenty counties) have even approached such a disproportionate ratio.

Of the 3,095 counties, parishes and independent cities making returns, Roosevelt won in 2,634 (85 percent) while Landon carried 461 (15 percent); this was one of the few measures by which Landon's campaign was more successful than Hoover's had been four years prior, with Landon winning 87 more counties than Hoover did, albeit mostly in less populous parts of the country. Democrats also expanded their majorities in Congress, winning control of over three-quarters of the seats in each house.

The election saw the consolidation of the New Deal coalition; while the Democrats lost some of their traditional allies in big business, high-income voters, businessmen and professionals, they were replaced by groups such as organized labor and African Americans, the latter of whom voted Democratic for the first time since the [[American Civil War|Civil War]],{{citation needed|date=January 2021}} and made major gains among the poor and other minorities. Roosevelt won 86 percent of the Jewish vote, 81 percent of the Catholics, 80 percent of union members, 76 percent of Southerners, 76 percent of Blacks in northern cities, and 75 percent of people on relief. Roosevelt also carried 102 of the nation's 106 cities with a population of 100,000 or more.<ref>{{cite book|author=Mary E. Stuckey|title=Voting Deliberatively: FDR and the 1936 Presidential Campaign|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OootCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT19|year=2015|publisher=Penn State UP|page=19|isbn=978-0-271-07192-3}}</ref>

Some political pundits predicted the Republicans, whom many voters blamed for the [[Great Depression]], would soon become an extinct political party.<ref name="Republicans">Gould, Lewis L.; ''The Republicans: A History of the Grand Old Party''. {{ISBN|0199936625}}</ref> However, the Republicans would make a strong comeback in the 1938 congressional elections, and while they would remain a potent force in Congress,<ref name="Republicans" /> they were not able to regain control of the House or the Senate until 1946, and would not regain the presidency until 1952.

The [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]] results, in which Landon only won Maine and Vermont, inspired Democratic Party chairman [[James Farley]]—who had in fact declared during the campaign that Roosevelt would lose only these two states<ref name="Dark" />—to amend the then-conventional political wisdom of "[[As Maine goes, so goes the nation]]" into "As Maine goes, so goes Vermont." In fact, since then, the states of Vermont and Maine voted for the same candidate in every election except the [[1968 United States presidential election|1968 presidential election]]. Additionally, a prankster posted a sign on Vermont's border with New Hampshire the day after the 1936 election, reading, "You are now leaving the United States."<ref name="Dark" />

This was the last election in which Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota would vote Democratic until [[1964 United States presidential election|1964]]. Of these states, only Indiana would vote Democratic again after 1964 (for Barack Obama in 2008), making this the penultimate time a Democrat won any of the Great Plains states.

{{start U.S. presidential ticket box| pv_footnote=| ev_footnote=}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] (incumbent)| party=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]| state=[[New York (state)|New York]]| pv=27,752,648| pv_pct=60.80%| ev=523| vp_name=[[John Nance Garner]] (incumbent)| vp_state=[[Texas]]}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[Alf Landon]]| party=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]| state=[[Kansas]]| pv=16,681,862| pv_pct=36.54%| ev=8| vp_name=[[Frank Knox]]| vp_state=[[Illinois]]}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[William Lemke]]| party=[[Union Party (United States)|Union]]| state=[[North Dakota]]| pv=892,378| pv_pct=1.95%| ev=0| vp_name=[[Thomas C. O'Brien]]| vp_state=[[Massachusetts]]}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[Norman Thomas]]| party=[[Socialist Party of America|Socialist]]| state=New York| pv=187,910| pv_pct=0.41%| ev=0| vp_name=[[George A. Nelson]]| vp_state=[[Wisconsin]]}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[Earl Browder]]| party=[[Communist Party USA|Communist]]| state=[[Kansas]]| pv=79,315| pv_pct=0.17%| ev=0| vp_name=[[James W. Ford]]| vp_state=New York}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[D. Leigh Colvin]]| party=[[Prohibition Party|Prohibition]]| state=[[New York (state)|New York]]| pv=37,646| pv_pct=0.08%| ev=0| vp_name=[[Claude A. Watson]]| vp_state=[[California]]}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[John W. Aiken]]| party=[[Socialist Labor Party of America|Socialist Labor]]| state=[[Connecticut]]| pv=12,799| pv_pct=0.03%| ev=0| vp_name=Emil F. Teichert| vp_state=[[New York (state)|New York]]}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box other| footnote=| pv=3,141| pv_pct=0.00%}}
{{end U.S. presidential ticket box| pv=45,647,699| ev=531| to_win=266}}

'''Source (popular vote):''' {{Leip PV source 2| year=1936| as of=July 31, 2005}}

'''Source (electoral vote):''' {{National Archives EV source| year=1936| as of=July 31, 2005}}

{{bar box
|title=Popular vote
|titlebar=#ddd
|width=600px
|barwidth=410px
|bars=
{{bar percent|'''Roosevelt'''|{{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}|60.80}}
{{bar percent|Landon|{{party color|Republican Party (US)}}|36.54}}
{{bar percent|Lemke|#ff9955|1.95}}
{{bar percent|Thomas|#CD3700|0.41}}
{{bar percent|Others|#777777|0.30}}
}}
{{bar box
|title=Electoral vote
|titlebar=#ddd
|width=600px
|barwidth=410px
|bars=
{{bar percent|'''Roosevelt'''|{{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}|98.49}}
{{bar percent|Landon|{{party color|Republican Party (US)}}|1.51}}
}}

=== Geography of results ===
[[File:1936 Electoral Map.png|650px|thumb|left]]
<gallery perrow="3" widths="500px" heights="317px">
File:1936 United States presidential election results map by county.svg|Results by county, shaded according to winning candidate's percentage of the vote
</gallery>

==== Cartographic gallery ====
<gallery perrow="5" widths="185px" heights="113px">
File:PresidentialCounty1936Colorbrewer.gif|Presidential election results by county
File:DemocraticPresidentialCounty1936Colorbrewer.gif|Democratic presidential election results by county
File:RepublicanPresidentialCounty1936Colorbrewer.gif|Republican presidential election results by county
File:OtherPresidentialCounty1936Colorbrewer.gif|"Other" presidential election results by county
File:AmericanLaborPresidentialCounty1936Colorbrewer.gif|American Labor presidential election results by county
File:CartogramPresidentialCounty1936Colorbrewer.gif|[[Cartogram]] of presidential election results by county
File:CartogramDemocraticPresidentialCounty1936Colorbrewer.gif|[[Cartogram]] of Democratic presidential election results by county
File:CartogramRepublicanPresidentialCounty1936Colorbrewer.gif|[[Cartogram]] of Republican presidential election results by county
File:CartogramOtherPresidentialCounty1936Colorbrewer.gif|[[Cartogram]] of "Other" presidential election results by county
File:CartogramAmericanLaborPresidentialCounty1936Colorbrewer.gif|[[Cartogram]] of American Labor presidential election results by county
</gallery>

=== Results by state ===
Source:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=1936&datatype=national&def=1&f=0&off=0&elect=0|title=1936 Presidential General Election Data – National|access-date=April 8, 2013}}</ref>
{|class="wikitable"
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
|States/districts won by [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|Roosevelt]]/[[John Nance Garner|Garner]]
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
|States/districts won by [[Alf Landon|Landon]]/[[Frank Knox|Knox]]
|}<div style="overflow:auto">
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right"
|-
! colspan=2 |
! align=center colspan=3 | Franklin D. Roosevelt<br />Democratic
! align=center colspan=3 | Alfred Landon<br />Republican
! align=center colspan=3 | William Lemke<br />Union
! align=center colspan=3 | Norman Thomas<br />Socialist
! align=center colspan=3 | Other
! align=center colspan=2 | Margin
! align=center colspan=2 | State total
|-
! align=center | State
! style="text-align:center; font-size: 60%" data-sort-type="number" | electoral<br />votes
! align=center data-sort-type="number" | #
! align=center data-sort-type="number" | %
! style="text-align:center; font-size: 60%" data-sort-type="number" | electoral<br />votes
! align=center data-sort-type="number" | #
! align=center data-sort-type="number" | %
! style="text-align:center; font-size: 60%" data-sort-type="number" | electoral<br />votes
! align=center data-sort-type="number" | #
! align=center data-sort-type="number" | %
! style="text-align:center; font-size: 60%" data-sort-type="number" | electoral<br />votes
! align=center data-sort-type="number" | #
! align=center data-sort-type="number" | %
! style="text-align:center; font-size: 60%" data-sort-type="number" | electoral<br />votes
! align=center data-sort-type="number" | #
! align=center data-sort-type="number" | %
! style="text-align:center; font-size: 60%" data-sort-type="number" | electoral<br />votes
! align=center data-sort-type="number" | #
! align=center data-sort-type="number" | %
! style="text-align:center; font-size: 60%" data-sort-type="number" | #
!
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Alabama|Alabama]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 11
|238,136||86.38||11||35,358||12.82||-||551||0.20||-||242||0.09||-||1,397||0.51||-||202,838||73.56||275,244
|AL
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Arizona|Arizona]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 3
|86,722||69.85||3||33,433||26.93||-||3,307||2.66||-||317||0.26||-||384||0.31||-||53,289||42.92||124,163
|AZ
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Arkansas|Arkansas]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 9
|146,765||81.80||9||32,039||17.86||-||4||0.00||-||446||0.25||-||169||0.09||-||114,726||63.94||179,423
|AR
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in California|California]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 22
|1,766,836||66.95||22||836,431||31.70||-||-||-||-||11,331||0.43||-||24,284||0.92||-||930,405||35.26||2,638,882
|CA
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Colorado|Colorado]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 6
|295,021||60.37||6||181,267||37.09||-||9,962||2.04||-||1,593||0.33||-||841||0.17||-||113,754||23.28||488,684
|CO
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Connecticut|Connecticut]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 8
|382,129||55.32||8||278,685||40.35||-||21,805||3.16||-||5,683||0.82||-||2,421||0.35||-||103,444||14.98||690,723
|CT
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Delaware|Delaware]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 3
|69,702||54.62||3||57,236||44.85||-||442||0.35||-||172||0.13||-||51||0.04||-||12,466||9.77||127,603
|DE
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Florida|Florida]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 7
|249,117||76.10||7||78,248||23.90||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||170,869||52.20||327,365
|FL
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Georgia|Georgia]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 12
|255,364||87.10||12||36,942||12.60||-||141||0.05||-||68||0.02||-||660||0.23||-||218,422||74.50||293,175
|GA
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Idaho|Idaho]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
|125,683||62.96||4||66,256||33.19||-||7,678||3.85||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||59,427||29.77||199,617
|ID
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Illinois|Illinois]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 29
|2,282,999||57.70||29||1,570,393||39.69||-||89,439||2.26||-||7,530||0.19||-||6,161||0.16||-||712,606||18.01||3,956,522
|IL
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Indiana|Indiana]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 14
|934,974||56.63||14||691,570||41.89||-||19,407||1.18||-||3,856||0.23||-||1,090||0.07||-||243,404||14.74||1,650,897
|IN
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Iowa|Iowa]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 11
|621,756||54.41||11||487,977||42.70||-||29,687||2.60||-||1,373||0.12||-||1,940||0.17||-||133,779||11.71||1,142,733
|IA
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Kansas|Kansas]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 9
|464,520||53.67||9||397,727||45.95||-||497||0.06||-||2,770||0.32||-||-||-||-||66,793||7.72||865,014
|KS
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Kentucky|Kentucky]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 11
|541,944||58.51||11||369,702||39.92||-||12,501||1.35||-||632||0.07||-||1,424||0.15||-||172,242||18.60||926,203
|KY
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Louisiana|Louisiana]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 10
|292,894||88.82||10||36,791||11.16||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||93||0.00||-||256,103||77.66||329,778
|LA
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Maine|Maine]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 5
|126,333||41.52||-||168,823||55.49||5||7,581||2.49||-||783||0.26||-||720||0.24||-||-42,490||-13.97||304,240
|ME
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Maryland|Maryland]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 8
|389,612||62.35||8||231,435||37.04||-||-||-||-||1,629||0.26||-||2,220||0.36||-||158,177||25.31||624,896
|MD
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Massachusetts|Massachusetts]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 17
|942,716||51.22||17||768,613||41.76||-||118,639||6.45||-||5,111||0.28||-||5,278||0.29||-||174,103||9.46||1,840,357
|MA
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Michigan|Michigan]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 19
|1,016,794||56.33||19||699,733||38.76||-||75,795||4.20||-||8,208||0.45||-||4,568||0.25||-||317,061||17.56||1,805,098
|MI
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Minnesota|Minnesota]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 11
|698,811||61.84||11||350,461||31.01||-||74,296||6.58||-||2,872||0.25||-||3,535||0.31||-||348,350||30.83||1,129,975
|MN
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Mississippi|Mississippi]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 9
|157,318||97.06||9||4,443||2.74||-||-||-||-||329||0.20||-||-||-||-||152,875||94.31||162,090
|MS
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Missouri|Missouri]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 15
|1,111,043||60.76||15||697,891||38.16||-||14,630||0.80||-||3,454||0.19||-||1,617||0.09||-||413,152||22.59||1,828,635
|MO
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Montana|Montana]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
|159,690||69.28||4||63,598||27.59||-||5,549||2.41||-||1,066||0.46||-||609||0.26||-||96,092||41.69||230,512
|MT
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Nebraska|Nebraska]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 7
|347,445||57.14||7||247,731||40.74||-||12,847||2.11||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||99,714||16.40||608,023
|NE
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Nevada|Nevada]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 3
|31,925||72.81||3||11,923||27.19||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||20,002||45.62||43,848
|NV
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in New Hampshire|New Hampshire]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
|108,460||49.73||4||104,642||47.98||-||4,819||2.21||-||-||-||-||193||0.09||-||3,818||1.75|||218,114
|NH
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in New Jersey|New Jersey]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 16
|1,083,850||59.54||16||720,322||39.57||-||9,407||0.52||-||3,931||0.22||-||2,927||0.16||-||364,128||19.97||1,820,437
|NJ
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in New Mexico|New Mexico]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 3
|106,037||62.69||3||61,727||36.50||-||924||0.55||-||343||0.20||-||105||0.06||-||44,310||26.20||169,176
|NM
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in New York|New York]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 47
|3,293,222||58.85||47||2,180,670||38.97||-||-||-||-||86,897||1.55||-||35,609||0.64||-||1,112,552||19.88||5,596,398
|NY
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in North Carolina|North Carolina]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 13
|616,141||73.40||13||223,283||26.60||-||2||0.00||-||21||0.00||-||17||0.00||-||392,858||46.80||839,464
|NC
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in North Dakota|North Dakota]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
|163,148||59.60||4||72,751||26.58||-||36,708||13.41||-||552||0.20||-||557||0.20||-||90,397||33.03||273,716
|ND
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Ohio|Ohio]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 26
|1,747,140||57.99||26||1,127,855||37.44||-||132,212||4.39||-||117||0.00||-||5,265||0.17||-||619,285||20.56||3,012,589
|OH
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Oklahoma|Oklahoma]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 11
|501,069||66.83||11||245,122||32.69||-||-||-||-||2,221||0.30||-||1,328||0.18||-||255,947||34.14||749,740
|OK
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Oregon|Oregon]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 5
|266,733||64.42||5||122,706||29.64||-||21,831||5.27||-||2,143||0.52||-||608||0.15||-||144,027||34.79||414,021
|OR
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 36
|2,353,987||56.88||36||1,690,200||40.84||-||67,468||1.63||-||14,599||0.35||-||12,172||0.29||-||663,787||16.04||4,138,426
|PA
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Rhode Island|Rhode Island]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
|165,238||53.10||4||125,031||40.18||-||19,569||6.29||-||-||-||-||1,340||0.43||-||40,207||12.92||311,178
|RI
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in South Carolina|South Carolina]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 8
|113,791||98.57||8||1,646||1.43||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||112,145||97.15||115,437
|SC
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in South Dakota|South Dakota]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
|160,137||54.02||4||125,977||42.49||-||10,338||3.49||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||34,160||11.52||296,472
|SD
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Tennessee|Tennessee]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 11
|328,083||68.85||11||146,520||30.75||-||296||0.06||-||686||0.14||-||953||0.20||-||181,563||38.10||476,538
|TN
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Texas|Texas]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 23
|734,485||87.08||23||103,874||12.31||-||3,281||0.39||-||1,075||0.13||-||767||0.09||-||630,611||74.76||843,482
|TX
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Utah|Utah]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
|150,246||69.34||4||64,555||29.79||-||1,121||0.52||-||432||0.20||-||323||0.15||-||85,691||39.55||216,677
|UT
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Vermont|Vermont]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 3
|62,124||43.24||-||81,023||56.39||3||-||-||-||-||-||-||542||0.38||-||-18,899||-13.15||143,689
|VT
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Virginia|Virginia]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 11
|234,980||70.23||11||98,336||29.39||-||233||0.07||-||313||0.09||-||728||0.22||-||136,644||40.84||334,590
|VA
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Washington (state)|Washington]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 8
|459,579||66.38||8||206,892||29.88||-||17,463||2.52||-||3,496||0.50||-||4,908||0.71||-||252,687||36.50||692,338
|WA
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in West Virginia|West Virginia]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 8
|502,582||60.56||8||325,358||39.20||-||-||-||-||832||0.10||-||1,173||0.14||-||177,224||21.35||829,945
|WV
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Wisconsin|Wisconsin]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 12
|802,984||63.80||12||380,828||30.26||-||60,297||4.79||-||10,626||0.84||-||3,825||0.30||-||422,156||33.54||1,258,560
|WI
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 United States presidential election in Wyoming|Wyoming]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 3
|62,624||60.58||3||38,739||37.47||-||1,653||1.60||-||200||0.19||-||166||0.16||-||23,885||23.10||103,382
|WY
|-
!TOTALS:||531
!27,752,648||60.80||523
!16,681,862||36.54||8
!892,378||1.95||-
!187,910||0.41||-
!132,901||0.29||-
!11,070,786||24.25||45,647,699
|US
|}</div>

==== States that flipped from Republican to Democratic ====
*[[Connecticut]]
*[[Delaware]]
*[[New Hampshire]]
*[[Pennsylvania]]

==== Close states ====
Margin of victory less than 5% (4 electoral votes):
# <span style="color:blue;">'''New Hampshire, 1.75%''' '''(3,818 votes)'''</span>

Margin of victory greater than 5% but less than 10% (29 electoral votes):
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Kansas, 7.72% (66,793 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Massachusetts, 9.46% (174,103 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Delaware, 9.77% (12,466 votes)'''</span>

Tipping point state:
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Ohio, 20.56%''' '''(619,285 votes)'''</span>

==== Statistics ====
<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=1936&datatype=national&def=1&f=0&off=0&elect=0|title=1936 Presidential General Election Data – National|access-date=April 8, 2013}}</ref>

Counties with Highest Percent of Vote (Democratic)
# '''<span style="color:blue;">[[Issaquena County, Mississippi]] 100.00%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:blue;">[[Horry County, South Carolina]] 100.00%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:blue;">[[Lancaster County, South Carolina]] 100.00%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:blue;">[[Greensville County, Virginia]] 100.00%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:blue;">[[Edgefield County, South Carolina]] 99.92%</span>'''

Counties with Highest Percent of Vote (Republican)
# '''<span style="color:red;">[[Jackson County, Kentucky]] 89.05%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:red;">[[Johnson County, Tennessee]] 84.39%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:red;">[[Owsley County, Kentucky]] 83.02%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:red;">[[Leslie County, Kentucky]] 81.39%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:red;">[[Avery County, North Carolina]] 77.98%</span>'''

Counties with Highest Percent of Vote (Other)
# '''<span style="color:green;">[[Burke County, North Dakota]] 31.63%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:green;">[[Sheridan County, North Dakota]] 28.88%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:green;">[[Hettinger County, North Dakota]] 28.25%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:green;">[[Mountrail County, North Dakota]] 25.73%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:green;">[[Steele County, North Dakota]] 24.30%</span>'''

== See also ==
* [[History of the United States (1918–1945)]]
* [[1936 United States House of Representatives elections]]
* [[1936 United States Senate elections]]
* [[Second inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt]]
* [[Earl Browder]]
* [[Huey Long]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Works cited==
* {{cite book|author=Hair, William Ivy|title=The Kingfish and His Realm: The Life and Times of Huey P. Long|url=https://archive.org/details/kingfishhisrealm00hair|url-access=registration|publisher=Louisiana State University Press|year=1991|location=Baton Rouge|isbn=9780807141069|ref=Hair}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Sanson|first=Jerry P.|date=Summer 2006|title="What He Did and What He Promised to Do... ": Huey Long and the Horizons of Louisiana Politics|journal=The Journal of Louisiana Historical|volume=47|issue=3|pages=261–276|ref=Sanson|jstor=4234200}}
* {{cite book|last=Sherman |first=Richard |title=The Republican Party and Black America From McKinley to Hoover 1896-1933 |publisher=[[University of Virginia Press]] |date=1973 |isbn=0813904676}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Snyder|first=Robert E.|date=Spring 1975|title=Huey Long and the Presidential Election of 1936|journal=The Journal of Louisiana Historical|volume=16|issue=2|pages=117–143|ref=Synder|jstor=4231456}}

== Further reading ==
* [[Kristi Andersen|Andersen, Kristi]]. ''The Creation of a Democratic Majority: 1928–1936'' (1979), statistical
* Brown, Courtney. "Mass dynamics of US presidential competitions, 1928–1936." ''American Political Science Review'' 82.4 (1988): 1153–1181. [http://courtneybrown.com/publications/ArticlesandReviews/BrownMassDynamicsPresElectionsAPSR.pdf online]
* [[James MacGregor Burns|Burns, James MacGregor]]. ''Roosevelt: The Lion and the Fox'' (1956)
* Campbell, James E. "Sources of the new deal realignment: The contributions of conversion and mobilization to partisan change." ''Western Political Quarterly'' 38.3 (1985): 357–376. [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/James_Campbell52/publication/249801986_Sources_of_the_New_Deal_Realignment_The_Contributions_of_Conversion_and_Mobilization_to_Partisan_Change/links/58f961c6aca2723d79d26f46/Sources-of-the-New-Deal-Realignment-The-Contributions-of-Conversion-and-Mobilization-to-Partisan-Change.pdf online]
* Fadely, James Philip.  "Editors, Whistle Stops, and Elephants: the Presidential Campaign of 1936 in Indiana." ''Indiana Magazine of History'' 1989 85(2): 101–137. {{ISSN|0019-6673}}
* Harrell, James A. "Negro Leadership in the Election Year 1936." ''Journal of Southern History'' 34.4 (1968): 546–564. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2204386 online]
* Kennedy, Patrick D. "Chicago's Irish Americans and the Candidacies of Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1932-1944." ''Illinois Historical Journal'' 88.4 (1995): 263–278. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/40192982 online]
* [[William Leuchtenburg|Leuchtenburg, William E.]]  "Election of 1936", in Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., ed., ''A History of American Presidential Elections'' vol 3 (1971), analysis and primary documents
* McCoy, Donald. ''Landon of Kansas'' (1968)
* Nicolaides, Becky M. "Radio Electioneering in the American Presidential Campaigns of 1932 and 1936", ''Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television,'' June 1988, Vol. 8 Issue 2, pp.&nbsp;115–138
* [[David Pietrusza|Pietrusza, David]] ''Roosevelt Sweeps Nation: FDR’s 1936 Landslide and the Triumph of the Liberal Ideal'' (2022).
* Savage, Sean J. "The 1936-1944 Campaigns", in William D. Pederson, ed. ''A Companion to Franklin D. Roosevelt'' (2011) pp 96–113 [https://www.questia.com/read/123510939/a-companion-to-franklin-d-roosevelt online]
* [[Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.|Schlesinger, Jr., Arthur M.]] ''The Politics of Upheaval'' (1960)
* Sheppard, Si. ''The Buying of the Presidency? Franklin D. Roosevelt, the New Deal, and the Election of 1936''. Santa Barbara: Praeger, 2014.
* Shover, John L. "The emergence of a two-party system in Republican Philadelphia, 1924-1936." ''Journal of American History'' 60.4 (1974): 985–1002. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1901010 online]
* Spencer, Thomas T. "'Labor is with Roosevelt:' The Pennsylvania Labor Non-Partisan League and the Election of 1936." ''Pennsylvania History'' 46.1 (1979): 3–16. [https://journals.psu.edu/phj/article/viewFile/24079/23848 online]

=== Primary sources ===
* [[Hadley Cantril|Cantril, Hadley]] and Mildred Strunk, eds.; ''Public Opinion, 1935–1946'' (1951), massive compilation of many public opinion polls from USA
* [[George Gallup|Gallup, George H.]] ed. ''The Gallup Poll, Volume One 1935–1948'' (1972) statistical reports on each poll
* Chester, Edward W  ''A guide to political platforms'' (1977) [https://archive.org/details/guidetopolitical0000ches online]
* Porter, Kirk H. and Donald Bruce Johnson, eds. ''National party platforms, 1840-1964'' (1965) [https://archive.org/details/nationalpartypla00port online 1840-1956]

== External links ==
* [http://geoelections.free.fr/USA/elec_comtes/1936.htm 1936 popular vote by counties]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304041853/http://www.countingthevotes.com/1936/ Election of 1936 in Counting the Votes]
* [https://www.math.upenn.edu/~deturck/m170/wk4/lecture/case1.html University of Penn Math Department Case Study I: The 1936 Literary Digest Poll]

{{USPresidentialElections}}
{{1936 United States elections}}
{{United States presidential election, 1936}}
{{State Results of the 1936 U.S. Presidential Election}}
{{Franklin D. Roosevelt}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1936 United States presidential election| ]]
[[Category:Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt]]
[[Category:November 1936 events in the United States]]
[[Category:Alf Landon]]