Electoral history of Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1932

This is the electoral history of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who served as the 32nd president of the United States (1933–1945) and the 44th governor of New York (1929–1932).

A member of the Democratic Party, Roosevelt was first elected to the New York State Senate in 1910, representing the 26th district. He won re-election in 1912 before resigning shortly after starting his second term to accept the position of Assistant Secretary of the Navy under President Woodrow Wilson. He served throughout World War I, then resigned in 1920 to run for Vice President of the United States as a part of James M. Cox's campaign. They would lose in a landslide to the Republican ticket of Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge. After a break from electoral politics following his polio diagnosis, Roosevelt made his political comeback when he was narrowly elected Governor of New York in the 1928 election. His handling of the Great Depression in the state allowed him to win re-election by a much wider margin in 1930.

Roosevelt re-entered national politics when he announced his bid for the presidency in the 1932 election. After securing the Democratic nomination, he unseated incumbent President Herbert Hoover, becoming the first Democrat to win an outright majority of the popular vote since Samuel J. Tilden in 1876 and effectively jumpstarting the Fifth Party System. His re-election in 1936 was the greatest electoral landslide since the largely uncontested 1820 election, receiving the highest percentage of the electoral vote won by any candidate since then. He became the first and only president to win an unprecedented third and fourth terms in 1940 and 1944, in which he continued to enjoy relatively comfortable margins of victory due to his favorable handling of World War II and the persisting popularity of the New Deal. Roosevelt would die in office less than three months into his fourth term, being succeeded by Vice President Harry S. Truman.

New York State Senate elections (1910–1912)

1910

1910 New York's 26th State Senate district election[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Franklin D. Roosevelt 15,708 51.88
Republican John F. Schlosser (incumbent) 14,568 48.12
Total votes 30,276 100.00
Democratic gain from Republican

1912

1912 New York's 26th State Senate district election[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Franklin D. Roosevelt (incumbent) 15,590 48.45
Republican Jacob G. Southard 13,959 43.38
Progressive George A. Vossler 2,628 8.17
Total votes 32,177 100.00
Democratic hold

United States Senate election (1914)

Primary election

1914 United States Senate election in New York, Democratic primary[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic James W. Gerard 133,815 62.08
Democratic Franklin D. Roosevelt 63,879 29.64
Democratic James S. McDonough 17,862 8.29
Total votes 215,556 100.00

Vice presidential campaign (1920)

Nomination

1920 Democratic National Convention, vice presidential tally[4]
Candidate Votes %
Franklin D. Roosevelt 1,094 100.00
Total votes 1,094 100.00

General election

Electoral College map of the 1920 presidential election
1920 United States presidential election
CandidateRunning matePartyPopular voteElectoral vote
Votes%Votes%
Warren G. HardingCalvin CoolidgeRepublican16,144,09360.3240476.08
James M. CoxFranklin D. RooseveltDemocratic9,139,66134.1512723.92
Eugene V. DebsSeymour StedmanSocialist913,6933.41
Parley P. ChristensenMax S. HayesFarmer–Labor265,3980.99
Aaron S. WatkinsD. Leigh ColvinProhibition188,7870.71
James E. FergusonWilliam J. HoughAmerican47,9680.18
William Wesley CoxAugust GillhausSocialist Labor31,0840.12
Others34,4960.13
Total26,765,180100.00531100.00
Source: Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections

New York gubernatorial elections (1928–1930)

1928

County results of the 1928 gubernatorial election
1928 New York gubernatorial election[5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Franklin D. Roosevelt 2,130,193 48.96
Republican Albert Ottinger 2,104,129 48.36
Socialist Louis Waldman 101,859 2.34
Workers William F. Dunne 10,741 0.25
Socialist Labor Charles Hunter Corregan 4,213 0.10
Total votes 4,351,135 100.00
Democratic hold

1930

County results of the 1930 gubernatorial election
1930 New York gubernatorial election[6]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Franklin D. Roosevelt (incumbent) 1,770,342 56.13
Republican Charles H. Tuttle 1,045,341 33.14
Law Preservation Robert P. Carroll 190,666 6.05
Socialist Louis Waldman 120,444 3.82
Communist William Z. Foster 18,034 0.57
Socialist Labor Jeremiah D. Crowley 9,096 0.29
Total votes 3,153,923 100.00
Democratic hold

Presidential elections (1932–1944)

1932

Primary elections

1932 Democratic Party presidential primaries[7]
Candidate Votes %
Franklin D. Roosevelt 1,464,607 49.44
J. Hamilton Lewis 590,130 19.92
Al Smith 415,795 14.04
John Nance Garner 249,816 8.43
William H. Murray 226,392 7.64
Leo J. Chassee 7,372 0.25
Gus H. Howard 5,541 0.19
Others 2,972 0.10
Total votes 2,962,625 100.00

Nomination

1932 Democratic National Convention, presidential tally[8]
Candidate Ballot
1st 2nd 3rd 4th
Franklin D. Roosevelt 666.25 677.75 682.75 945
Al Smith 201.75 194.25 190.25 190.25
John Nance Garner 90.25 90.25 101.25
Albert Ritchie 21 23.5 23.5 3.5
George White 52 50.5 52.5 3
Melvin Alvah Traylor 42.25 40.25 40.25
James A. Reed 24 18 27.5
Harry F. Byrd 25 24 25
Will Rogers 22
William H. Murray 23
Newton D. Baker 8.5 8 8.5 5.5
James M. Cox 1
Not voting 5.5 2.5 5.75

General election

Electoral College map of the 1932 presidential election
1932 United States presidential election
CandidateRunning matePartyPopular voteElectoral vote
Votes%Votes%
Franklin D. RooseveltJohn Nance GarnerDemocratic22,821,27757.4147288.89
Herbert Hoover (inc.)Charles Curtis (inc.)Republican15,761,25439.655911.11
Norman ThomasJames H. MaurerSocialist884,8852.23
William Z. FosterJames W. FordCommunist103,3070.26
William David UpshawFrank S. ReganProhibition81,9050.21
William Hope HarveyFrank HemenwayLiberty53,4250.13
Others45,8450.12
Total39,751,898100.00531100.00
Source: Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections

1936

Primary elections

1936 Democratic Party presidential primaries[9]
Candidate Votes %
Franklin D. Roosevelt (incumbent) 4,830,730 93.19
Henry Skillman Breckinridge 136,407 2.63
Upton Sinclair 106,068 2.05
John S. McGroarty 61,391 1.18
Joseph A. Coutremarsh 39,730 0.77
Others 9,329 0.18
Total votes 5,183,655 100.00

Nomination

1936 Democratic National Convention, presidential tally
Candidate Votes %
Franklin D. Roosevelt (incumbent) [a] 100.00
Total votes 100.00

General election

Electoral College map of the 1936 presidential election
1936 United States presidential election
CandidateRunning matePartyPopular voteElectoral vote
Votes%Votes%
Franklin D. Roosevelt (inc.)John Nance Garner (inc.)Democratic27,752,64860.8052398.49
Alf LandonFrank KnoxRepublican16,681,86236.5481.51
William LemkeThomas C. O'BrienUnion892,3781.95
Norman ThomasGeorge A. NelsonSocialist187,9100.41
Earl BrowderJames W. FordCommunist79,3150.17
Others53,5860.12
Total45,647,699100.00531100.00
Source: Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections

1940

Primary elections

1940 Democratic Party presidential primaries[10]
Candidate Votes %
Franklin D. Roosevelt (incumbent) 3,250,555 72.16
John Nance Garner 426,641 9.47
Charles W. Sawyer 283,952 6.30
William B. Bankhead 196,508 4.36
H. C. Allen 102,729 2.28
Willis Allen 90,718 2.01
James Farley 76,919 1.71
Ellis E. Patterson 48,337 1.07
Unpledged 27,636 0.61
Others 636 0.01
Total votes 4,504,631 100.00

Nomination

First place finished by convention roll call
1940 Democratic National Convention, presidential tally[11]
Candidate Votes %
Franklin D. Roosevelt (incumbent) 946 86.32
James Farley 72 6.57
John Nance Garner 61 5.57
Millard Tydings 9 0.82
Cordell Hull 5 0.47
Total votes 1,093 100.00

General election

Electoral College map of the 1940 presidential election
1940 United States presidential election
CandidateRunning matePartyPopular voteElectoral vote
Votes%Votes%
Franklin D. Roosevelt (inc.)Henry A. WallaceDemocratic27,313,94554.7444984.56
Wendell WillkieCharles L. McNaryRepublican22,347,74444.788215.44
Norman ThomasMaynard C. KruegerSocialist116,5990.23
Roger BabsonEdgar MoormanProhibition57,9030.12
Earl BrowderJames W. FordCommunist48,5570.10
Others17,3650.03
Total49,902,113100.00531100.00
Source: Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections

1944

Primary elections

1944 Democratic Party presidential primaries[12]
Candidate Votes %
Franklin D. Roosevelt (incumbent) 1,566,218 79.24
Joseph T. Ferguson 164,915 8.34
Harry F. Byrd 109,000 5.51
Claude R. Linger 59,282 3.00
Unpledged 57,299 2.90
Fred H. Hildebrandt 7,414 0.38
A. W. Powell 6,727 0.34
Others 5,754 0.29
Total votes 1,976,609 100.00

Nomination

1944 Democratic National Convention, presidential tally[13]
Candidate Votes %
Franklin D. Roosevelt (incumbent) 1,086 92.35
Harry F. Byrd 89 7.56
James Farley 1 0.09
Total votes 1,176 100.00

General election

Electoral College map of the 1944 presidential election
1944 United States presidential election
CandidateRunning matePartyPopular voteElectoral vote
Votes%Votes%
Franklin D. Roosevelt (inc.)Harry S. TrumanDemocratic25,612,91653.3843281.36
Thomas E. DeweyJohn W. BrickerRepublican22,017,92945.899918.64
UnpledgedUnpledgedTexas Regulars143,2380.30
Norman ThomasDarlington HoopesSocialist79,0170.16
Claude A. WatsonAndrew N. JohnsonProhibition74,7580.16
Others57,0040.12
Total47,984,862100.00531100.00
Source: Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections

Notes

  1. ^ Chosen by acclamation.

References

  1. ^ "NY State Senate 26 Race - Nov 08, 1910". Our Campaigns. December 23, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  2. ^ "NY State Senate 26 Race - Nov 05, 1912". Our Campaigns. October 29, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  3. ^ "NY US Senate - D Primary Race - Sep 28, 1914". Our Campaigns. May 30, 2005. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  4. ^ "US Vice President - D Convention Race - Jun 28, 1920". Our Campaigns. March 29, 2007. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  5. ^ "NY Governor Race - Nov 06, 1928". Our Campaigns. November 22, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  6. ^ "NY Governor Race - Nov 04, 1930". Our Campaigns. November 21, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  7. ^ "US President - D Primaries Race - Feb 01, 1932". Our Campaigns. November 21, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  8. ^ Krock, Arthur (July 2, 1932). "Roosevelt Nominated on Fourth Ballot; Garner Expected to be His Running Mate; Governor Will Fly to Convention Today". The New York Times. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
  9. ^ "US President - D Primaries Race - Feb 01, 1936". Our Campaigns. April 28, 2019. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  10. ^ "US President - D Primaries Race - Feb 01, 1940". Our Campaigns. December 28, 2011. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  11. ^ "The Only Ballot". The New York Times. July 18, 1940.
  12. ^ "US President - D Primaries Race - Feb 01, 1944". Our Campaigns. November 15, 2004. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  13. ^ For the Fourth Time – TIME
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Electoral_history_of_Franklin_D._Roosevelt&oldid=1206965893"