1936 United States presidential election — 38th quadrennial U.S. presidential election
Roosevelt's 1936 landslide victory, carrying 523 electoral votes and 60.8% of the popular vote, cemented the New Deal Coalition's dominance in American politics.
Key Facts
- Roosevelt popular vote share
- 60.8%
- Roosevelt electoral votes
- 523 votes
- Landon popular vote share
- 36.56%
- States lost by Roosevelt
- Maine and Vermont (8 electoral votes)
- Electoral vote share
- 98.49% of total Electoral College
- Third-party candidate
- William Lemke (Union Party) — 1.96%
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The Great Depression, now in its eighth year, dominated American political life. Roosevelt had enacted major New Deal programs including Social Security and unemployment benefits, which were broadly popular. Republican nominee Alf Landon, a moderate, accepted much of the New Deal but argued it was wasteful and inefficient, failing to offer a sharply distinct alternative.
On November 3, 1936, incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Vice President John Nance Garner defeated Republican Alf Landon and Frank Knox in a historic landslide. Roosevelt carried every state except Maine and Vermont, amassing 523 electoral votes and 60.8% of the popular vote — the largest electoral share for any candidate since the largely uncontested 1820 election.
The sweeping victory consolidated the New Deal Coalition's grip on the Fifth Party System, establishing Democratic dominance in national politics for decades. Roosevelt became the only Democratic president to receive over 500 electoral votes, a feat matched in U.S. history only by Nixon in 1972 and Reagan in 1984, and the result validated New Deal economic policy as the political mainstream.
Political Outcome
Democratic incumbent Franklin D. Roosevelt won in a landslide, carrying 523 electoral votes (98.49%) and 60.8% of the popular vote, losing only Maine and Vermont.
Roosevelt first-term administration governing amid Great Depression with New Deal programs under political challenge
Roosevelt second term secured; New Deal Coalition consolidated control of Fifth Party System