1936 United States elections explained

Year:1936
Type:Presidential election year
Election Day:November 3
Incumbent President:Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democratic)
Next Congress:75th
President Control:Democratic hold
President Candidate1:Franklin D. Roosevelt (D)
Electoral Vote1:523
President Candidate2:Alf Landon (R)
Electoral Vote2:8
President Pv Margin:Democratic +24.3%
President Map Caption:1936 presidential election results. Red denotes states won by Landon, blue denotes states won by Roosevelt. Numbers indicate the electoral votes won by each candidate.
Senate Seats Contested:36 of 96 seats
(32 Class 2 seats + 6 special elections)[1]
Senate Control:Democratic hold
Senate Net Change:Democratic +6[2]
Senate Map Caption:1936 Senate results

House Seats Contested:All 435 voting members
House Control:Democratic hold
House Net Change:Democratic +12
House Map Caption:1936 House of Representatives results

Governor Seats Contested:36
Governor Net Change:Democratic +1
Governor Map Caption:1936 gubernatorial election results


The 1936 United States elections were held on November 3, 1936, during the Great Depression. Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt trounced Governor Alf Landon of Kansas in a landslide and the Democrats built on their majorities in both chambers of Congress.[3] [4] [5]

In the presidential election, incumbent Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt won re-election, defeating Republican Governor Alf Landon of Kansas. Roosevelt took every state but Vermont and Maine, winning with the fourth-largest electoral vote margin in American history. Roosevelt took just under 61 percent of the popular vote, a number that only Lyndon Johnson would surpass (although the popular vote was not officially counted prior to the 1824 election). Landon decisively won his party's nomination over Idaho Senator William Borah.

The Democrats gained twelve seats in the House of Representatives, furthering their supermajority over the Republicans. The Democrats also maintained a supermajority in the Senate, gaining seven seats.[4] These elections marked the last time in U.S. history in which any party held three-fourths of all seats in both chambers of Congress.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Two Class 2 seats held both a regularly-scheduled election and a special election in 1936. These two seats are not double-counted for the total number of seats contested.
  2. Democrats picked up five seats in the regularly-scheduled elections and picked up an additional seat in the special elections.
  3. Web site: 1936 Presidential Election. The American Presidency Project. 28 December 2011.
  4. Web site: Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 3, 1936. U.S. House of Reps, Office of the Clerk. 28 December 2011.
  5. Book: Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 3, 1936 (Revision). 1936. U.S. House of Reps, Office of the Clerk. 1 March 2021.