Electoral history of Franklin D. Roosevelt
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/FDR_portrait_in_1932_60391.jpg/220px-FDR_portrait_in_1932_60391.jpg)
| |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | |||||||||||||||
|
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 popularity as a result of 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
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Franklin D. Roosevelt | 15,708 | 51.88 | +5.99 | |
Republican | John F. Schlosser (incumbent) | 14,568 | 48.12 | −3.61 | |
Total votes | 30,276 | 100.00 | |||
Democratic gain from Republican |
1912
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Franklin D. Roosevelt (incumbent) | 15,590 | 48.45 | −3.43 | |
Republican | Jacob G. Southard | 13,959 | 43.38 | −4.74 | |
Progressive | George A. Vossler | 2,628 | 8.17 | N/A | |
Total votes | 32,177 | 100.00 | |||
Democratic hold |
United States Senate election (1914)
Primary election
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
Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|
Franklin D. Roosevelt | 1,094 | 100.00 | |
Total votes | 1,094 | 100.00 |
General election
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/ElectoralCollege1920.svg/400px-ElectoralCollege1920.svg.png)
Candidate | Running mate | Party | Popular vote | Electoral vote | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | Votes | % | ||||
Warren G. Harding | Calvin Coolidge | Republican | 16,144,093 | 60.32 | 404 | 76.08 | |
James M. Cox | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Democratic | 9,139,661 | 34.15 | 127 | 23.92 | |
Eugene V. Debs | Seymour Stedman | Socialist | 913,693 | 3.41 | |||
Parley P. Christensen | Max S. Hayes | Farmer–Labor | 265,398 | 0.99 | |||
Aaron S. Watkins | D. Leigh Colvin | Prohibition | 188,787 | 0.71 | |||
James E. Ferguson | William J. Hough | American | 47,968 | 0.18 | |||
William Wesley Cox | August Gillhaus | Socialist Labor | 31,084 | 0.12 | |||
Others | 34,496 | 0.13 | |||||
Total | 26,765,180 | 100.00 | 531 | 100.00 | |||
Source: Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections |
New York gubernatorial elections (1928–1930)
1928
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/1928_New_York_gubernatorial_election_results_map_by_county.svg/220px-1928_New_York_gubernatorial_election_results_map_by_county.svg.png)
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Franklin D. Roosevelt | 2,130,193 | 48.96 | −3.34 | |
Republican | Albert Ottinger | 2,104,129 | 48.36 | +4.56 | |
Socialist | Louis Waldman | 101,859 | 2.34 | −0.53 | |
Workers | William F. Dunne | 10,741 | 0.25 | +0.06 | |
Socialist Labor | Charles Hunter Corregan | 4,213 | 0.10 | −0.02 | |
Total votes | 4,351,135 | 100.00 | |||
Democratic hold |
1930
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/05/1930_New_York_gubernatorial_election_results_map_by_county.svg/220px-1930_New_York_gubernatorial_election_results_map_by_county.svg.png)
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Franklin D. Roosevelt (incumbent) | 1,770,342 | 56.13 | +7.18 | |
Republican | Charles H. Tuttle | 1,045,341 | 33.14 | −15.22 | |
Law Preservation | Robert P. Carroll | 190,666 | 6.05 | N/A | |
Socialist | Louis Waldman | 120,444 | 3.82 | +1.48 | |
Communist | William Z. Foster | 18,034 | 0.57 | N/A | |
Socialist Labor | Jeremiah D. Crowley | 9,096 | 0.29 | +0.19 | |
Total votes | 3,153,923 | 100.00 | |||
Democratic hold |
Presidential elections (1932–1944)
1932
Primary elections
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/Results_of_the_1932_Democratic_presidential_primaries.svg/400px-Results_of_the_1932_Democratic_presidential_primaries.svg.png)
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
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7e/First_ballot_of_the_1932_Democratic_National_Convention.svg/400px-First_ballot_of_the_1932_Democratic_National_Convention.svg.png)
Roosevelt Smith Garner |
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
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/ElectoralCollege1932.svg/400px-ElectoralCollege1932.svg.png)
Candidate | Running mate | Party | Popular vote | Electoral vote | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | Votes | % | ||||
Franklin D. Roosevelt | John Nance Garner | Democratic | 22,821,277 | 57.41 | 472 | 88.89 | |
Herbert Hoover (inc.) | Charles Curtis (inc.) | Republican | 15,761,254 | 39.65 | 59 | 11.11 | |
Norman Thomas | James H. Maurer | Socialist | 884,885 | 2.23 | |||
William Z. Foster | James W. Ford | Communist | 103,307 | 0.26 | |||
William David Upshaw | Frank S. Regan | Prohibition | 81,905 | 0.21 | |||
William Hope Harvey | Frank Hemenway | Liberty | 53,425 | 0.13 | |||
Others | 45,845 | 0.12 | |||||
Total | 39,751,898 | 100.00 | 531 | 100.00 | |||
Source: Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections |
1936
Primary elections
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
Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|
Franklin D. Roosevelt (incumbent) | [a]– | 100.00 | |
Total votes | – | 100.00 |
General election
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/ElectoralCollege1936.svg/400px-ElectoralCollege1936.svg.png)
Candidate | Running mate | Party | Popular vote | Electoral vote | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | Votes | % | ||||
Franklin D. Roosevelt (inc.) | John Nance Garner (inc.) | Democratic | 27,752,648 | 60.80 | 523 | 98.49 | |
Alf Landon | Frank Knox | Republican | 16,681,862 | 36.54 | 8 | 1.51 | |
William Lemke | Thomas C. O'Brien | Union | 892,378 | 1.95 | |||
Norman Thomas | George A. Nelson | Socialist | 187,910 | 0.41 | |||
Earl Browder | James W. Ford | Communist | 79,315 | 0.17 | |||
Others | 53,586 | 0.12 | |||||
Total | 45,647,699 | 100.00 | 531 | 100.00 | |||
Source: Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections |
1940
Primary elections
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
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/1940DemocraticConventionRollCallFlat.svg/400px-1940DemocraticConventionRollCallFlat.svg.png)
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
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/49/ElectoralCollege1940.svg/400px-ElectoralCollege1940.svg.png)
Candidate | Running mate | Party | Popular vote | Electoral vote | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | Votes | % | ||||
Franklin D. Roosevelt (inc.) | Henry A. Wallace | Democratic | 27,313,945 | 54.74 | 449 | 84.56 | |
Wendell Willkie | Charles L. McNary | Republican | 22,347,744 | 44.78 | 82 | 15.44 | |
Norman Thomas | Maynard C. Krueger | Socialist | 116,599 | 0.23 | |||
Roger Babson | Edgar Moorman | Prohibition | 57,903 | 0.12 | |||
Earl Browder | James W. Ford | Communist | 48,557 | 0.10 | |||
Others | 17,365 | 0.03 | |||||
Total | 49,902,113 | 100.00 | 531 | 100.00 | |||
Source: Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections |
1944
Primary elections
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
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
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/ElectoralCollege1944.svg/400px-ElectoralCollege1944.svg.png)
Candidate | Running mate | Party | Popular vote | Electoral vote | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | Votes | % | ||||
Franklin D. Roosevelt (inc.) | Harry S. Truman | Democratic | 25,612,916 | 53.38 | 432 | 81.36 | |
Thomas E. Dewey | John W. Bricker | Republican | 22,017,929 | 45.89 | 99 | 18.64 | |
Unpledged | Unpledged | Texas Regulars | 143,238 | 0.30 | |||
Norman Thomas | Darlington Hoopes | Socialist | 79,017 | 0.16 | |||
Claude A. Watson | Andrew N. Johnson | Prohibition | 74,758 | 0.16 | |||
Others | 57,004 | 0.12 | |||||
Total | 47,984,862 | 100.00 | 531 | 100.00 | |||
Source: Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections |
Notes
- ^ Chosen by acclamation.
References
- ^ "NY State Senate 26 Race - Nov 08, 1910". Our Campaigns. December 23, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
- ^ "NY State Senate 26 Race - Nov 05, 1912". Our Campaigns. October 29, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
- ^ "NY US Senate - D Primary Race - Sep 28, 1914". Our Campaigns. May 30, 2005. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
- ^ "US Vice President - D Convention Race - Jun 28, 1920". Our Campaigns. March 29, 2007. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
- ^ "NY Governor Race - Nov 06, 1928". Our Campaigns. November 22, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
- ^ "NY Governor Race - Nov 04, 1930". Our Campaigns. November 21, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
- ^ "US President - D Primaries Race - Feb 01, 1932". Our Campaigns. November 21, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "US President - D Primaries Race - Feb 01, 1936". Our Campaigns. April 28, 2019. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
- ^ "US President - D Primaries Race - Feb 01, 1940". Our Campaigns. December 28, 2011. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
- ^ "The Only Ballot". The New York Times. July 18, 1940.
- ^ "US President - D Primaries Race - Feb 01, 1944". Our Campaigns. November 15, 2004. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
- ^ For the Fourth Time – TIME