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1936 United States presidential election in New York

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1936 United States presidential election in New York

← 1932 November 3, 1936 1940 →
Turnout72.6%[1] Increase 6.5 pp
 
Nominee Franklin D. Roosevelt Alf Landon
Party Democratic Republican
Alliance American Labor
Home state New York Kansas
Running mate John Nance Garner Frank Knox
Electoral vote 47 0
Popular vote 3,293,222 2,180,670
Percentage 58.85% 38.97%

County Results

President before election

Franklin D. Roosevelt
Democratic

Elected President

Franklin D. Roosevelt
Democratic

The 1936 United States presidential election in New York took place on November 3, 1936. All contemporary 48 states were part of the 1936 United States presidential election. Voters chose 47 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president. New York was won by incumbent Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York, who was running against Republican Governor of Kansas Alf Landon. Roosevelt ran with incumbent Vice President John Nance Garner of Texas, and Landon ran with newspaper publisher Frank Knox of Illinois.

A former Governor of New York who had easily carried the state four years earlier, Franklin Roosevelt won New York State in 1936 by an even more decisive margin. Roosevelt took 58.85% of the vote versus Alf Landon's 38.97%, a margin of 19.88%. Despite being Roosevelt's home state, in the context of the 1936 nationwide Democratic landslide, New York weighed in for this election as 4% more Republican than the national average,[2] although FDR won the state by nearly 20 points.

Roosevelt won his home state by means of a dominance of the massively populated New York City area, performing even more strongly than he had in 1932. Roosevelt took over 70% of the vote in the boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx, and took over 60% of the vote in Queens and Staten Island. For the era, this was an historically overwhelming victory for a Democratic presidential candidate in the five boroughs of New York City, and enough to easily secure a statewide win for Roosevelt. The emergence of the New Deal Coalition was at its peak in 1936,[3] and made American cities with their powerful political machines core bases of support for the Democratic Party.[4] The Great Depression had accelerated the process of urbanization of the Democratic Party which had begun with the election of 1928. Roosevelt's landslide win in New York City was a fruit born by this process, and over the whole nation, he achieved majorities in the largest cities totaling twice what Harding had achieved in 1920.[5] FDR's 1936 victory in New York State would also be the strongest statewide Democratic performance ever in terms of both margin and vote share until 1964.[2]

Results

[edit]
1936 United States presidential election in New York
Party Candidate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Democratic Franklin D. Roosevelt 3,018,298 53.93%
American Labor Franklin D. Roosevelt 274,924 4.91%
Total Franklin D. Roosevelt (incumbent) 3,293,222 58.85% 47
Republican Alf Landon 2,180,670 38.97% 0
Socialist Norman Thomas 86,897 1.55% 0
Communist Earl Browder 35,609 0.64% 0
Totals 5,596,398 100.0% 47

New York City results

[edit]
1936 Presidential Election in New York City Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Total
Democratic-
American Labor
Franklin D. Roosevelt 517,134 419,625 738,306 320,053 46,229 2,041,347 73.49%
72.71% 79.35% 75.78% 64.92% 65.68%
Republican Alf Landon 174,299 93,151 212,852 162,797 22,852 665,951 23.97%
24.51% 17.61% 21.85% 33.02% 32.47%
Socialist Norman Thomas 10,529 6,892 11,647 8,314 1,138 38,520 1.39%
1.48% 1.30% 1.20% 1.69% 1.62%
Communist Earl Browder 9,291 9,150 11,496 1,845 170 31,952 1.15%
1.31% 1.73% 1.18% 0.37% 0.24%
TOTAL 711,253 528,818 974,301 493,009 70,389 2,777,770 100.00%

Results by county

[edit]
County Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Democratic/American Labor
Alfred Mossman Landon
Republican
Normal Mattoon Thomas
Socialist
Earl Russell Browder
Communist
Margin Total votes cast[6]
# % # % # % # % # %
Albany 71,631 56.18% 52,962 41.54% 2,834 2.22% 84 0.07% 18,669 14.64% 127,511
Allegany 5,288 27.11% 13,829 70.89% 375 1.92% 16 0.08% -8,541 -43.78% 19,508
Bronx 419,625 79.35% 93,151 17.61% 6,892 1.30% 9,150 1.73% 326,474 61.74% 528,818
Broome 29,708 43.94% 36,945 54.65% 850 1.26% 100 0.15% -7,237 -10.71% 67,603
Cattaraugus 11,901 36.08% 20,484 62.10% 577 1.75% 22 0.07% -8,583 -26.02% 32,984
Cayuga 12,158 36.62% 20,203 60.85% 822 2.48% 17 0.05% -8,045 -24.23% 33,200
Chautauqua 23,283 42.39% 30,435 55.41% 1,128 2.05% 81 0.15% -7,152 -13.02% 54,927
Chemung 15,542 42.94% 20,515 56.68% 122 0.34% 16 0.04% -4,973 -13.74% 36,195
Chenango 5,143 27.08% 13,772 72.50% 73 0.38% 7 0.04% -8,629 -45.43% 18,995
Clinton 10,898 50.60% 10,521 48.85% 110 0.51% 9 0.04% 377 1.75% 21,538
Columbia 8,375 38.64% 13,034 60.14% 236 1.09% 28 0.13% -4,659 -21.50% 21,673
Cortland 4,606 27.69% 11,718 70.43% 303 1.82% 10 0.06% -7,112 -42.75% 16,637
Delaware 6,142 28.75% 15,164 70.98% 58 0.27% 0 0.00% -9,022 -42.23% 21,364
Dutchess 24,467 45.02% 28,868 53.12% 922 1.70% 88 0.16% -4,401 -8.10% 54,345
Erie 183,555 53.64% 152,312 44.51% 5,750 1.68% 591 0.17% 31,243 9.13% 342,208
Essex 5,447 31.88% 11,599 67.88% 39 0.23% 3 0.02% -6,152 -36.00% 17,088
Franklin 8,799 42.97% 11,521 56.26% 147 0.72% 11 0.05% -2,722 -13.29% 20,478
Fulton 8,977 37.82% 14,253 60.05% 466 1.96% 41 0.17% -5,276 -22.23% 23,737
Genesee 6,177 30.78% 13,292 66.23% 583 2.90% 17 0.08% -7,115 -35.45% 20,069
Greene 6,744 41.99% 9,060 56.41% 247 1.54% 9 0.06% -2,316 -14.42% 16,060
Hamilton 934 35.53% 1,695 64.47% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -761 -28.95% 2,629
Herkimer 12,847 44.10% 15,941 54.73% 321 1.10% 20 0.07% -3,094 -10.62% 29,129
Jefferson 13,975 35.41% 24,925 63.16% 543 1.38% 23 0.06% -10,950 -27.75% 39,466
Kings 738,306 75.78% 212,852 21.85% 11,647 1.20% 11,496 1.18% 525,454 53.93% 974,301
Lewis 3,263 28.56% 8,048 70.44% 108 0.95% 7 0.06% -4,785 -41.88% 11,426
Livingston 6,088 32.12% 12,353 65.18% 503 2.65% 9 0.05% -6,265 -33.06% 18,953
Madison 5,867 28.49% 14,353 69.71% 353 1.71% 17 0.08% -8,486 -41.21% 20,590
Monroe 114,286 54.29% 93,055 44.20% 2,715 1.29% 467 0.22% 21,231 10.08% 210,523
Montgomery 14,698 50.44% 14,127 48.48% 286 0.98% 28 0.10% 571 1.96% 29,139
Nassau 74,232 42.96% 94,968 54.97% 3,301 1.91% 278 0.16% -20,736 -12.00% 172,779
New York 517,134 72.71% 174,299 24.51% 10,529 1.48% 9,291 1.31% 342,835 48.20% 711,253
Niagara 29,207 47.56% 30,144 49.08% 1,965 3.20% 99 0.16% -937 -1.53% 61,415
Oneida 43,439 47.68% 46,317 50.84% 1,244 1.37% 111 0.12% -2,878 -3.16% 91,111
Onondaga 62,945 43.03% 80,498 55.03% 2,639 1.80% 188 0.13% -17,553 -12.00% 146,270
Ontario 8,787 32.29% 17,812 65.45% 604 2.22% 12 0.04% -9,025 -33.16% 27,215
Orange 27,528 43.50% 34,428 54.41% 1,271 2.01% 49 0.08% -6,900 -10.90% 63,276
Orleans 4,016 26.78% 10,569 70.49% 398 2.65% 11 0.07% -6,553 -43.70% 14,994
Oswego 11,068 32.20% 22,803 66.33% 484 1.41% 21 0.06% -11,735 -34.14% 34,376
Otsego 7,807 31.52% 16,682 67.36% 266 1.07% 10 0.04% -8,875 -35.84% 24,765
Putnam 4,682 44.03% 5,761 54.18% 177 1.66% 13 0.12% -1,079 -10.15% 10,633
Queens 320,053 64.92% 162,797 33.02% 8,314 1.69% 1,845 0.37% 157,256 31.90% 493,009
Rensselaer 31,754 46.27% 34,772 50.67% 2,024 2.95% 71 0.10% -3,018 -4.40% 68,621
Richmond 46,229 65.68% 22,852 32.47% 1,138 1.62% 170 0.24% 23,377 33.21% 70,389
Rockland 15,876 49.47% 15,583 48.56% 574 1.79% 57 0.18% 293 0.91% 32,090
Saratoga 14,619 42.66% 19,153 55.90% 475 1.39% 19 0.06% -4,534 -13.23% 34,266
Schenectady 31,027 52.23% 26,914 45.30% 1,361 2.29% 105 0.18% 4,113 6.92% 59,407
Schoharie 4,229 36.99% 6,895 60.30% 301 2.63% 9 0.08% -2,666 -23.32% 11,434
Schuyler 2,551 34.22% 4,819 64.64% 75 1.01% 10 0.13% -2,268 -30.42% 7,455
Seneca 4,295 34.49% 7,919 63.59% 232 1.86% 8 0.06% -3,624 -29.10% 12,454
St. Lawrence 12,763 32.27% 26,031 65.81% 736 1.86% 26 0.07% -13,268 -33.54% 39,556
Steuben 14,978 36.70% 24,987 61.23% 821 2.01% 24 0.06% -10,009 -24.53% 40,810
Suffolk 33,078 39.22% 48,970 58.07% 2,187 2.59% 100 0.12% -15,892 -18.84% 84,335
Sullivan 9,908 49.58% 9,757 48.83% 256 1.28% 61 0.31% 151 0.76% 19,982
Tioga 4,305 31.56% 9,163 67.18% 150 1.10% 22 0.16% -4,858 -35.62% 13,640
Tompkins 7,007 33.78% 13,332 64.26% 374 1.80% 33 0.16% -6,325 -30.49% 20,746
Ulster 19,118 42.85% 24,678 55.32% 762 1.71% 53 0.12% -5,560 -12.46% 44,611
Warren 6,807 34.26% 12,873 64.78% 182 0.92% 9 0.05% -6,066 -30.53% 19,871
Washington 7,713 33.08% 15,186 65.13% 406 1.74% 12 0.05% -7,473 -32.05% 23,317
Wayne 7,099 27.80% 17,901 70.11% 516 2.02% 18 0.07% -10,802 -42.30% 25,534
Westchester 123,561 47.24% 133,670 51.10% 3,841 1.47% 497 0.19% -10,109 -3.86% 261,569
Wyoming 4,420 29.78% 10,253 69.09% 162 1.09% 6 0.04% -5,833 -39.30% 14,841
Yates 2,257 24.32% 6,897 74.32% 122 1.31% 4 0.04% -4,640 -50.00% 9,280
Totals 3,293,222 58.85% 2,180,670 38.97% 86,897 1.55% 35,609 0.64% 1,112,552 19.88% 5,596,398

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

[edit]

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

[edit]

Analysis

[edit]

In upstate New York, Roosevelt's support was mostly concentrated in the cities. Roosevelt again carried Albany County, home to the state capital of Albany, which since 1928 had become a Democratic stronghold of a city. Nearby Schenectady and Montgomery counties went Democratic as well. Montgomery County had not voted Democratic since 1876. 1936 also saw FDR flip Erie County into the Democratic column, home to the city of Buffalo in western New York, which up to that point was a Republican county that had even held for Herbert Hoover in 1932. Finally flipping in 1936, Buffalo has largely remained a loyal Democratic bastion ever since. Monroe County, home to the city of Rochester, also swung from voting for Hoover in 1932 to Roosevelt in 1936. Roosevelt's other wins in the state were pluralities in Rockland County and Sullivan County.

However, much of rural upstate New York remained one of the most loyally Republican regions in the nation throughout the FDR era, which many locals attributed to the fact that New Deal public works had barely affected these regions.[7] Going against the trend of both the state and the nation, FDR lost Franklin County to Landon in northern New York, a county which FDR had won in 1932 and which was even won by Al Smith in 1928, leaving Clinton County as the sole Democratic win in the North Country region of the state in 1936. Roosevelt also lost Rensselaer County to Landon in the Capital District, despite Roosevelt having won Rensselaer in 1932 and Smith winning there in 1928.

The rural Midwest, rural upstate New York and Unionist parts of Appalachia have been the consistent bastions of the Republican Party since the Civil War. 1936 was the third and final election in a row in which Democrats had won all five boroughs of New York City. This was the last election in which Democrats won the boroughs of Queens until 1960, and Staten Island or simultaneously carried all five boroughs of New York City until 1964.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Bicentennial Edition: Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970, part 2, p. 1072.
  2. ^ a b Counting the Votes; New York
  3. ^ Davin, Eric Leif; Crucible of Freedom: Workers' Democracy in the Industrial Heartland, 1914–1960, p. 268 ISBN 0739122398
  4. ^ Prologue: The Journal of the National Archives (1979), p. 114
  5. ^ Heale, Michael; The United States in the Long Twentieth Century: Politics and Society since 1900, p. 77 ISBN 1472511565
  6. ^ New York, ‘Vote, New York State, By Counties, November 3, 1936 For Highest Elector for President and Vice President,’ The New York Red Book 1937 (Albany, 1937)
  7. ^ Sheppard, Si; The buying of the presidency?: Franklin D. Roosevelt, the New Deal, and the election of 1936 pp. 207, 216-217 ISBN 1440831068