1936 United States presidential election in Oregon

The 1936 United States presidential election in Oregon took place on November 3, 1936, as part of the 1936 United States presidential election. Voters chose five[2] representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

1936 United States presidential election in Oregon

← 1932 November 3, 1936[1] 1940 →

All 5 Oregon votes to the Electoral College
 
Nominee Franklin D. Roosevelt Alf Landon William Lemke
Party Democratic Republican Independent
Alliance Union
Home state New York Kansas North Dakota
Running mate John Nance Garner Frank Knox Thomas C. O'Brien
Electoral vote 5 0 0
Popular vote 266,733 122,706 21,831
Percentage 64.42% 29.64% 5.27%

County Results
Roosevelt
  40-50%
  50-60%
  60-70%
  70-80%


President before election

Franklin D. Roosevelt
Democratic

Elected President

Franklin D. Roosevelt
Democratic

Incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt (DNew York), running with Vice President John Nance Garner, won Oregon in a landslide over Governor Alf Landon (RKansas) and running mate Frank Knox. Roosevelt took 64.42% of the popular vote to Landon's 29.64%, in what remains the strongest Democratic presidential performance in Oregon history.

Oregon was essentially a one-party Republican state during the Fourth Party System from 1896 to 1928, with the party winning almost every statewide election during the period. However, in 1932, due to massive economic discontent caused by the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first Democrat since Horatio Seymour in 1868 to win a majority of the state's vote, carrying Oregon by an overwhelming 21 point margin.[3][4] In 1936, the extremely popular Roosevelt greatly improved upon his 1932 margin, winning Oregon by nearly 35 percentage points. Even amidst a massive Democratic landslide, Oregon weighed in more than 10 points to the left of the nation, a striking departure from its historical status as a Republican stronghold.

Before the election, the primary focus was on power development in the water-rich and mountainous Pacific Northwest, especially the construction of major Federal dams[5] and whether power rates for all users should be uniform.[6] The Republican Party strongly supported private utilities, whilst Democrats generally supported at least some degree of public ownership and control of electric utilities.[7]

As of 2020, Roosevelt remains the only Democrat (and the last candidate of any party) to sweep all of Oregon's counties in a presidential election. Out of FDR's four campaigns for president, this is the only one in which Benton County would support him. Additionally, the 1936 election remains the last in which a Democratic presidential candidate won Josephine County.[8]

Results

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1936 United States presidential election in Oregon
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Franklin D. Roosevelt (inc.) 266,733 64.42%
Republican Alf Landon 122,706 29.64%
Independent William Lemke 21,831 5.27%
Independent Norman Thomas 2,143 0.52%
Independent John W. Aiken 504 0.12%
Write-in Earl Browder 104 0.03%
Write-in D. Leigh Colvin 4 0.00%
Total votes 414,021 100%

Results by county

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County Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Democratic
Alfred Mossman Landon
Republican
William Frederick Lemke[9]
Independent
Various candidates
Other parties
Margin Total votes cast[10]
# % # % # % # % # %
Baker 4,991 69.79% 1,768 24.72% 362 5.06% 30 0.42% 3,223 45.07% 7,151
Benton 3,547 47.78% 3,390 45.67% 446 6.01% 40 0.54% 157 2.12% 7,423
Clackamas 14,203 66.67% 5,830 27.37% 1,114 5.23% 156 0.73% 8,373 39.30% 21,303
Clatsop 6,267 70.96% 2,261 25.60% 257 2.91% 47 0.53% 4,006 45.36% 8,832
Columbia 5,587 71.62% 1,815 23.27% 356 4.56% 43 0.55% 3,772 48.35% 7,801
Coos 7,167 67.42% 2,576 24.23% 834 7.85% 53 0.50% 4,591 43.19% 10,630
Crook 1,086 61.99% 589 33.62% 71 4.05% 6 0.34% 497 28.37% 1,752
Curry 913 54.35% 497 29.58% 247 14.70% 23 1.37% 416 24.76% 1,680
Deschutes 4,278 72.71% 1,299 22.08% 257 4.37% 50 0.85% 2,979 50.63% 5,884
Douglas 4,893 48.40% 4,254 42.08% 919 9.09% 44 0.44% 639 6.32% 10,110
Gilliam 983 69.67% 362 25.66% 65 4.61% 1 0.07% 621 44.01% 1,411
Grant 1,436 57.69% 697 28.00% 342 13.74% 14 0.56% 739 29.69% 2,489
Harney 1,262 65.05% 546 28.14% 122 6.29% 10 0.52% 716 36.91% 1,940
Hood River 2,759 65.77% 1,249 29.77% 155 3.69% 32 0.76% 1,510 36.00% 4,195
Jackson 7,520 54.05% 4,866 34.97% 1,449 10.41% 79 0.57% 2,654 19.07% 13,914
Jefferson 514 64.01% 253 31.51% 34 4.23% 2 0.25% 261 32.50% 803
Josephine 2,840 47.69% 1,992 33.45% 1,067 17.92% 56 0.94% 848 14.24% 5,955
Klamath 8,562 70.05% 3,225 26.39% 369 3.02% 66 0.54% 5,337 43.67% 12,222
Lake 1,274 56.55% 725 32.18% 247 10.96% 7 0.31% 549 24.37% 2,253
Lane 13,926 57.51% 8,309 34.31% 1,704 7.04% 276 1.14% 5,617 23.20% 24,215
Lincoln 3,024 59.98% 1,585 31.44% 401 7.95% 32 0.63% 1,439 28.54% 5,042
Linn 5,856 52.23% 4,110 36.66% 1,175 10.48% 70 0.62% 1,746 15.57% 11,211
Malheur 2,630 59.64% 1,385 31.41% 365 8.28% 30 0.68% 1,245 28.23% 4,410
Marion 15,536 59.59% 8,595 32.97% 1,710 6.56% 230 0.88% 6,941 26.62% 26,071
Morrow 1,181 63.02% 518 27.64% 161 8.59% 14 0.75% 663 35.38% 1,874
Multnomah 106,561 69.96% 41,405 27.18% 3,358 2.20% 995 0.65% 65,156 42.78% 152,319
Polk 3,694 56.85% 2,246 34.56% 514 7.91% 44 0.68% 1,448 22.28% 6,498
Sherman 823 67.85% 337 27.78% 50 4.12% 3 0.25% 486 40.07% 1,213
Tillamook 2,781 60.68% 1,380 30.11% 399 8.71% 23 0.50% 1,401 30.57% 4,583
Umatilla 5,753 61.13% 2,943 31.27% 676 7.18% 39 0.41% 2,810 29.86% 9,411
Union 4,643 69.17% 1,517 22.60% 520 7.75% 32 0.48% 3,126 46.57% 6,712
Wallowa 2,000 63.86% 811 25.89% 295 9.42% 26 0.83% 1,189 37.96% 3,132
Wasco 3,573 68.92% 1,278 24.65% 318 6.13% 15 0.29% 2,295 44.27% 5,184
Washington 8,641 63.48% 4,148 30.47% 721 5.30% 102 0.75% 4,493 33.01% 13,612
Wheeler 663 55.71% 502 42.18% 22 1.85% 3 0.25% 161 13.53% 1,190
Yamhill 5,366 55.92% 3,443 35.88% 729 7.60% 58 0.60% 1,923 20.04% 9,596
Totals 266,733 64.55% 122,706 29.69% 21,831 5.11% 2,751 0.65% 144,027 34.85% 414,021

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "United States Presidential election of 1936 - Encyclopædia Britannica". Retrieved December 25, 2018.
  2. ^ "1936 Election for the Thirty-eighth Term (1937-41)". Retrieved December 25, 2018.
  3. ^ "1936 Presidential General Election Results - Oregon". Retrieved December 25, 2018.
  4. ^ "The American Presidency Project - Election of 1936". Retrieved December 25, 2018.
  5. ^ Tollefson, Gene; BPA and the Struggle for Power at Cost, p. 185 Published 1987 by Bonneville Power Association
  6. ^ Tollefson; BPA and the Struggle for Power at Cost, p. 127
  7. ^ Blumm, Michael C.; ‘The Northwest's Hydroelectric Heritage: Prologue to the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act’; Washington Law Review, volume 58|Issue 2 (April 1, 1983)
  8. ^ Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
  9. ^ Géoelections; 1936 Presidential Election Popular Vote (.xlsx file for €15)
  10. ^ Scammon, Richard M. (compiler); America at the Polls: A Handbook of Presidential Election Statistics 1920-1964; p. 372 ISBN 0405077114