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| Elections in Oregon |
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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.
Incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt (D–New York), running with Vice President John Nance Garner, won Oregon in a landslide over Governor Alf Landon (R–Kansas) 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]
- ^ "United States Presidential election of 1936 - Encyclopædia Britannica". Retrieved December 25, 2018.
- ^ "1936 Election for the Thirty-eighth Term (1937-41)". Retrieved December 25, 2018.
- ^ "1936 Presidential General Election Results - Oregon". Retrieved December 25, 2018.
- ^ "The American Presidency Project - Election of 1936". Retrieved December 25, 2018.
- ^ Tollefson, Gene; BPA and the Struggle for Power at Cost, p. 185 Published 1987 by Bonneville Power Association
- ^ Tollefson; BPA and the Struggle for Power at Cost, p. 127
- ^ 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)
- ^ Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016