1936 United States presidential election in Delaware
November 3, 1936
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County Results
Roosevelt 50–60%
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The 1936 United States presidential election in Delaware was held on November 3, 1936. The state voters chose three electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
Delaware voted for Democratic Party candidate and incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who defeated Republican nominee, Kansas Governor Alf Landon. Roosevelt won the state by a margin of 9.77%, marking the first time since 1912 that the state voted for a Democratic presidential candidate, and the first time since 1888 that a Democrat carried the state with an outright majority.
While Landon lost the state, the 44.85% of the popular vote made Delaware his fifth strongest state in the 1936 election in terms of popular vote percentage after Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire and Kansas.[1]
This election marked Delaware's transition into a bellwether state: for the rest of the 20th century, it would vote for a losing candidate only once (in 1948). Once the century rolled around, it came to be regarded as a solidly blue state.
Results
| Party | Pledged to | Elector | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Henry T. Graham | 69,702 | |
| Democratic Party | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Charles M. Wharton | 69,172 | |
| Democratic Party | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Wilson M. Vinyard | 69,128 | |
| Republican Party | Alf Landon | Julia H. Tallman | 54,014 | |
| Republican Party | Alf Landon | George E. Walls | 53,836 | |
| Republican Party | Alf Landon | William P. Richardson | 53,834 | |
| Independent Republican Party | Alf Landon | John Wirt Willis | 3,222 | |
| Independent Republican Party | Alf Landon | Joseph Morris Harrington | 3,204 | |
| Independent Republican Party | Alf Landon | Frank S. Carter | 3,190 | |
| Union Party | William Lemke | Mary A. de Fanti | 442 | |
| Union Party | William Lemke | Mary A. Miller | 432 | |
| Union Party | William Lemke | Thomas Ryan | 429 | |
| Socialist Party | Norman Thomas | Walter B. Pollard | 172 | |
| Socialist Party | Norman Thomas | Ernest Mills | 170 | |
| Socialist Party | Norman Thomas | Edmund Smith | 169 | |
| Communist Party | Earl Browder | John D. Haman | 51 | |
| Communist Party | Earl Browder | Athanasais T. Hadges | 48 | |
| Communist Party | Earl Browder | Sadie Tomkin | 45 | |
| Votes cast[a] | 127,603 | |||
Results by county
| County[2] | Franklin D. Roosevelt Democratic |
Alf Landon Republican[b] |
William Lemke Union |
Norman Thomas Socialist |
Earl Browder Communist |
Margin | Total votes cast[a] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Kent | 9,588 | 56.38% | 7,389 | 43.45% | 0 | 0.00% | 22 | 0.13% | 6 | 0.04% | 2,199 | 12.93% | 17,005 |
| New Castle | 47,315 | 55.17% | 37,851 | 44.13% | 442 | 0.52% | 117 | 0.14% | 41 | 0.05% | 9,464 | 11.03% | 85,766 |
| Sussex | 12,799 | 51.54% | 11,996 | 48.31% | 0 | 0.00% | 33 | 0.13% | 4 | 0.02% | 803 | 3.23% | 24,832 |
| Totals | 69,702 | 54.62% | 57,236 | 44.85% | 442 | 0.35% | 172 | 0.13% | 51 | 0.04% | 12,466 | 9.77% | 127,603 |
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
See also
Notes
References
- ^ "1936 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
- ^ a b "Proclamation - State of Delaware, Executive Department". The Milford Chronicle. Milford. November 20, 1936. p. 6. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
- ^ "Candidates". Wilmington Morning News. Wilmington. November 2, 1936. p. 19. Retrieved December 17, 2025.