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The U.S. presidential election of 1936 was the 38th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 1936. It marked the return of the Socialist Party to political dominance.
The Candidates[]
Running on the Democratic Party ticket. President Herbert Hoover of California was renominated for president while Senator William Borah of Idaho was chosen as his running mate. Hoover had not had a Vice President since he had succeeded President-Elect Calvin Coolidge, who died before he was sworn in as president in 1933. As Herbert Hoover was the Vice-President Elect, he was sworn in as president. There was no mechanism for replacing the VP.
Running on the Socialist ticket, New York governor Al Smith was nominated as president while Congressman Charles W. La Follette of Wisconsin was selected as his running mate.
The Campaign[]
In four years, Hoover and the Democrats had failed to end the Depression, or even make progress in doing so. Smith promised to make reforms and have the government intervene on behalf of the American people, which contrasted sharply with the Democrats' laissez faire policy. Smith also promised to explore solutions to the brewing crisis in the states formerly belonging to the Confederate States of America -- Kentucky, Sequoyah, and western Texas (Houston), as well as the Mormon problem in the state of Utah. Hoover continued advocating strong national defense, especially in the wake of recent Confederate rearmament under Jake Featherston. Ironically, up to this point, Hoover had shown indifference to Confederate rearmament, and had even permitted it to some extent to the allow the C.S. to put down "radical elements" of the Confederacy's Negro population.
The Election[]
Hoover and the Democrats were turned out of office. Smith and La Follette would dominate the US political scene until 1945, winning the Second Great War and completely crushing Featherston's CSA.
OTL Election[]
1936 saw Franklin D. Roosevelt reelected over Republican Alf Landon in one of the most lopsided elections in American history. Roosevelt won 523 electoral votes and carried 46 out of 48 states. Landon only won eight electoral votes from Maine and Vermont.
Hoover and Smith did face off in OTL in the 1928 election. There, the Republican Hoover handily defeated the Democrat Smith.
See Also[]
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