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1936 United States presidential election in North Carolina

Main article: 1936 United States presidential election

The 1936 United States presidential election in North Carolina took place on November 3, 1936, as part of the 1936 United States presidential election. North Carolina voters chose 13[2] representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

1936 United States presidential election in North Carolina
← 1932 November 3, 1936[1] 1940 →
All 13 North Carolina votes to the Electoral College
 
Nominee Franklin D. Roosevelt Alf Landon
Party Democratic Republican
Home state New York Kansas
Running mate John Nance Garner Frank Knox
Electoral vote 13 0
Popular vote 616,141 223,283
Percentage 73.40% 26.60%
County Results
President before election

Franklin D. Roosevelt
Democratic

Elected President

Franklin D. Roosevelt
Democratic

As a former Confederate state, North Carolina had a history of Jim Crow laws, disfranchisement of its African-American population and dominance of the Democratic Party in state politics. However, unlike the Deep South, the Republican Party had sufficient historic Unionist White support from the mountains and northwestern Piedmont to gain a stable one-third of the statewide vote total in most general elections,[3] where turnout was higher than elsewhere in the former Confederacy due substantially to the state's early abolition of the poll tax in 1920.[4] A rapid move following disenfranchisement to a completely “lily-white” state GOP also helped maintain Republican support amongst the state's voters.[5] Like Virginia, Tennessee and Oklahoma, the relative strength of Republican opposition meant that North Carolina did not have statewide white primaries, although certain counties did use the white primary.[6]

Anti-Catholicism against 1928 Democratic nominee Al Smith in the fishing communities of the Outer Banks, alongside increasing middle-class Republican voting in such cities as Charlotte, Durham and Greensboro,[7] meant that Republican nominee Herbert Hoover would use the lily-white state party to win its electoral votes for the first time since the Reconstruction election of 1872. During Hoover's administration, the state became the scene of a major controversy in the Supreme Court nomination of Fourth Circuit judge and 1920 Republican gubernatorial candidate John Johnston Parker, who had said that black North Carolinians no longer desire to participate in politics. When he was nominated the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People sent letters to senators requesting Parker's defeat.[8] The NAACP would ultimately succeed in defeating Parker, being helped by many Southern Democrats who feared that his nomination would strengthen a newly lily-white Republican Party in the former Confederacy, by many Northern and Border State Republicans opposed to a lily-white GOP there, and by the hostility of the American Federation of Labor to some of his rulings.[9] The Parker defeat put an end to Republican efforts to breach the “Solid South” for over two decades, and in North Carolina the two Republican congressmen elected in 1928 would both be defeated in 1930.

Although North Carolina suffered the smallest relative income loss of any state as a result of the Depression,[10] many Southerners blamed the collapse on the North and on Wall Street.[11] it had extremely severe effects in the South, which had the highest unemployment rate in the nation, and many Southerners blamed this on the North and on Wall Street, rejecting Hoover's claim that the Depression's causes were exogenous.[11] As expected,[12] North Carolina returned to the “Solid South” in 1932, and despite the entrenched conservatism of its Democratic leadership, the majority of the state's electorate revered President Franklin D. Roosevelt.[13] In October 1936, a poll had Roosevelt winning 65 percent of the state's ballots against Republican nominees Kansas Governor Alf Landon and Frank Knox.[14] Another poll a week before the election said the state was sure to back FDR despite known doubts about the New Deal amongst voters.[15]

Ultimately North Carolina was won by Roosevelt with 73.40 percent of the popular vote, against Landon's 26.60 percent.[16][17] This was an improvement of over three points upon FDR's 1932 performance, produced by gains of double digits in the urban Piedmont counties of Durham and Alamance, and lesser gains in neighbouring counties.[18] Landon retained the loyal GOP Unionist strength, with Avery County advancing from the tenth-most Republican in 1932 to being Landon's fifth-strongest county four years later.[19]

Results

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1936 United States presidential election in North Carolina
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Franklin D. Roosevelt (inc.) 616,141 73.40%
Republican Alf Landon 223,283 26.60%
Write-in Norman Thomas 21[a] 0.00%
Write-in Earl Browder 11[a] 0.00%
Write-in William Lemke 2[a] 0.00%
Write-ins Various candidates 6[a] 0.00%
Total votes 839,464 100%

Results by county

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1936 United States presidential election in North Carolina by county[18]
County Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Democratic 		Alfred Mossman Landon
Republican 		Margin
% # % # % #
Martin 97.58% 4,477 2.42% 111 95.16% 4,366
Northampton 97.20% 3,785 2.80% 109 94.40% 3,676
Bertie 97.08% 3,828 2.92% 115 94.17% 3,713
Pitt 96.71% 9,539 3.29% 325 93.41% 9,214
Hertford 96.52% 2,327 3.48% 84 93.03% 2,243
Halifax 96.39% 8,230 3.61% 308 92.79% 7,922
Greene 96.39% 3,097 3.61% 116 92.78% 2,981
Edgecombe 96.17% 6,684 3.83% 266 92.35% 6,418
Granville 95.86% 4,279 4.14% 185 91.71% 4,094
Franklin 95.75% 5,209 4.25% 231 91.51% 4,978
Warren 95.61% 3,047 4.39% 140 91.21% 2,907
Nash 94.38% 8,682 5.62% 517 88.76% 8,165
Lenoir 94.34% 5,854 5.66% 351 88.69% 5,503
Chowan 94.17% 1,550 5.83% 96 88.34% 1,454
Vance 93.51% 4,536 6.49% 315 87.01% 4,221
Robeson 93.35% 10,280 6.65% 732 86.71% 9,548
Hoke 93.27% 1,953 6.73% 141 86.53% 1,812
Wilson 93.20% 7,522 6.80% 549 86.40% 6,973
Currituck 92.70% 1,625 7.30% 128 85.40% 1,497
Union 92.56% 7,480 7.44% 601 85.13% 6,879
Craven 92.44% 5,543 7.56% 453 84.89% 5,090
Anson 92.40% 4,629 7.60% 381 84.79% 4,248
Caswell 92.33% 2,493 7.67% 207 84.67% 2,286
Onslow 92.15% 2,758 7.85% 235 84.30% 2,523
Gates 92.06% 1,484 7.94% 128 84.12% 1,356
Richmond 91.70% 6,709 8.30% 607 83.41% 6,102
Scotland 91.02% 3,183 8.98% 314 82.04% 2,869
Pasquotank 90.87% 3,226 9.13% 324 81.75% 2,902
Camden 89.60% 1,008 10.40% 117 79.20% 891
Jones 89.26% 1,563 10.74% 188 78.53% 1,375
Wake 88.99% 19,850 11.01% 2,456 77.98% 17,394
Person 88.30% 2,898 11.70% 384 76.60% 2,514
Pender 87.72% 2,379 12.28% 333 75.44% 2,046
Beaufort 86.42% 6,133 13.58% 964 72.83% 5,169
Cumberland 86.40% 6,505 13.60% 1,024 72.80% 5,481
Bladen 85.91% 3,360 14.09% 551 71.82% 2,809
Perquimans 85.76% 970 14.24% 161 71.53% 809
Durham 85.40% 12,804 14.60% 2,189 70.80% 10,615
New Hanover 84.96% 7,376 15.04% 1,306 69.91% 6,070
Mecklenburg 84.75% 26,169 15.25% 4,709 69.50% 21,460
Lee 84.75% 3,723 15.25% 670 69.50% 3,053
Cleveland 84.34% 11,393 15.66% 2,116 68.67% 9,277
Columbus 83.97% 6,359 16.03% 1,214 67.94% 5,145
Rockingham 81.84% 11,366 18.16% 2,522 63.68% 8,844
Cabarrus 81.32% 12,297 18.68% 2,825 62.64% 9,472
Wayne 80.19% 7,087 19.81% 1,751 60.38% 5,336
Duplin 79.42% 5,966 20.58% 1,546 58.84% 4,420
Hyde 79.30% 1,157 20.70% 302 58.60% 855
Gaston 78.63% 17,555 21.37% 4,772 57.25% 12,783
Forsyth 78.09% 18,734 21.91% 5,256 56.18% 13,478
Harnett 77.98% 8,018 22.02% 2,264 55.96% 5,754
Washington 77.80% 1,875 22.20% 535 55.60% 1,340
Tyrrell 77.53% 1,049 22.47% 304 55.06% 745
Rowan 74.84% 12,808 25.16% 4,306 49.68% 8,502
Iredell 74.76% 11,308 25.24% 3,817 49.53% 7,491
Alamance 74.13% 11,025 25.87% 3,847 48.27% 7,178
Guilford 72.89% 25,579 27.11% 9,514 45.78% 16,065
Orange 72.75% 3,860 27.25% 1,446 45.50% 2,414
Johnston 72.17% 11,253 27.83% 4,339 44.34% 6,914
Dare 71.93% 1,389 28.07% 542 43.86% 847
Buncombe 71.40% 23,646 28.60% 9,470 42.81% 14,176
Haywood 71.05% 8,175 28.95% 3,331 42.10% 4,844
Rutherford 67.23% 9,911 32.77% 4,830 34.47% 5,081
Chatham 66.71% 4,373 33.29% 2,182 33.42% 2,191
Carteret 66.68% 3,780 33.32% 1,889 33.36% 1,891
Caldwell 66.56% 6,809 33.44% 3,421 33.12% 3,388
Pamlico 65.42% 1,627 34.58% 860 30.84% 767
Surry 64.95% 8,833 35.05% 4,766 29.91% 4,067
Moore 64.29% 4,466 35.71% 2,481 28.57% 1,985
Catawba 63.30% 11,017 36.70% 6,387 26.60% 4,630
McDowell 63.22% 5,352 36.78% 3,114 26.44% 2,238
Brunswick 62.51% 2,710 37.49% 1,625 25.03% 1,085
Lincoln 61.17% 5,515 38.83% 3,501 22.34% 2,014
Alleghany 61.02% 2,345 38.98% 1,498 22.04% 847
Jackson 59.94% 4,580 40.06% 3,061 19.88% 1,519
Stanly 58.99% 6,505 41.01% 4,523 17.97% 1,982
Transylvania 58.71% 2,845 41.29% 2,001 17.42% 844
Davidson 58.62% 10,844 41.38% 7,656 17.23% 3,188
Polk 58.42% 2,521 41.58% 1,794 16.85% 727
Montgomery 58.16% 3,484 41.84% 2,506 16.33% 978
Burke 57.52% 7,454 42.48% 5,506 15.03% 1,948
Stokes 57.36% 4,384 42.64% 3,259 14.72% 1,125
Yancey 57.24% 3,603 42.76% 2,691 14.49% 912
Alexander 57.10% 3,262 42.90% 2,451 14.20% 811
Macon 56.45% 3,311 43.55% 2,554 12.91% 757
Swain 55.69% 2,619 44.31% 2,084 11.38% 535
Ashe 54.92% 5,552 45.08% 4,557 9.84% 995
Sampson 54.54% 5,937 45.46% 4,948 9.09% 989
Randolph 53.87% 8,090 46.13% 6,927 7.74% 1,163
Watauga 53.23% 3,880 46.77% 3,409 6.46% 471
Henderson 52.99% 5,747 47.01% 5,099 5.97% 648
Graham 52.64% 1,473 47.36% 1,325 5.29% 148
Cherokee 51.94% 3,473 48.06% 3,214 3.87% 259
Davie 49.74% 2,476 50.26% 2,502 -0.52% -26
Clay 46.77% 1,340 53.23% 1,525 -6.46% -185
Wilkes 43.77% 6,506 56.23% 8,358 -12.46% -1,852
Yadkin 43.31% 3,209 56.69% 4,200 -13.38% -991
Madison 38.06% 3,133 61.94% 5,099 -23.88% -1,966
Mitchell 33.29% 1,687 66.71% 3,380 -33.41% -1,693
Avery 22.02% 839 77.98% 2,971 -55.96% -2,132

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d None of these write-in candidates had their votes separated by county; they were given only as a statewide total.

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. ^ Phillips, Kevin P.;The Emerging Republican Majority, pp. 210, 242 ISBN 978-0-691-16324-6
  4. ^ Key, Valdimer Orlando; Southern Politics in State and Nation, p. 502, Alfred A. Knopf (1949)
  5. ^ Heersink, Boris; Jenkins, Jeffery A. (2020). Republican Party Politics and the American South, 1865–1968. Cambridge University Press. pp. 48–50, 239–243. ISBN 9781316663950.
  6. ^ Klarman, Michael J. (2001). "The White Primary Rulings: A Case Study in the Consequences of Supreme Court Decision-Making". Florida State University Law Review. 29: 55–107.
  7. ^ Phillips; The Emerging Republican Majority, pp. 212-215
  8. ^ Goings, Kenneth W. (1990). The NAACP comes of age: the defeat of Judge John J. Parker. Indiana University Press. pp. 23–24. ISBN 0253325854.
  9. ^ Topping, Simon (2008). Lincoln's lost legacy: the Republican Party and the African American vote, 1928-1952. Gainesville, Florida: University Press of Florida. p. 22. ISBN 978-0813032283.
  10. ^ Abrams, Douglas Carl (1992). Conservative constraints: North Carolina and the New Deal. Jackson, Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi. p. 3. ISBN 9780878055593.
  11. ^ a b Ritchie, Donald A. (2007). Electing FDR: the New Deal campaign of 1932. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas. p. 143. ISBN 978-0700616879.
  12. ^ Lewinson, Paul (1965). Race, class and party; a history of Negro suffrage and white politics in the South. pp. 167–168.
  13. ^ Abrams. Conservative Constraints, p. 47
  14. ^ Gallup, George (October 11, 1936). "Democratic Gains, Losses Since January". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. p. 1B.
  15. ^ Lawrence, David (October 26, 1936). "N. Carolina for Roosevelt but Has Doubts About New Deal". The Indianapolis News. p. 4.
  16. ^ "1936 Presidential General Election Results – North Carolina". Retrieved December 25, 2018.
  17. ^ "The American Presidency Project – Election of 1936". Retrieved December 25, 2018.
  18. ^ a b "NC US President Race, November 03, 1936". Our Campaigns.
  19. ^ "1936 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas.
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