The 1936 United States presidential election in Idaho took place on November 3, 1936, as part of the 1936 United States presidential election. State voters chose four representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Idaho was won by incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt (D–New York) and Vice President John Nance Garner (D–Texas) with 62.96 percent of the popular vote, over Governor Alf Landon (R–Kansas) and running mate Frank Knox (R–Illinois) with 33.19 percent of the popular vote.

Idaho has since become a Republican stronghold; as of 2024, this election marks the last time that Ada County, Canyon County, Gooding County, Jerome County, Lincoln County, Payette County and Twin Falls County would vote for a Democratic presidential nominee,Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, pp. 178-179 the last time that a Democrat would carry the state by double digits, and the last time that the state would (by margin of victory) vote more Democratic than the nation as a whole.

Republican nomination

William Borah, the Republican Senator for Idaho ran for the Republican nomination for president in 1936, the first candidate from Idaho to do so.

His candidacy was opposed by the conservative Republican leadership. Borah praised Roosevelt for some of his policies, and deeply criticized the Republican Party. With only 25 Republicans left in the Senate, Borah saw an opportunity to recast the Republican Party along progressive lines, as he had long sought to do. He was opposed by the Republican organization, which sought to dilute his strength in the primaries by running state favorite son candidates in order to ensure a brokered convention. Despite being easily the leading primary vote-getter, Borah managed to win only a handful of delegates and took a majority of them in only one state, Wisconsin, where he had the endorsement of Senator Robert M. La Follette, Jr. Borah refused to endorse the eventual candidate, Kansas Governor Alf Landon (who was nominated at the 1936 Republican National Convention), leading some to believe Borah might cross party lines and support Roosevelt. Ultimately, as he had four years earlier, he chose to endorse neither candidate.A Lion Among The Liberals, by Kevin C. Murphy. Retrieved June 29, 2016. Borah was on the ballot that fall in Idaho, seeking a sixth term in the Senate. For the first time since the people had been given the right to elect senators, the Democrats ran a serious candidate against him, Governor C. Ben Ross. Although Idahoans overwhelmingly voted for Roosevelt, who won every state except Maine and Vermont, Borah still took over sixty percent of their votes in his re-election bid.

Results

Results by county County Franklin Delano RooseveltDemocratic Alfred Mossman LandonRepublican William Frederick LemkeUnion Margin Total votes castScammon, Richard M. (compiler); America at the Polls: A Handbook of Presidential Election Statistics 1920-1964; p. 119 # % # % # % # % Ada 12,027 58.46% 7,581 36.85% 966 4.70% 4,446 21.61% 20,574 Adams 770 59.41% 434 33.49% 92 7.10% 336 25.93% 1,296 Bannock 9,443 70.51% 3,830 28.60% 120 0.90% 5,613 41.91% 13,393 Bear Lake 2,078 59.61% 1,404 40.28% 4 0.11% 674 19.33% 3,486 Benewah 1,906 65.70% 897 30.92% 98 3.38% 1,009 34.78% 2,901 Bingham 4,215 62.42% 2,354 34.86% 184 2.72% 1,861 27.56% 6,753 Blaine 1,361 64.59% 735 34.88% 11 0.52% 626 29.71% 2,107 Boise 780 65.55% 368 30.92% 42 3.53% 412 34.62% 1,190 Bonner 3,521 58.75% 2,016 33.64% 456 7.61% 1,505 25.11% 5,993 Bonneville 5,439 69.85% 2,213 28.42% 135 1.73% 3,226 41.43% 7,787 Boundary 1,304 60.31% 732 33.86% 126 5.83% 572 26.46% 2,162 Butte 546 62.83% 312 35.90% 11 1.27% 234 26.93% 869 Camas 442 60.47% 274 37.48% 15 2.05% 168 22.98% 731 Canyon 8,290 56.99% 4,910 33.75% 1,347 9.26% 3,380 23.24% 14,547 Caribou 640 66.53% 321 33.37% 1 0.10% 319 33.16% 962 Cassia 3,100 64.62% 1,629 33.96% 68 1.42% 1,471 30.66% 4,797 Clark 272 46.90% 304 52.41% 4 0.69% -32 -5.52% 580 Clearwater 1,959 66.95% 812 27.75% 155 5.30% 1,147 39.20% 2,926 Custer 875 61.58% 530 37.30% 16 1.13% 345 24.28% 1,421 Elmore 1,567 65.84% 688 28.91% 125 5.25% 879 36.93% 2,380 Franklin 2,255 61.44% 1,396 38.04% 19 0.52% 859 23.41% 3,670 Fremont 2,904 66.51% 1,423 32.59% 39 0.89% 1,481 33.92% 4,366 Gem 2,468 69.17% 879 24.64% 221 6.19% 1,589 44.53% 3,568 Gooding 2,100 56.68% 1,505 40.62% 100 2.70% 595 16.06% 3,705 Idaho 3,104 62.97% 1,535 31.14% 290 5.88% 1,569 31.83% 4,929 Jefferson 2,776 71.84% 1,037 26.84% 51 1.32% 1,739 45.01% 3,864 Jerome 2,374 62.84% 1,297 34.33% 107 2.83% 1,077 28.51% 3,778 Kootenai 5,752 63.92% 2,586 28.74% 661 7.35% 3,166 35.18% 8,999 Latah 4,359 58.45% 2,838 38.05% 261 3.50% 1,521 20.39% 7,458 Lemhi 1,648 61.82% 943 35.37% 75 2.81% 705 26.44% 2,666 Lewis 1,612 74.35% 507 23.39% 49 2.26% 1,105 50.97% 2,168 Lincoln 916 53.22% 766 44.51% 39 2.27% 150 8.72% 1,721 Madison 2,455 68.35% 1,114 31.01% 23 0.64% 1,341 37.33% 3,592 Minidoka 2,095 67.65% 948 30.61% 54 1.74% 1,147 37.04% 3,097 Nez Perce 5,705 71.45% 1,988 24.90% 292 3.66% 3,717 46.55% 7,985 Oneida 1,673 63.42% 955 36.20% 10 0.38% 718 27.22% 2,638 Owyhee 1,106 64.00% 500 28.94% 122 7.06% 606 35.07% 1,728 Payette 1,677 45.78% 1,524 41.61% 462 12.61% 153 4.18% 3,663 Power 1,075 59.33% 708 39.07% 29 1.60% 367 20.25% 1,812 Shoshone 5,377 70.92% 2,146 28.30% 59 0.78% 3,231 42.61% 7,582 Teton 834 59.19% 542 38.47% 33 2.34% 292 20.72% 1,409 Twin Falls 7,476 58.28% 4,966 38.71% 386 3.01% 2,510 19.57% 12,828 Valley 1,260 63.64% 575 29.04% 145 7.32% 685 34.60% 1,980 Washington 2,147 60.38% 1,234 34.70% 175 4.92% 913 25.67% 3,556Totals125,68362.96%66,25633.19%7,6783.85%59,42729.77%199,617

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Clark

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Bear Lake

See also United States presidential elections in Idaho

References