1940
The 1940 U.S. presidential election was won by Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democratic) with 449 of 531 electoral votes, defeating Wendell Willkie (Republican). Electoral vote margin: 367 EV, popular-vote margin +10%; turnout 62.4%. The cycle falls in the New Deal Coalition era of American electoral history.
Franklin D. Roosevelt and the 1940 map
Roosevelt broke the two-term tradition set by Washington, winning an unprecedented third term amid the European crisis. Wendell Willkie was a liberal Republican businessman who agreed with much of the New Deal; the election turned largely on foreign policy, with Roosevelt promising to keep America out of the war while supporting Britain. Willkie made the race competitive but Roosevelt's incumbency advantage and the anxiety over Hitler's conquests in Europe sealed his victory.
Third term precedent; World War II neutrality; preparedness vs. isolationism
First and only third term in US history; FDR broke Washington's two-term precedent
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