1936 Republican Party presidential primaries

1936 Republican Party presidential primaries

← 1932 March 10 to May 19, 1936 1940 →
1,003 delegates to the Republican National Convention 502 (majority) votes needed to win
Candidate William Borah Alf Landon Frank Knox Home state Idaho Kansas Illinois Contests won 5 3 1 Popular vote 1,478,676 729,908 527,054 Percentage 44.5% 21.9% 15.8%
First place finishes by popular vote   William Borah (5)   Alfred Landon (3)   Frank Knox (1)   Earl Warren (1)   Stephen A. Day (1)   Warren E. Green (1)
Previous Republican nominee Herbert Hoover Republican nominee Alfred Landon

From March 10 to May 19, 1936, voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for president in the 1936 United States presidential election. The nominee was selected through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 1936 Republican National Convention held from June 9 to June 12, 1936, in Cleveland, Ohio.^[1]

Although many candidates sought the Republican nomination, only two, Governor Alfred Landon and Senator William Borah, were considered to be serious candidates.^{[citation needed]}

While favorite sons County Attorney Earl Warren of California, Governor Warren E. Green of South Dakota, and Stephen A. Day of Ohio won their respective primaries, the 70-year-old Borah, a well-known progressive and "insurgent," carried the Wisconsin, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Oregon primaries, while also performing quite strongly in Knox's Illinois and Green's South Dakota. However, the party machinery almost uniformly backed Landon, a wealthy businessman and centrist, who won primaries in Massachusetts and New Jersey and dominated in the caucuses and at state party conventions.