Alandslide victory is anelection result in which the winningcandidate orparty achieves a decisive victory by an overwhelming margin, securing a very large majority of votes or seats far beyond the typical competitive outcome.^[1][2] The term became popular in the 19th century to describe a victory in which the opposition is "buried",^[1] similar to the way in which a geologicallandslide buries whatever is in its path. A landslide victory for one party is often accompanied by anelectoral wipeout for the opposition, as the overwhelming support for the winning side inflicts a decisive loss on its rivals. What qualifies as a landslide victory can vary depending on the type of electoral system, as the term does not entail a precise, technical, or universally agreed-upon measurement. Instead, it is used informally in everyday language, making it subject to interpretation. Even within a singleelectoral system, there is no consensus on the exact margin that constitutes a landslide victory.^[1]

A landslide victory implies a powerful expression ofpopular will and a ringing endorsement by theelectorate for the winner'spolitical platform. A landslide can be viewed by a winning candidate or party as amandate or a tacit authorization from the public to implement their proposedpolicies and pursue theiragenda with confidence. Emboldened by the result, the winner may undertake ambitiousreforms or significant policy shifts to reflect the electorate's desire for meaningful change.^[3] However, it can also indicate deeppolitical polarization in an electorate^[4] or anunfair election.^[5]

A combination of factors, includingcharismatic leadership, a favorable shift in public sentiment driven by dissatisfaction with or support for thestatus quo, strategicelectoral campaigning and a positivemedia portrayal, can create the conditions necessary for a landslide victory. A landslide may fundamentally reshape thepolitical landscape of a country; one example of this phenomenon isFranklin D. Roosevelt's election as US president in 1932.^[6] In a post-landslide scenario, a winning party can sometimes implement its policies with little resistance, while its severely weakened opposition may struggle to perform essentialchecks and balances.

Local and mayoral elections:

• 2008 Brisbane City Council election – TheLiberal Party won a landslide victory over theLabor Party.Campbell Newman was re-electedLord Mayor of Brisbane with 66.1% of thetwo-party-preferred vote, with aswing of 13.7%.^[7] The LNP won 16 of the 26 wards.

• 2021 Mandurah City Council election –Rhys Williams was re-electedMayor of Mandurah with 85% of the vote.^[8]

State and territory elections:

• 2021 Western Australian state election –Mark McGowan led theLabor Party to win 53 out of the 59 seats in the lower house. The Labor Party had a primary vote of 59.92% and a two-party-preferred vote of 69.68%. TheNational Party won 4 seats and theLiberal Party won 2 seats, making the National Party the official opposition, the first time they had held this status since the 1940s. To date, the election is the most decisive result at any Australian state or federal election since Federation, in terms of both percentage of lower house seats controlled by the governing party (89.8%) and two-party preferred margin.^[9][10]

In a Canadian federal election, a landslide victory occurs when a political party gains a significant majority of theHouse of Commons of Canada.

Landslide victories may also occur during provincial elections, and territorial elections inYukon. Landslide victories are not possible for territorial elections in theNorthwest Territories, andNunavut, as its members are elected without reference to political parties, operating as aconsensus government.

The following Canadian federal elections resulted in landslide victories:^[11]

• 1935 – The Liberals, led byWilliam Lyon Mackenzie King, won 171 seats (an increase of 34) and gained a majority of 50, while the Conservatives, led byR. B. Bennett, won just 39 (a decrease of 98).
• 1940 – The Liberals, led by William Lyon Mackenzie King, won 179 seats (an increase of 6) and gained a majority of 56 seats whilethe Progressive Conservatives, led byRobert James Manion, won just 39 (unchanged from their previous share).
• 1949 – The Liberals, led byLouis St. Laurent, won 191 seats (an increase of 73) and gained a majority of 59, while the Progressive Conservatives, led byGeorge A. Drew, won just 41 (a decrease of 25).

• 1958 – The Progressive Conservatives, led byJohn Diefenbaker, won 208 seats (an increase of 96) and gained a majority of 75, while the Liberals, led byLester B. Pearson, won just 48 (a decrease of 57).

• 1984 – The Progressive Conservatives, led byBrian Mulroney, won 211 seats (an increase of 111) and gained a majority of 69, while the Liberals, led byJohn Turner, won just 40 (a decrease of 95). Mulroney is the only prime minister to have won a majority of seats in every single province.
• 1993 – The Liberals, led byJean Chrétien, won 177 seats (an increase of 96) and gained a majority of 29, while theBloc Québecois, led byLucien Bouchard, which ran only in Quebec, won 54 (an increase of 54). The ruling Progressive Conservatives, led byKim Campbell, won just 2 (a decrease of 154).

• In the1951–52,1957, and1962 Indian general elections,Jawaharlal Nehru'sIndian National Congress secured landslide majorities in theLok Sabha.
• In the1971 and1980 Indian general elections,Indira Gandhi'sIndian National Congress secured landslide majorities in theLok Sabha.
• 1984 Indian general election – TheIndian National Congress led byRajiv Gandhi was re-elected after winning over 400 seats in the lower house of India's Parliament.^[12]
• In the2014 and2019 Indian general elections,Narendra Modi'sBharatiya Janata Party secured landslide majorities in theLok Sabha.^[13]

• 2020 Jamaican general election – TheJamaica Labour Party led byAndrew Holness was re-elected after winning asupermajority in Parliament.^[14]

• 1986 Japanese general election – TheLiberal Democratic Party led byYasuhiro Nakasone was re-elected after winning 300 seats in Parliament and an outright majority.^[15]
• 2009 Japanese general election – TheDemocratic Party of Japan led byYukio Hatoyama was elected after winning over 300 seats in Parliament.^[16]
• 2026 Japanese general election – TheLiberal Democratic Party led bySanae Takaichi was re-elected after winning asupermajority (316 seats) in Parliament. The landslide was so decisive that the LDP, which actually won 330 seats, had to forfeit 14 of those simply due to not having enough list candidates.^[17]

Until 1996, New Zealand used the traditionalfirst-past-the-post system as in the U.K. to determine representation in itsParliament. Thus, landslide elections at that time were defined in an identical fashion, i.e. where one party won an overwhelming majority of the seats. Since 1996, New Zealand has used themixed member proportional system as in Germany, making landslides much less likely.^[18]

First past the post

• 1893 election – TheLiberals won 51 seats and 57.8% of the vote while theConservatives won 13 seats and just 24.5% of the vote.^[19]
• 1899 election – The Liberals won 49 seats and 52.7% of the vote while the Conservatives won 19 seats and just 36.6% of the vote.^[19]
• 1905 election – The Liberals won 58 seats and 53.1% of the vote while the Conservatives won 16 seats and just 29.7% of the vote.^[19]
• 1925 election – The Reform Party won 55 seats while the Labour & Liberal parties won just 23 seats combined.^[19]
• 1935 election –The Labour Party won 53 seats while theCoalition won just 19 seats.^[19]
• 1938 election – The Labour Party won 53 seats while theNational Party won just 25 seats.^[19]
• 1990 election – The National Party won 67 seats while the Labour Party won just 29 seats.^[19]

• From1994 to2019, theAfrican National Congress wonsupermajorities in theNational Assembly of South Africa underuniversal suffrage.^[20]

In UK general elections, a landslide victory involves winning a largemajority in parliament and often goes with a largeswing from one party to another as well. Landslide victories have usually occurred after a long period of government from one particular party and a change in the popular mood.^[21]

Large majorities, however, are not always the advantage they appear to be. Anthony Seldon gives a number of examples of the infighting that can arise from large majorities. He claims that a "sweet spot" parliamentary majority of 35–50 seats is enough to protect from by-elections and still comfortably pass legislation.^[22]

Notable landslide election results

• 1906 –Henry Campbell-Bannerman led hisLiberal Party to victory overArthur Balfour's Conservative Party who lost more than half their seats, including his own seat inManchester East, as a result of the large national swing to the Liberal Party (The 5.4% swing from the Conservatives to Liberals was at the time the highest ever achieved). The Liberal Party won 397 seats (an increase of 214) and a majority of 124 seats, while the Conservative Party were left with 156 seats (a decrease of 246).^[23][24]

• 1945 –Clement Attlee led the Labour Party to victory overWinston Churchill's Conservative Party, a 12.0% swing from the Conservatives to Labour. Labour won 393 seats (an increase of 239) while the Conservative Party were left with 197 (a decrease of 190).^[25]
• 1983 –Margaret Thatcher led the Conservative Party to win a landslide victory (her second term in office) with 397 seats (an increase of 58, the party's highest seat countsince 1931) and a majority of 144 seats,[1] while the Labour Party led byMichael Foot won 209 seats (a decrease of 60). Additionally in the popular vote the party finished just two points ahead of theSDP–Liberal Alliance. However, they receive far more seats due to thefirst past the post system.[2]
• 1997 –Tony Blair led the Labour Party to win a first landslide victory with 418 seats (an increase of 146) and gained an overall majority of 179 while the Conservative Party led byJohn Major won 165 seats (a decrease of 178). The swing from the Conservatives to Labour was 10.2% and was the second biggest general election victory of the 20th Century after 1931.^[26]
• 2001 – Tony Blair led the Labour Party to win a second landslide victory with 412 seats (a decrease of 6) and retained an overall majority of 167 while the Conservative Party led byWilliam Hague won 166 seats (an increase of 1), making Tony Blair the first Labour Prime Minister to serve two consecutive full terms in office.^[27]

• 2019 –Boris Johnson led the Conservative Party to win a landslide victory (his second term in office) with 365 seats (an increase of 48, the party's highest seat countsince 1987) and a majority of 80 seats, while the Labour Party led byJeremy Corbyn won 202 seats (a decrease of 60, the party's worst resultsince 1935). The election led to 54 Labour seats changing to Conservative predominantly in the Midlands and Northern England – some of which had been held by Labour since the first half of the 20th century.^[28]
• 2024 –Keir Starmer led the Labour Party to win a landslide victory with 411 seats (an increase of 211, the party's highest seat countsince 2001) and a majority of 172 seats, while the Conservative Party led byRishi Sunak won 121 seats (a decrease of 251, the party's worst ever result, exceeding the previous worstdefeat of 1906.^[29])

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A landslide victory in presidential elections occurs when a candidate has an overwhelming majority in theElectoral College. In federal and state congressional elections, a landslide victory occurs when a party wins 60% or more of the seats in a legislative chamber.

• 1928 –Herbert Hoover (R) received 444 (83.6%) of the electoral votes whileAl Smith (D) received only 87 (16.4%).
• 1932 –Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) received 472 (88.9%) of the electoral votes while Herbert Hoover (R) received only 59 (11.1%).

• 1936 – Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) received 523 (98.5%) of the electoral votes—the largest share since 1820 and the largest in a non-unanimous election—whileAlf Landon (R) received only 8 (1.5%). Additionally, Roosevelt received 60.8% of the popular vote.
• 1940 – Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) received 449 (84.6%) of the electoral votes whileWendell Willkie (R) received only 82 (15.4%).
• 1944 – Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) received 432 (81.4%) of the electoral votes whileThomas E. Dewey (R) received only 99 (18.6%).
• 1952 –Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) received 442 (83.2%) of the electoral votes whileAdlai Stevenson II (D) received only 89 (16.8%).
• 1956 – Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) received 457 (86.1%) of the electoral votes while Adlai Stevenson II (D) received only 73 (13.7%).
• 1964 –Lyndon B. Johnson (D) received 486 (90.3%) of the electoral votes whileBarry Goldwater (R) received only 52 (9.7%). Additionally, Johnson received 61.1% of the popular vote.

• 1972 –Richard Nixon (R) received 520 (96.7%) of the electoral votes whileGeorge McGovern (D) received only 17 (3.2%). One Republican elector voted forJohn Hospers of theLibertarian Party. Additionally, Nixon received 60.7% of the popular vote.
• 1980 –Ronald Reagan (R) received 489 (90.9%) of the electoral votes whileJimmy Carter (D) received only 49 (9.1%).

• 1984 – Ronald Reagan (R) received 525 (97.6%) of the electoral votes whileWalter Mondale (D) received only 13 (2.4%). Additionally, Reagan received 58.8% of the popular vote.
• 1988 –George H. W. Bush (R) received 426 (79.2%) of the electoral votes whileMichael Dukakis (D) received only 111 (20.8%).
• 1996 –Bill Clinton (D) received 379 (70.4%) of the electoral votes whileBob Dole (R) received 159 (29.6%) andRoss Perot of theReform Party received none.^{[30][31][32][33][34]}

House of Representatives

• 1932 – Coinciding with Franklin D. Roosevelt's win in the presidential election, the Democratic Party won 313 seats with 54.5% of the popular vote, which caused the Republican Party to lose its two-seat majority. This election marked a beginning of political dominance for the Democratic Party that would last until the 1994 election.
• 1934 – The Democratic Party gained nine seats from the previous election.
• 1936 – Coinciding with Franklin D. Roosevelt's election to a second term as president, the Democratic Party gained an additional twelve seats from the previous election with 55.9% of the popular vote, bringing the total amount of seats held by the party to 334. This would be the most recent election where one party won more than 300 seats in the House of Representatives, and was the last of four straight elections where Republicans lost seats due to the effects of the Great Depression.^[35]

Senate

• 1920 – Coinciding with Warren G. Harding's win in the presidential election, the Republican Party gained ten seats from the Democratic Party, giving them a 59–37 majority.
• 1932 –– Coinciding with Franklin D. Roosevelt's win in the presidential election, the Democratic Party gained twelve seats from the Republican Party, giving them a 60–36 majority.

• 1957 West German federal election – TheCDU/CSU won an absolute majority.^[36]
• 2002 and2006 Brazilian presidential elections –Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of theWorkers' Party won with over 60% of the vote in the second rounds.
• 2002 French presidential election –Jacques Chirac ofRally for the Republic won re-election in the second round with over 80% of the vote.
• 2006 Samoan general election – TheHuman Rights Protection Party, led byTuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi, won a landslide victory, winning 33 seats, an increase of ten. The main opposition party, the newSamoa Democratic United Party, won 10 seats.^[37]
• 2008 Taiwanese presidential election –Ma Ying-jeou of theKuomintang won with over 58% of the vote.^[38]
• 2009 Indonesian presidential election –Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of theDemocratic Party won in the first round with over 60% of the vote.
• 2011 Argentine presidential election –Cristina Fernández de Kirchner of theJusticialist Party was re-elected with over 54% of the vote.^[39]
• 2013 Chilean presidential election –Michelle Bachelet of theSocialist Party won a second term with over 62% of the vote in the second round.
• 2016 Samoan general election – The Human Rights Protection Party, led by Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi, won by a landslide victory, winning 35 of the 49 seats in theLegislative Assembly, gaining six seats. The main opposition party, theTautua Samoa Party (led byPalusalue Faʻapo II) only won two seats, losing 11 seats. Independents won 13 seats.^[40]
• 2016 and2020 Taiwanese presidential elections –Tsai Ing-wen of theDemocratic Progressive Party won with over 56% of the vote both times, while her party also secured consecutive majorities in theLegislative Yuan.^[41]
• 2022 Philippine presidential election –Bongbong Marcos of thePartido Federal ng Pilipinas won in the first round with over 58% of the vote.^[42]
• 2024 Indonesian presidential election –Prabowo Subianto of theGerindra Party won in the first round, receiving over 96 million votes and 58.59% of the vote.^[43][44]
• 2024 Mexican presidential election –Claudia Sheinbaum ofMorena won with over 60% of the vote, becoming the country's first female president.
• 2026 Portuguese presidential election –António José Seguro of theSocialist Party won with nearly 67% of the vote in the second round.^[45]

• Wipeout (elections)
• Realigning election
• Wave elections in the United States
• Blowout (sports)
• Landslide (board game)
• Paper candidate

• Elections in the United Kingdom
• Elections terminology
• Elections
• Politics of the British Isles
• Politics of the United Kingdom

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