| 1936 presidential election | |
  Nominees Landon and Knox | |
| Convention | |
|---|---|
| Date(s) | June 9–12, 1936 |
| City | Cleveland,Ohio |
| Venue | Public Auditorium |
| Keynote speaker | Frederick Steiwer U.S. Senator, Oregon[1][2] |
| Candidates | |
| Presidential nominee | Alf Landon ofKansas |
| Vice-presidential nominee | Frank Knox ofIllinois |
| Other candidates | William Borah ofIdaho |
| Results (president) | Landon 984, Borah 19 |
| ‹ 1932 · 1940 › | |
The1936 Republican National Convention was held June 9–12 at thePublic Auditorium inCleveland,Ohio. It nominatedGovernor Alfred Landon ofKansas forpresident andFrank Knox ofIllinois forvice president.
The convention supported manyNew Deal programs, includingSocial Security. Thekeynote address was given on June 9 byFrederick Steiwer,U.S. Senator fromOregon.[1][2]
Although many candidates sought the Republican nomination, only two, Governor Landon and SenatorWilliam Borah ofIdaho, were considered to be serious candidates. Although favorite sons County AttorneyEarl Warren of California,GovernorWarren E. Green ofSouth Dakota, andStephen A. Day ofOhio won their respective primaries, the 70-year-old Borah, a well-knownprogressive and "insurgent," carried theWisconsin,Nebraska,Pennsylvania,West Virginia, andOregon 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 andcentrist, who won primaries inMassachusetts andNew Jersey and dominated in thecaucuses and at stateparty conventions.
Other potential candidates includedRobert A. Taft,New York RepresentativeJames W. Wadsworth, Jr.,Michigan SenatorArthur Vandenberg,Iowa SenatorLester Dickinson,New York RepresentativeHamilton Fish III, New Jersey GovernorHarold Hoffman,Delaware GovernorC. Douglass Buck, Supreme Court JusticeOwen Roberts,Michigan auto magnateHenry Ford, aviatorCharles Lindbergh, formerPresidentHerbert Hoover,Oregon SenatorFrederick Steiwer, Senate Minority LeaderCharles McNary, former Treasury SecretaryOgden L. Mills andTheodore Roosevelt, Jr., cousin of Democratic incumbentFranklin D. Roosevelt.
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At the start of the convention, Landon looked like the likely nominee, but faced opposition from a coalition led by Michigan SenatorArthur Vandenberg, Idaho SenatorWilliam E. Borah, and newspaper publisherFrank Knox.[3] However, the stop-Landon movement failed.
| Presidential ballot | |
|---|---|
| Candidate | 1st |
| Landon | 984 |
| Borah | 19 |
Presidential balloting / 3rd day of convention (June 11, 1936)
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The selection of a vice presidential candidate at the closing session presented some difficulties. The Landon people wanted Vandenberg but the Michigan senator refused repeatedly and firmly.
Colonel Knox, former Ambassador Edge, Colonel Little, and Governor Nice were placed in nomination. It soon became evident the choice of the convention would be Knox as state after state seconded his nomination. Edge, Little, and Nice withdrew their names and the Chicago publisher became the unanimous choice for second place on the ticket.
| Vice-presidential ballot | |
|---|---|
| Candidate | 1st |
| Knox | 1,003 |
Vice-presidential balloting / 4th day of convention (June 12, 1936)
| Preceded by 1932 Chicago | Republican National Conventions | Succeeded by 1940 Philadelphia |
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