Florida had been one of the most solid members of the "Solid South" ever since the 1889 poll taxdisfranchised almost all blacks and most poor whites.[1] Unlike southern states extending into the Appalachian Mountains or Ozarks, or Texas with its German settlements in the Edwards Plateau, Florida completely lacked upland or German "Forty-Eighter" whites opposed to secession.[2] Thus disfranchisement of blacks left the party moribund – fifty years after disfranchisement, half of all Florida's registered Republicans were still black although a negligible number had ever voted.[3]
Immigration of northerners into the previously undeveloped areas of South Florida, along with fierce anti-Catholicism in the northern Piney Woods, did give Herbert Hoover a freakish victory in 1928,[4] but apart from that the Democratic Party had lost only six counties at a presidential level since 1892.[5]
Following FDR's second successive sweep of all sixty-seven counties in 1936, SenatorClaude Pepper and Miami politicians led a successful push to abolish the poll tax because of the corruption it was causing.[6] Repeal of the poll tax produced significant increases in the total vote cast vis-à-vis that of 1936: the presidential vote increased by around forty-seven percent, and in gubernatorial primaries the absolute increase in percent turnout was over eleven percent of the total voting age white population.[7]
Nonetheless, almost all of this new electorate remained white due to the white primary. Aided by considerable sympathy amongst Florida's largely English-descended white population for the United Kingdom's cause in ongoing World War II,[8] Roosevelt was to sweep every county in Florida for the third successive election and for the ninth occasion in thirteen elections since the recently abolished poll tax was originally imposed. Willkie, who improved by over eight percent upon Alf Landon's performance in 1936, gained less than half that amount in Florida.[9]
As of 2020, this is the penultimate election that every county in Florida voted Democratic and the last time that every county voted more Democratic than the nation at-large.
^Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, pp. 208, 210 ISBN9780691163246
^See Price, Hugh Douglas; 'The Negro and Florida Politics, 1944-1954'; The Journal of Politics, Vol. 17, No. 2 (May, 1955), pp. 198-220
^Phillips; The Emerging Republican Majority; pp. 212-214
^Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, p. 164-165 ISBN0786422173
^Keyssar, Alexander; The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States, p. 183 ISBN978-0465005024
^Teeples, Ronald K. (1970); The Economics of Voter Turnout, p. 111 Published by University of California Press, Los Angeles
^Menendez; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, pp. 67-68
^Leip, David. "1940 Presidential General Election Results – Florida". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
^Scammon, Richard M. (compiler); America at the Polls: A Handbook of Presidential Election Statistics 1920-1964; pp. 87-88 ISBN0405077114
February 15, 2024
1940, united, states, presidential, election, florida, main, article, 1940, united, states, presidential, election, held, november, 1940, part, concurrent, united, states, presidential, election, florida, voters, chose, seven, electors, representatives, electo. Main article 1940 United States presidential election The 1940 United States presidential election in Florida was held on November 5 1940 as part of the concurrent United States presidential election Florida voters chose seven electors or representatives to the Electoral College who voted for president and vice president 1940 United States presidential election in Florida 1936 November 5 1940 1944 Nominee Franklin D Roosevelt Wendell WillkieParty Democratic RepublicanHome state New York New YorkRunning mate Henry A Wallace Charles McNaryElectoral vote 7 0Popular vote 359 334 126 158Percentage 73 99 25 98 County Results Roosevelt 50 60 60 70 70 80 80 90 90 100 President before electionFranklin D RooseveltDemocratic Elected President Franklin D RooseveltDemocraticFlorida had been one of the most solid members of the Solid South ever since the 1889 poll tax disfranchised almost all blacks and most poor whites 1 Unlike southern states extending into the Appalachian Mountains or Ozarks or Texas with its German settlements in the Edwards Plateau Florida completely lacked upland or German Forty Eighter whites opposed to secession 2 Thus disfranchisement of blacks left the party moribund fifty years after disfranchisement half of all Florida s registered Republicans were still black although a negligible number had ever voted 3 Immigration of northerners into the previously undeveloped areas of South Florida along with fierce anti Catholicism in the northern Piney Woods did give Herbert Hoover a freakish victory in 1928 4 but apart from that the Democratic Party had lost only six counties at a presidential level since 1892 5 Following FDR s second successive sweep of all sixty seven counties in 1936 Senator Claude Pepper and Miami politicians led a successful push to abolish the poll tax because of the corruption it was causing 6 Repeal of the poll tax produced significant increases in the total vote cast vis a vis that of 1936 the presidential vote increased by around forty seven percent and in gubernatorial primaries the absolute increase in percent turnout was over eleven percent of the total voting age white population 7 Nonetheless almost all of this new electorate remained white due to the white primary Aided by considerable sympathy amongst Florida s largely English descended white population for the United Kingdom s cause in ongoing World War II 8 Roosevelt was to sweep every county in Florida for the third successive election and for the ninth occasion in thirteen elections since the recently abolished poll tax was originally imposed Willkie who improved by over eight percent upon Alf Landon s performance in 1936 gained less than half that amount in Florida 9 As of 2020 this is the penultimate election that every county in Florida voted Democratic and the last time that every county voted more Democratic than the nation at large Contents 1 Results 1 1 Results by county 2 Notes 3 ReferencesResults editElectoral results Presidential candidate Party Home state Popular vote Electoralvote Running mateCount Percentage Vice presidential candidate Home state Electoral voteFranklin D Roosevelt Democrat New York 359 334 73 99 7 Henry A Wallace Iowa 7Wendell Willkie Republican New York 126 158 25 98 0 Charles McNary Oregon 0Various candidates a Write ins 148 b 0 03 0 0Total 485 640 100 7 7Needed to win 270 270Results by county edit County Franklin Delano RooseveltDemocratic Wendell Lewis WillkieRepublican Margin Total votes cast 10 Alachua 6 714 83 03 1 372 16 97 5 342 66 06 8 086Baker 1 352 92 22 114 7 78 1 238 84 44 1 466Bay 5 153 88 28 684 11 72 4 469 76 56 5 837Bradford 1 588 85 88 261 14 12 1 327 71 76 1 849Brevard 2 995 60 15 1 984 39 85 1 011 20 30 4 979Broward 6 422 61 69 3 988 38 31 2 434 23 38 10 410Calhoun 1 722 90 97 171 9 03 1 551 81 94 1 893Charlotte 910 69 10 407 30 90 503 38 20 1 317Citrus 1 561 88 95 194 11 05 1 367 77 90 1 755Clay 1 488 74 92 498 25 08 990 49 84 1 986Collier 809 83 83 156 16 17 653 67 66 965Columbia 2 888 86 70 443 13 30 2 445 73 40 3 331Dade 51 921 67 30 25 224 32 70 26 697 34 60 77 145De Soto 1 888 78 21 526 21 79 1 362 56 42 2 414Dixie 1 420 94 41 84 5 59 1 336 88 82 1 504Duval 41 003 81 71 9 177 18 29 31 826 63 42 50 180Escambia 16 201 87 81 2 249 12 19 13 952 75 62 18 450Flagler 553 80 26 136 19 74 417 60 52 689Franklin 1 400 93 21 102 6 79 1 298 86 42 1 502Gadsden 3 218 88 53 417 11 47 2 801 77 06 3 635Gilchrist 1 011 91 99 88 8 01 923 83 98 1 099Glades 464 72 05 180 27 95 284 44 10 644Gulf 1 642 93 99 105 6 01 1 537 87 98 1 747Hamilton 1 424 88 50 185 11 50 1 239 77 00 1 609Hardee 2 559 78 67 694 21 33 1 865 57 34 3 253Hendry 1 040 76 64 317 23 36 723 53 28 1 357Hernando 1 151 75 13 381 24 87 770 50 26 1 532Highlands 2 215 71 61 878 28 39 1 337 43 22 3 093Hillsborough 30 738 79 75 7 805 20 25 22 933 59 50 38 543Holmes 2 684 75 16 887 24 84 1 797 50 32 3 571Indian River 1 487 62 19 904 37 81 583 24 38 2 391Jackson 5 607 86 62 866 13 38 4 741 73 24 6 473Jefferson 1 412 86 79 215 13 21 1 197 73 58 1 627Lafayette 1 090 89 93 122 10 07 968 79 86 1 212Lake 5 322 66 68 2 659 33 32 2 663 33 36 7 981Lee 3 531 68 52 1 622 31 48 1 909 37 04 5 153Leon 5 459 90 35 583 9 65 4 876 80 70 6 042Levy 2 527 90 48 266 9 52 2 261 80 96 2 793Liberty 947 88 84 119 11 16 828 77 68 1 066Madison 2 421 84 62 440 15 38 1 981 69 24 2 861Manatee 5 131 72 13 1 983 27 87 3 148 44 26 7 114Marion 6 127 82 53 1 297 17 47 4 830 65 06 7 424Martin 1 018 63 07 596 36 93 422 26 14 1 614Monroe 4 102 89 86 463 10 14 3 639 79 72 4 565Nassau 1 888 81 77 421 18 23 1 467 63 54 2 309Okaloosa 3 003 81 32 690 18 68 2 313 62 64 3 693Okeechobee 822 87 08 122 12 92 700 74 16 944Orange 12 821 61 00 8 198 39 00 4 623 22 00 21 019Osceola 2 015 58 52 1 428 41 48 587 17 04 3 443Palm Beach 11 884 61 72 7 371 38 28 4 513 23 44 19 255Pasco 3 091 69 41 1 362 30 59 1 729 38 82 4 453Pinellas 18 941 58 70 13 327 41 30 5 614 17 40 32 268Polk 17 690 76 07 5 564 23 93 12 126 52 14 23 254Putnam 3 477 77 53 1 008 22 47 2 469 55 06 4 485St John s 4 122 75 98 1 303 24 02 2 819 51 96 5 425St Lucie 2 169 69 27 962 30 73 1 207 38 54 3 131Santa Rosa 2 910 81 60 656 18 40 2 254 63 20 3 566Sarasota 3 773 69 29 1 672 30 71 2 101 38 58 5 445Seminole 3 150 69 71 1 369 30 29 1 781 39 42 4 519Sumter 2 382 90 40 253 9 60 2 129 80 80 2 635Suwannee 2 866 87 73 401 12 27 2 465 75 46 3 267Taylor 2 499 92 66 198 7 34 2 301 85 32 2 697Union 1 024 91 51 95 8 49 929 83 02 1 119Volusia 10 024 60 63 6 509 39 37 3 515 21 26 16 533Wakulla 1 336 95 02 70 4 98 1 266 90 04 1 406Walton 3 217 82 26 694 17 74 2 523 64 52 3 911Washington 1 915 74 86 643 25 14 1 272 49 72 2 558Totals 359 334 73 99 126 158 25 98 233 176 48 01 485 640Notes edit These votes were listed in America at the Polls state wide but not in Dave Leip s Atlas These write in votes were listed as a statewide total and not separated by countyReferences edit Silbey Joel H and Bogue Allan G The History of American Electoral Behavior p 210 ISBN 140087114X Phillips Kevin P The Emerging Republican Majority pp 208 210 ISBN 9780691163246 See Price Hugh Douglas The Negro and Florida Politics 1944 1954 The Journal of Politics Vol 17 No 2 May 1955 pp 198 220 Phillips The Emerging Republican Majority pp 212 214 Menendez Albert J The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States 1868 2004 p 164 165 ISBN 0786422173 Keyssar Alexander The Right to Vote The Contested History of Democracy in the United States p 183 ISBN 978 0465005024 Teeples Ronald K 1970 The Economics of Voter Turnout p 111 Published by University of California Press Los Angeles Menendez The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States pp 67 68 Leip David 1940 Presidential General Election Results Florida Dave Leip s Atlas of U S Presidential Elections Retrieved February 2 2018 Scammon Richard M compiler America at the Polls A Handbook of Presidential Election Statistics 1920 1964 pp 87 88 ISBN 0405077114 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1940 United States presidential election in Florida amp oldid 1173833924, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
