1940 United States presidential election in Arkansas

The 1940 United States presidential election in Arkansas took place on November 5, 1940, as part of the 1940 United States presidential election. Arkansas voters chose nine representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

1940 United States presidential election in Arkansas

November 5, 1940
 
Nominee Franklin D. Roosevelt Wendell Willkie
Party Democratic Republican
Home state New York New York
Running mate Henry A. Wallace Charles L. McNary
Electoral vote 9 0
Popular vote 157,213 42,122
Percentage 78.44% 21.02%

County Results

President before election

Franklin D. Roosevelt
Democratic

Elected President

Franklin D. Roosevelt
Democratic

Background

Except for the Unionist Ozark counties of Newton and Searcy where Republicans controlled local government, Arkansas since the end of Reconstruction had been a classic one-party Democratic “Solid South” state.[1] Disfranchisement of effectively all Negroes and most poor whites by a poll tax since 1890 meant that outside those two aberrant counties, the Republican Party was completely moribund and Democratic primaries the only competitive elections.

Increased voting by poor Ozark whites as a protest against Woodrow Wilson's internationalist foreign policy meant that Warren G. Harding in 1920 was able to win almost forty percent of the statewide vote;[2] and 1928 saw the rest of the Outer South and North Alabama bolt the anti-Prohibition Catholic Al Smith. However, the presence of Arkansas Senator Joseph Taylor Robinson as running mate meant that within Arkansas only the most northwesterly counties with ordinarily substantial Republican votes suffered the same fate.[3]

The following years saw Arkansas plunge into the Great Depression, followed almost immediately by a major drought from the summer of 1930s until the winter of 1931/1932.[4] Arkansas gave extremely heavy support to Democrat Franklin Roosevelt in the 1932 election.[5] Roosevelt won every county in the state, and was extremely popular in the “Solid South” throughout his first term.[6] although his popularity lessened somewhat during his second term due to the urban and labor bias of the New Deal, Roosevelt remained in no danger in 1940. This was especially true given that the South had never experienced German or Scandinavian immigration and thus strongly sympathized – as FDR did – with Britain in World War II.[7] Thus FDR was able to almost maintain his 1936 majority in the Natural State, and replicated the county map of 1896, 1916, 1924 and 1936.

Results

Electoral results
Presidential candidate Party Home state Popular vote Electoral
vote
Running mate
Count Percentage Vice-presidential candidate Home state Electoral vote
Franklin D. Roosevelt Democratic New York 157,213 78.44% 9 Henry Agard Wallace Iowa 9
Wendell Willkie Republican New York 42,122 21.02% 0 Charles L. McNary Oregon 0
Write-ins 1,094 0.55% 0 0
Total 179,423 100% 9 9
Needed to win 266 266

Results by county

County Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Democratic
Wendell Lewis Willkie
Republican
Various candidates
Write-ins
Margin Total votes cast[8]
# % # % # % # %
Arkansas 2,345 74.87% 742 23.69% 45 1.44% 1,603 51.18% 3,132
Ashley 1,835 90.71% 184 9.10% 4 0.20% 1,651 81.61% 2,023
Baxter 859 63.39% 489 36.09% 7 0.52% 370 27.31% 1,355
Benton 2,442 54.59% 1,962 43.86% 69 1.54% 480 10.73% 4,473
Boone 2,054 71.59% 786 27.40% 29 1.01% 1,268 44.20% 2,869
Bradley 1,939 93.85% 123 5.95% 4 0.19% 1,816 87.90% 2,066
Calhoun 818 94.90% 44 5.10% 0 0.00% 774 89.79% 862
Carroll 1,604 59.69% 1,081 40.23% 2 0.07% 523 19.46% 2,687
Chicot 1,592 90.71% 161 9.17% 2 0.11% 1,431 81.54% 1,755
Clark 2,008 86.29% 311 13.36% 8 0.34% 1,697 72.93% 2,327
Clay 1,676 60.31% 1,029 37.03% 74 2.66% 647 23.28% 2,779
Cleburne 834 68.47% 374 30.71% 10 0.82% 460 37.77% 1,218
Cleveland 989 94.37% 58 5.53% 1 0.10% 931 88.84% 1,048
Columbia 2,270 93.72% 149 6.15% 3 0.12% 2,121 87.57% 2,422
Conway 2,067 88.33% 272 11.62% 1 0.04% 1,795 76.71% 2,340
Craighead 3,300 77.43% 935 21.94% 27 0.63% 2,365 55.49% 4,262
Crawford 1,581 68.21% 691 29.81% 46 1.98% 890 38.40% 2,318
Crittenden 1,966 96.37% 72 3.53% 2 0.10% 1,894 92.84% 2,040
Cross 1,746 85.80% 285 14.00% 4 0.20% 1,461 71.79% 2,035
Dallas 1,295 88.28% 118 8.04% 54 3.68% 1,177 80.23% 1,467
Desha 1,370 89.78% 146 9.57% 10 0.66% 1,224 80.21% 1,526
Drew 1,329 87.95% 152 10.06% 30 1.99% 1,177 77.90% 1,511
Faulkner 2,535 82.68% 519 16.93% 12 0.39% 2,016 65.75% 3,066
Franklin 1,601 83.30% 319 16.60% 2 0.10% 1,282 66.70% 1,922
Fulton 838 70.84% 333 28.15% 12 1.01% 505 42.69% 1,183
Garland 3,335 69.89% 1,424 29.84% 13 0.27% 1,911 40.05% 4,772
Grant 1,043 86.70% 160 13.30% 0 0.00% 883 73.40% 1,203
Greene 2,220 81.17% 510 18.65% 5 0.18% 1,710 62.52% 2,735
Hempstead 2,814 87.15% 415 12.85% 0 0.00% 2,399 74.30% 3,229
Hot Spring 1,730 78.03% 482 21.74% 5 0.23% 1,248 56.29% 2,217
Howard 1,540 78.05% 419 21.24% 14 0.71% 1,121 56.82% 1,973
Independence 2,276 70.68% 928 28.82% 16 0.50% 1,348 41.86% 3,220
Izard 1,058 74.19% 366 25.67% 2 0.14% 692 48.53% 1,426
Jackson 2,223 84.59% 382 14.54% 23 0.88% 1,841 70.05% 2,628
Jefferson 3,829 86.45% 587 13.25% 13 0.29% 3,242 73.20% 4,429
Johnson 1,429 81.38% 318 18.11% 9 0.51% 1,111 63.27% 1,756
Lafayette 1,352 88.02% 159 10.35% 25 1.63% 1,193 77.67% 1,536
Lawrence 2,484 73.93% 852 25.36% 24 0.71% 1,632 48.57% 3,360
Lee 1,100 90.76% 109 8.99% 3 0.25% 991 81.77% 1,212
Lincoln 916 89.37% 99 9.66% 10 0.98% 817 79.71% 1,025
Little River 1,104 79.31% 276 19.83% 12 0.86% 828 59.48% 1,392
Logan 2,831 72.66% 1,065 27.34% 0 0.00% 1,766 45.33% 3,896
Lonoke 1,899 85.35% 323 14.52% 3 0.13% 1,576 70.83% 2,225
Madison 2,196 50.97% 2,107 48.91% 5 0.12% 89 2.07% 4,308
Marion 864 71.94% 320 26.64% 17 1.42% 544 45.30% 1,201
Miller 3,019 83.88% 563 15.64% 17 0.47% 2,456 68.24% 3,599
Mississippi 5,257 89.24% 616 10.46% 18 0.31% 4,641 78.78% 5,891
Monroe 1,494 92.00% 128 7.88% 2 0.12% 1,366 84.11% 1,624
Montgomery 1,012 71.42% 400 28.23% 5 0.35% 612 43.19% 1,417
Nevada 1,399 85.83% 224 13.74% 7 0.43% 1,175 72.09% 1,630
Newton 1,202 45.91% 1,392 53.17% 24 0.92% -190 -7.26% 2,618
Ouachita 2,951 91.08% 284 8.77% 5 0.15% 2,667 82.31% 3,240
Perry 783 79.09% 206 20.81% 1 0.10% 577 58.28% 990
Phillips 2,235 90.12% 245 9.88% 0 0.00% 1,990 80.24% 2,480
Pike 974 69.13% 424 30.09% 11 0.78% 550 39.03% 1,409
Poinsett 4,138 85.90% 670 13.91% 9 0.19% 3,468 72.00% 4,817
Polk 1,255 67.55% 585 31.49% 18 0.97% 670 36.06% 1,858
Pope 3,765 82.55% 770 16.88% 26 0.57% 2,995 65.67% 4,561
Prairie 1,069 75.92% 336 23.86% 3 0.21% 733 52.06% 1,408
Pulaski 14,219 82.52% 2,955 17.15% 56 0.33% 11,264 65.37% 17,230
Randolph 1,687 77.42% 474 21.75% 18 0.83% 1,213 55.67% 2,179
St. Francis 1,671 88.23% 192 10.14% 31 1.64% 1,479 78.09% 1,894
Saline 1,963 87.21% 274 12.17% 14 0.62% 1,689 75.03% 2,251
Scott 992 73.32% 353 26.09% 8 0.59% 639 47.23% 1,353
Searcy 982 43.11% 1,292 56.72% 4 0.18% -310 -13.61% 2,278
Sebastian 5,249 72.44% 1,968 27.16% 29 0.40% 3,281 45.28% 7,246
Sevier 1,374 82.03% 293 17.49% 8 0.48% 1,081 64.54% 1,675
Sharp 1,099 71.50% 433 28.17% 5 0.33% 666 43.33% 1,537
Stone 644 60.93% 406 38.41% 7 0.66% 238 22.52% 1,057
Union 4,842 90.59% 489 9.15% 14 0.26% 4,353 81.44% 5,345
Van Buren 1,068 72.65% 402 27.35% 0 0.00% 666 45.31% 1,470
Washington 2,873 60.48% 1,819 38.29% 58 1.22% 1,054 22.19% 4,750
White 3,345 78.80% 876 20.64% 24 0.57% 2,469 58.16% 4,245
Woodruff 1,280 86.43% 193 13.03% 8 0.54% 1,087 73.40% 1,481
Yell 2,236 90.64% 224 9.08% 7 0.28% 2,012 81.56% 2,467
Totals157,21378.44%42,12221.02%1,0940.55%115,09157.42%200,429

References

  1. See Urwin, Cathy Kunzinger; Agenda for Reform: Winthrop Rockefeller as Governor of Arkansas, 1967-71, p. 32 ISBN 1557282005
  2. Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, pp. 211, 287 ISBN 978-0-691-16324-6
  3. Barnes, Kenneth C.; Anti-Catholicism in Arkansas: How Politicians, the Press, the Klan, and Religious Leaders Imagined an Enemy, 1910–1960, pp. 164-165 ISBN 168226016X
  4. Whayne, Jeannie M.; DeBlack, Thomas A.; Sabo, George and Arnold, Morris S.; Arkansas: A Narrative History, pp. 341-342 ISBN 155728993X
  5. Grantham, Dewey W.; The Life and Death of the Solid South: A Political History, p. 102 ISBN 0813148723
  6. Leuchtenburg, William E.; The White House Looks South: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson, p. 51 ISBN 0807151424
  7. Dunn, Susan; 1940: FDR, Willkie, Lindbergh, Hitler – the Election Amid the Storm, p. 57 ISBN 0300190867
  8. Scammon, Richard M. (compiler); America at the Polls: A Handbook of Presidential Election Statistics 1920-1964; pp. 48-49 ISBN 0405077114
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