jan 1, 1940 - FDR elected for 3rd term

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As the war in Europe and the Pacific expanded, the United States was preparing for a presidential election. The crisis had convinced Roosevelt to seek an unprecedented third term in 1940. The Republicans nominated Wendell Willkie of Indiana, a former Democrat who supported many New Deal policies. The two parties’ platforms differed only slightly. Both pledged aid to the Allies, and both candidates promised not to “send an American boy into the shambles of a European war,” as Willkie put it. The challenger ran a spirited campaign, and the result was closer than that of 1932 or 1936. However, Roosevelt still swept to a third victory with 55 percent of the vote.

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