The 1936 Republican National Convention was held in Cleveland, Ohio at the Public Auditorium, from June 9 to June 12, 1936. It nominated Governor Alfred Landon of Kansas for President and Frank Knox of Illinois for Vice-President.
The convention supported many New Deal programs, including Social Security.
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Governor Alf Landon of Kansas
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Senator William Edgar Borah of Idaho
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Owner and publisher Frank Knox of Illinois
Although many candidates sought the Republican nomination, only two, Governor Landon and Senator Borah, were considered to be serious candidates. While favorite sons County Attorney Earl Warren of California, Governor Warren E. Green of South Dakota, and Stephen A. Day of Ohio won their respective primaries, the 70-year-old Borah, a well-known progressive and "insurgent," carried the Wisconsin, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Oregon 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 and centrist, who won primaries in Massachusetts and New Jersey and dominated in the caucuses and at state party conventions. Other potential candidates included Robert Taft, New York Congressman James W. Wadsworth, Jr., Michigan Senator Arthur Vandenberg, Iowa Senator Lester Dickinson, New York Congressman Hamilton Fish III, New Jersey Governor Harold Hoffman, Delaware Governor C. Douglass Buck, Supreme Court Justice Owen Roberts, Michigan Auto magnate Henry Ford, aviator Charles Lindbergh, former President Herbert Hoover, Oregon Senator Frederick Steiwer, Senate Minority Leader Charles McNary, former Treasury Secretary Ogden L. Mills, Theodore Roosevelt, Jr..
With Knox withdrawing as Landon's selection for Vice President and Day, Green, and Warren releasing their delegates, the tally at the convention was:
- Alfred Landon 984
- William E. Borah 19
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