1936 South Dakota gubernatorial election

The 1936 South Dakota gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1936. Incumbent Democratic Governor Tom Berry ran for re-election to a third term, the first Governor of South Dakota to do so.[1] Berry was challenged by Republican Leslie Jensen, the former Collector of Internal Revenue for the state of South Dakota.[2] Both Berry and Jensen won their primaries uncontested and advanced to the general election.[3] Some drama surrounded the potential candidacy of Democratic State Auditor George O'Neill as an independent candidate for Governor or, in the alternative, his cross-party endorsement of Jensen; after initially announcing his campaign and hedging, O'Neill dropped out of the race in September and endorsed the Democratic ticket in the state, including Berry.[4]

1936 South Dakota gubernatorial election

November 3, 1936

Nominee Leslie Jensen Tom Berry Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 151,659 142,255 Percentage 51.60% 48.40%

County results Jensen:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Berry:      50–60%      60–70%

Governor of South Dakota before election Tom Berry Democratic Elected Governor of South Dakota Leslie Jensen Republican

Elections in South Dakota
Federal government Presidential elections 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Presidential primaries Democratic 2004 2008 2016 2020 Republican 2008 2016 U.S. Senate elections 1889 1891 1894 1897 1901 1903 1903 sp 1907 1909 1913 1914 1918 1920 1924 1926 1930 1932 1936 1938 1938 sp 1942 1944 1948 1950 1954 1956 1960 1962 1966 1968 1972 1974 1978 1980 1984 1986 1990 1992 1996 1998 2002 2004 2008 2010 2014 2016 2020 2022 2026 U.S. House elections 1889 1890 1891 AL sp 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 AL sp 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 AL sp 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
State government General elections 2010 2014 2018 2020 2022 Gubernatorial elections 1889 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 Secretary of State elections 2022 Attorney General elections 2018 2022 Senate elections 2020 2022 House of Representatives elections 2020 2022
Ballot measures 2006 Amendment C 2008 Measure 9 Measure 10 2020 Amendment A Measure 26

The primary issue during the campaign was the drought caused by regional dust storms as part of the Dust Bowl. Republicans attacked Governor Berry's administration for providing inadequate relief to South Dakotan farmers.[5] But Berry's willingness to break the state's unwritten political tradition by seeking a third term was apparently controversial. In the closing days of the campaign, Herbert E. Hitchcock, the Chairman of the South Dakota Democratic Party, emphasized how unwilling Berry had been to seek a third term: "Tom Berry was forced into running for a third term by Democrats and Republicans alike. I, among others, insisted that he lay aside his personal wishes and become a candidate because I felt and thoughts of others felt he owed it to the state of South Dakota to do so."[6]

However, despite Berry's wide victories in 1932 and 1934, he narrowly lost re-election to Jensen. However, President Franklin Roosevelt carried the state by a fairly wide margin, and Democratic Senator William J. Bulow narrowly won re-election.