Skip to main content

Franklin D. Roosevelt Elected To Third Term

1940

Having served two terms during which he guided the country through the Depression, Franklin Delano Roosevelt remains popular among the voting public and runs for a third term. His Republican opponent, Wendell Wilkie, is a former Democrat who switched parties. Wilkie attacks Roosevelt’s extensive anti-poverty program, the New Deal, and accuses Roosevelt of warmongering. More than three-fourths of the nation’s newspapers endorse Wilkie and oppose Roosevelt’s decision to run beyond two terms. Despite the opposition, Roosevelt becomes the first president to be elected to a third term.