Landslide victory
In
politics, a
landslide victory (or just a
landslide) is the victory of a candidate or
political party by an overwhelming majority in an
election.
Landslides can occur when one candidate or party is perceived as far superior to their opponents, through unfair elections, or as a result of particular voting systems which may produce distorted or disproportionate results. See
bloc voting, and the unanimous
2002 re-election of
Iraqi president
Saddam Hussein, criticised by external observers as fraudulent.
The opposite of a landslide is a
wipeout.
*
Prince Edward Island general election, 1935, in which the
Liberal Party of Prince Edward Island under
Walter Lea won every seat in the legislature, the first time in the history of the
British Empire that that happened.
*
Canadian federal election, 1958, in which the
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada won 208 seats out of 265
*
Canadian federal election, 1984, in which the Progressive Conservatives won 211 seats out of 282
*
New Brunswick general election, 1987, in which the
Liberal Party of New Brunswick won every seat in the legislature
*
British Columbia general election, 2001, in which 77 of 79 seats were won by the
BC Liberal Party*The
1991 election: A coalition of the
United Democrats of Hong Kong and the
Meeting Point, together with other smaller parties, groups and independents in the
pro-democracy camp, getting 17 of the 18 geographical constituency seats.
*The
1995 election:
The Democratic Party, together with other smaller parties, groups and independents in the
pro-democracy camp, getting 17 of the 20 geographical constituency seats.
In general, any British general election which results in a majority of over 100 seats tends to be described as a landslide. Notable examples include:
* The
1906 election:
Liberal Party overall majority of 356 (assuming Labour and Irish Nationalist support)
* The
1918 election:
Coalition overall majority of 239
* The
1924 election:
Conservative Party overall majority of 209
* The
1931 election:
National government overall majority of 493
* The
1945 election:
Labour Party overall majority of 146
* The
1959 election: Conservative overall majority of 100
* The
1966 election: Labour overall majority of 98
* The
1983 election: Conservative overall majority of 144
* The
1987 election: Conservative overall majority of 102
* The
1997 election: Labour overall majority of 179
Labour's
general election victory in
2001 with an overall majority of 167 was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media. Though the Government did score a very high majority, public interest in the election was not excited and, unlike most of the landslide results listed above, there was little change from the previous election and no change of governing party.
Landslides are relatively common in British electoral history, and this is partly as a result of the
first-past-the-post electoral system. Relatively small differences in numbers of popular votes cast be amplified by the eventual result (for instance, Labour achieved a 66-seat majority in 2005 despite securing only 35% of the vote); conversely, parties can poll very highly and achieve disproportionately low numbers of MPs. In
1992, for example, sitting Conservative Prime Minister John Major polled more votes than any party leader before or since, but was returned with a precarious majority of just 21.
Popular votes
*
President Warren Harding's 60.3% to
James Cox's 34.1% in the
1920 presidential election*
President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 60.8% to
Alf Landon`s 36.5% in the
1936 presidential election*
President Lyndon Johnson's 61.1% to
Barry Goldwater's 38.5% in the
1964 presidential election*
President Richard Nixon's 60.7% to
George McGovern's 37.5% in the
1972 presidential electionElectoral votes
*
President Thomas Jefferson's 162 electoral votes to
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney's 14 electoral votes in
1804.
*
President James Madison's 122 electoral votes to
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney's 47 electoral votes and
George Clinton (vice president)'s 6 electoral votes in
1808.
*
President James Monroe's 183 electoral votes to
Rufus King's 34 electoral votes in
1816.
*
President James Monroe's 231 electoral votes to
John Quincy Adams's 1 electoral vote in
1820. However it should be noted that Adams wasn't actually running and the elector should have cast his vote for Monroe.
*
President Andrew Jackson's 178 electoral votes to
John Quincy Adams's 83 electoral votes in
1828*
President Andrew Jackson's 219 electoral votes to
Henry Clay's 49 electoral votes,
John Floyd (Virginia politician)'s 11 electoral votes, and
William Wirt's 7 electoral votes in
1832*
President William Henry Harrison's 234 electoral votes to
Martin Van Buren's 60 electoral votes in
1840*
President Franklin Pierce's 254 electoral votes to
Winfield Scott's 42 electoral votes in
1852*
President Abraham Lincoln's 212 electoral votes to
George McClellan's 21 electoral votes in
1864*
President Ulysses S. Grant's 214 electoral votes to
Horatio Seymour's 80 electoral votes in
1868*
President Ulysses S. Grant's 286 electoral votes to what would have been
Horace Greeley's 66 electoral votes in
1872*
President Theodore Roosevelt's 336 electoral votes to
Alton Brooks Parker's 140 electoral votes in
1904*
President Woodrow Wilson's 435 electoral votes to
Theodore Roosevelt's 88 electoral votes and
William Howard Taft's 8 electoral votes in
1912*
President Warren G. Harding's 404 electoral votes to
James Middleton Cox's 127 electoral votes in
1920*
President Calvin Coolidge's 382 electoral votes to
John William Davis's 136 electoral votes and
Robert La Follette, Sr.'s 13 electoral votes in
1924*
President Herbert Hoover's 444 electoral votes to
Al Smith's 87 electoral votes in
1928*
President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 472 electoral votes to
Herbert Hoover's 59 electoral votes in
1932*
President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 523 electoral votes to
Alf Landon's 8 electoral votes in
1936*
President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 449 electoral votes to
Wendell Willkie's 82 electoral votes in
1940*
President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 432 electoral votes to
Thomas Dewey's 99 electoral votes in
1944*
President Dwight D. Eisenhower's 442 electoral votes to
Adlai Stevenson's 89 electoral votes in
1952*
President Dwight D. Eisenhower's 457 electoral votes to
Adlai Stevenson's 73 electoral votes and
Walter Burgwyn Jones's 1 in
1956*
President Lyndon B. Johnson's 486 electoral votes to
Barry Goldwater's 52 electoral votes in
1964*
President Richard Nixon's 520 electoral votes to
George McGovern's 17 electoral votes and
John Hospers's 1 in
1972*
President Ronald Reagan's 489 electoral votes to
Jimmy Carter's 49 in
1980*
President Ronald Reagan's 525 electoral votes to
Walter Mondale's 13 electoral votes in
1984*
President George H. W. Bush's 426 electoral votes to
Michael Dukakis's 111 electoral votes and
Lloyd Bentson's 1 electoral vote in
1988*
President Bill Clinton's 370 electoral votes to
George H. W. Bush's 168 electoral votes in
1992*
President Bill Clinton's 379 electoral votes to
Robert Joseph Dole's 159 electoral votes in
1996
