If FDR had run as a Third Way Democrat in 1940, might he have won

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39. Here is the makeup of Congress through the years

Last edited Wed Dec 4, 2013, 03:20 AM - Edit history (1)

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0774721.html

............................................Senate.................................House of Representatives
Congress....Years,........ Total Dem REP OTHERS....Total, ...Dem,.. REP.. OTHERs..Vacant
71st.....1929–1931......96.....39.....56..... 1 -----—-- 435.....163.....267.....1.............4
72nd....1931–1933......96.....47.....48..... 1 ------—- 435.....216.....218.....1 —
73rd.....1933–1935......96.....59.....36..... 1 ------—- 435.....313.....117.....5 —
74th.....1935–1937......96.....69.....25..... 2 ------—- 435.....322.....103.....10 —
75th.....1937–1939.....96.....75..... 17.....4 ------—-- 435.....333.....89..... 13 —
76th.....1939–1941.....96.....69..... 23.....4 ------—-- 435.....262.....169.....4 —
77th.....1941–1943.....96.....66..... 28.....2 ------—-- 435.....267.....162.....6 —
78th.....1943–1945.....96.....57..... 38.....1 ------—-- 435.....222.....209.....4 —
79th.....1945–1947.....96.....57..... 38.....1 ------—-- 435.....243.....190.....2 —


Read more: Composition of Congress by Party 1855–2013 | Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0774721.html#ixzz2mU6K9kfO

Just look at the 75th Congress, the "Court Packing" Congress of 1937 to 1939 (elected in 1938). 23 GOP Senators out of 96 (2/3 of 96 is 64m thus from 1935 till 1941 you had more then enough Democrats to end any GOP lead filibuster unless the Filibuster also included Democrats).

In the 75th Congress you had only 89 GOP, AND members of the following parties:

Wisconsin Progressive (P): 7
Progressive (P): 1
Farmer-Labor (FL): 5

The Wisconsin Progressive were Seven GOP progressive who jumped the GOP but in subsequent years returned to the GOP

The Progressive party member was a former GOP progressive on his way to being a Democrat

The Five Farmer-Labor party had started in 1920, but the 1930s was strong only in Minnesota (Where it had started). In 1944 it merged with the Minnesota Democratic Party to become the Farmer-Labor-Democratic Party of Minnesota (The Democratic Party in Minnesota).

Remember from the election of 1930 to the election of 1994 (1931-1995 for actual terms of office), the Democrats were in the Majority of the House except for 1947-1948 (Truman's do nothing Congress, which he ran against more then Dewey his GOP opponent).

The Senate was clearly Democratic from 1933 (after the election of 1932) till 1947 (after the election of 1946), Then again from 1949 (election of 1948) till 1953 (election of 1952). Then from 1955 (Election of 1954) till Reagan in 1981 (Election of 1980) and would GOP till 1987 (election of 1988) and would remain Democratic till 1995 (election of 1994).

As to actual Numbers of Democrats in the House and Senate, it was overwhelming in 1935-1941 period, the only things close is the 1959-1971 period. The highest number of Democratic Senators was in 1937-1939, when you had 75 Democratic Senators and 333 Democratic Members of the House (Out of a total of 96 Senators and 435 Members of the House). In the 1938 election the numbers of Senators dropped in 69 out of 96 total Senators. The 1938 saw a huge drop in the number of Democrats in the House from 333 to 262, out of 435).

FDR kept Congress overwhelmingly Democratic from 1933 till 1939 (election of 1932 to 1938).

The Second period of Democratic Domination was the 1960s. The Democratic Party surged in the election of 1958, winning 64 out of 96 Senate Seats and 234 in the House. in the election of 1958 the GOP won 201 seats, the most seats it will hold in the House till the election of 1994. The Democrats in the Senate would surge to 68 in 1965-1967 Congress (and would have been 69, but that is the year Storm Thumond defected to the GOP). They will be more then 60 Democratic Senators till 1969, and 58 till 1971. The number would drop to 54 in 1971, then back up to 56 in 1973, 61 in 1975 and remain at 61 till January 1979 when it would drop to 58. The GOP would take the Senate in the 1980 election, thus the GOP was majority in the Senate from 1981 till 1987.