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 by imperfect voting counting systems. See bloc voting, and the unanimous 2002 re-election of Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, criticised by external observers as a joke.

Examples

Canada

• 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.
• 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

United Kingdom

In general, any United Kingdom general election which results in a majority in three figures (over 100 seats) is 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 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.

United States

Popular votes

• U.S. Senator Barack Obama's 70% to Alan Keyes's 27% in U.S. Senate election, 2004
• U.S. Senator Charles Schumer's 71% to Howard Mills's 25% in U.S. Senate election, 2004
• President Lyndon Johnson's 61% to Barry Goldwater's 38%

Electoral votes

• President Calvin Coolidge's 382 electoral votes to John W. Davis's 136 electoral votes in 1924
• President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 523 electoral votes to Alfred Mossman Landon's 8 electoral votes in 1936
• 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 in 1972
• President Ronald Reagan's 525 electoral votes to Walter Mondale's 13 electoral votes in 1984
• President Bill Clinton's 379 electoral votes to Bob Dole's 159 electoral votes in 1996