In the months prior to the July 1940 Democratic National Convention , there was much speculation as to whether Roosevelt would run for an unprecedented third term . The two-term tradition , although not yet enshrined in the Constitution , had been established by George Washington when he refused to run for a third term in the 1796 presidential election . Roosevelt refused to give a definitive statement as to his willingness to be a candidate again , and he even indicated to some ambitious Democrats , such as James Farley , that he would not run for a third term and that they could seek the Democratic nomination . However , as Germany swept through Western Europe and menaced Britain in mid-1940 , Roosevelt decided that only he had the necessary experience and skills to see the nation safely through the Nazi threat . He was aided by the party 's political bosses , who feared that no Democrat except Roosevelt could defeat Wendell Willkie , the popular Republican nominee
1940 Democratic National Convention
1940 Democratic National Convention
Franklin D. Roosevelt