I've read a bit about FDR and a bit about TR, but one thing I've never seen is a discussion of whether the fact of their extended familial relationship helped FDR politically in any way, especially in the run for President. Even though they were members of different parties, it seems like TR's relatively recent popularity and legacy as a progressive trust-buster could have had some appeal to New Deal voters in the middle of the Depression. The gap between TR's presidency and FDR's was 24 years, which doesn't seem too long (especially when you think about how, for example, people still think of Reagan today, 26 years after he left office).
In 1932, did then-Governor FDR make any explicit attempt to associate himself politically with TR in the public consciousness, either on matters of policy substance or even just to further cash in on the name? Would he, his allies, or his supporters in the press have even needed to? And is there anything to suggest pro-FDR voters drew on the memory of Teddy or the Bull Moose?
(Keep in mind too, I'm specifically asking about the Roosevelt name and legacy in a national political sense in 1932. I know FDR grew up with all the advantages of an old privileged New York family, so obviously in that sense the Roosevelt name did him a big favor!)
Thanks in advance!
1932 was mostly a reaction to Hoover, but Roosevelt's name helped him long before that. Roosevelt's name helped him win election to the New York state senate in a Republican-leaning district, and from there he was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy in the Wilson Administration. In 1920, Roosevelt was named the Democratic vice presidential nominee, despite being a thirty eight year old who had never served in Congress, as a governor, or as a Cabinet member. Roosevelt's stature in the party eventually helped him become Governor of New York (replacing the 1928 Democratic presidential nominee, Al Smith), from which he launched his presidential campaign.