I agree: no complacency. However, I have to admit I was struck by how "close" the 1944 election was. During the height of WWII, when it was clear we would triumph, with the Depression defeated due to ammunitions production and the military service, etc., etc., FDR still only pulled out 53.3% of the vote. This was in the day when AP actually supported our troops and President. That shows just how remarkable W's victory was.
But FDR was running for a unprecedented and controversial fourth term. Even though my father's parents voted for FDR for the third and fourth term, they opposed his running for them. I recall Bob Dornan saying that his father stopped voting DemocRAT when FDR ran for his third term in 1940.