United States Senate elections, 1932
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The 1932 United States Senate elections coincided with
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
's landslide victory over incumbent
Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...
in the
presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...
. With the Hoover administration widely blamed for the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, Republicans lost twelve seats and control of the chamber to the Democrats, who won 28 of the 34 contested races (two Democratic incumbents, Duncan U. Fletcher of Florida and John H. Overton of Louisiana, were re-elected unopposed). Among the Republican incumbents defeated in 1932 were Senate Majority Leader
James Watson James Dewey Watson (born April 6, 1928) is an American molecular biologist, geneticist, and zoologist. In 1953, he co-authored with Francis Crick the academic paper proposing the double helix structure of the DNA molecule. Watson, Crick and ...
and five-term Senator
Reed Smoot Reed Smoot (January 10, 1862February 9, 1941) was an American politician, businessman, and apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). First elected by the Utah State Legislature to the U.S. Senate in 1902, he served ...
, an author of the controversial Smoot-Hawley tariff. This is also one of only five occasions where 10 or more Senate seats changed hands in an election, with the other occasions being in
1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...
,
1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...
, 1958, and
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...
. As of 2022, this is the last time Democrats won a Senate election in
Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
.


Gains and losses


Incumbents who lost renomination

Democrats took three seats from Republican incumbents: #
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
: Two-term Republican Samuel M. Shortridge lost renomination to
Tallant Tubbs Tallant Tubbs (May 8, 1897–May 15, 1969) served in the California State Senate for the 19th district from 1925 to 1933 and during World War I he served in the United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land ...
, who in turn, lost the general election to Democrat
William G. McAdoo William Gibbs McAdoo Jr.McAdoo is variously differentiated from family members of the same name: * Dr. William Gibbs McAdoo (1820–1894) – sometimes called "I" or "Senior" * William Gibbs McAdoo (1863–1941) – sometimes called "II" or "Ju ...
. #
Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
: One-term Republican Smith W. Brookhart lost renomination to Henry Field, who in turn, lost the general election to Democrat
Richard L. Murphy Richard Louis Murphy (November 6, 1875July 16, 1936) of Dubuque, Iowa was a Democratic U.S. Senator from Iowa. Elected with President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932, as only the second Democratic Senator from Iowa elected since 1858, Murphy's s ...
. #
Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
: One-term Republican John J. Blaine lost renomination to John B. Chapple, who in turn, lost the general election to Democrat
F. Ryan Duffy Francis Ryan Duffy (June 23, 1888 – August 16, 1979) was a United States senator from Wisconsin, a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and a United States district judge of the United State ...
.


Incumbents who lost re-election

Democrats defeated eight Republican incumbents: #
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
: Two-term Republican Hiram Bingham lost to Democratic challenger,
Augustine Lonergan Augustine Lonergan (May 20, 1874October 18, 1947) was a U.S. Senator and Representative from Connecticut. He was a member of the Democratic Party. He served as a senator from 1933 to 1939. Biography Lonergan was born in Thompson, Connecticut, ...
. #
Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
: One-term Republican John Thomas lost to Democratic challenger, James Pope. #
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
: One-term Republican
Otis F. Glenn Otis Ferguson Glenn (August 27, 1879March 11, 1959) was a Republican United States Senator from the State of Illinois. He was born in Mattoon, Illinois on August 27, 1879. After graduating from law school in 1900 from the University of Illinois ...
lost to Democratic challenger, William H. Dieterich. #
Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
: Three-term Republican and Majority Leader James E. Watson lost to Democratic challenger,
Frederick Van Nuys Frederick Van Nuys (April 16, 1874 – January 25, 1944) was a United States senator from Indiana. Born in Falmouth, he attended the public schools and graduated from Earlham College ( Richmond, Indiana) in 1898 and from Indiana Law School ...
. #
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
: Two-term Republican
Tasker L. Oddie Tasker Lowndes Oddie (October 20, 1870 – February 17, 1950) was an American attorney at law, attorney and politician who served as the List of governors of Nevada, 12th Governor of Nevada and a United States Senate, United States Senator. He wa ...
lost to Democratic challenger, Patrick A. McCarran. #
New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
: Three-term Republican
George H. Moses George Higgins Moses (February 9, 1869December 20, 1944) was a U.S. diplomat and political figure. He served as a United States senator from New Hampshire and was chosen as the Senate's President pro tempore. Biography George H. Moses was bor ...
lost to Democratic challenger Fred H. Brown. #
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
: Five-term Republican
Reed Smoot Reed Smoot (January 10, 1862February 9, 1941) was an American politician, businessman, and apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). First elected by the Utah State Legislature to the U.S. Senate in 1902, he served ...
lost to Democratic challenger
Elbert D. Thomas Elbert Duncan Thomas (June 17, 1883February 11, 1953) was a Democratic Party politician from Utah. He represented Utah in the United States Senate from 1933 until 1951. He served as the Chair of the Senate Education Committee. Biography Thomas ...
. #
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
: Four-term Republican
Wesley L. Jones Wesley Livsey Jones (October 9, 1863November 19, 1932) was an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate representing the state of Washington. Born near Bethany, Illinois days aft ...
lost to Democratic challenger Homer T. Bone.


Milestones

* First election in which a Senate leader lost re-election: Majority Leader James E. Watson (R-IN) * First woman to be elected to a full term in the Senate:
Hattie Caraway Hattie Ophelia Wyatt Caraway (February 1, 1878 – December 21, 1950) was an Americans, American politician who became the first woman elected to serve a full term as a United States Senate, United States Senator. Caraway represented Arkansas. Sh ...
(D-AR) * Last Democrat (as of 2021) to be elected from Kansas: George McGill (D-KS)


Change in composition


After the January special election


Before the November elections


Result of the November elections


Race summary

All races are general elections for class 3 seats, unless noted.


Elections during the 72nd Congress

In these elections, the winners were elected and seated during 1932; ordered by election date.


Elections leading to the 73rd Congress

All elections are for Class 3 seats.


Alabama


Arizona


Arkansas

There were two elections for the same seat, due to the November 6, 1931 death of two-term Democrat Thaddeus H. Caraway. Caraway's widow, Democrat
Hattie Wyatt Caraway Hattie Ophelia Wyatt Caraway (February 1, 1878 – December 21, 1950) was an American politician who became the first woman elected to serve a full term as a United States Senator. Caraway represented Arkansas. She was the first woman to preside ...
, was appointed November 13, 1931 to continue his term.


Arkansas (Special)


Arkansas (Regular)

In May 1932, Caraway surprised Arkansas politicians by announcing that she would run for a full term in the upcoming election, joining a field already crowded with prominent candidates who had assumed she would step aside. She told reporters, "The time has passed when a woman should be placed in a position and kept there only while someone else is being groomed for the job." When she was invited by
Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
Charles Curtis Charles Curtis (January 25, 1860 – February 8, 1936) was an American attorney and Republican politician from Kansas who served as the 31st vice president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 under Herbert Hoover. He had served as the Sena ...
to preside over the Senate she took advantage of the situation to announce that she would run for reelection.
Populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...
former
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
and Senator
Huey Long Huey Pierce Long Jr. (August 30, 1893September 10, 1935), nicknamed "the Kingfish", was an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and as a United States senator from 1932 until his assassination ...
of neighboring
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
traveled to Arkansas on a seven-day campaign swing on her behalf. She was the first female senator to preside over the body as well as the first to chair a committee (Senate Committee on Enrolled Bills). Lacking any significant political backing, Caraway accepted the offer of help from Long, whose efforts to limit incomes of the wealthy and increase aid to the poor she had supported. Long was also motivated by sympathy for the widow and his ambition to extend his influence into the home state of his party rival, Senator Joseph Robinson, who had been
Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was an American politician who served four terms as Governor of New York and was the Democratic Party's candidate for president in 1928. The son of an Irish-American mother and a C ...
's vice-presidential candidate in
1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...
. Bringing his colorful and flamboyant campaign style to Arkansas, Long stumped the state with Caraway for a week just before the Democratic primary. He helped her to amass nearly twice as many votes as her closest opponent. Long effectively used a method to quiet crying babies at campaign stops in Arkansas to encourage voter interest:
Mrs. Caraway would never forget nor cease to laugh over the plans we made for caring for obstreperous infants in the audience so that their mothers might listen to the speeches without the crowds being disturbed. I remember when I saw her notice one of our campaigners take charge of the first baby. The child began fretting and then began to cry. One of the young men accompanying us immediately gave it a drink of water. The child quieted for a bit and resumed a whimper, whereupon the same campaign worker handed the baby an all-day sucker, which it immediately grasped and soon fell asleep. Mrs. Caraway did not understand that it was a matter of design until it had been repeated several times.
Caraway went on to win the general election in November, with the accompanying victory of
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
as
U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
.


California


Colorado

There were 2 elections November 8, 1932 for the same seat, due to the death of one-term Republican Charles W. Waterman. The primaries were held September 13, 1932.


Colorado (Special)

Democrat Walter Walker was appointed to continue the term, pending the special election, which he then lost. Republican attorney
Karl C. Schuyler Karl Cortlandt Schuyler (April 3, 1877July 31, 1933) was an American attorney and politician from Colorado. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, he was most notable for his service as a United States senator from 1932 to 1933. A nativ ...
was elected finish the term, but he lost the contemporaneous election to the next term. He died in 1933.


Colorado (Regular)

Democratic former senator Alva B. Adams was elected to start the new term that would begin in March 1933. Adams would be re-elected once and serve until his December 1, 1941 death.


Connecticut


Florida


Georgia

There were two elections due to the death of
William J. Harris William Julius Harris (February 3, 1868April 18, 1932) was a United States senator from the state of Georgia. He was a great-grandson of Charles Hooks, who had been a Representative from North Carolina, and son-in-law of Joseph Wheeler, Confed ...
. It was only the second time that both of Georgia's Senate seats have been up for election at the same time, following double-barrel elections in
1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...
.


Georgia (Regular)


Georgia (Special)

Democratic incumbent
William J. Harris William Julius Harris (February 3, 1868April 18, 1932) was a United States senator from the state of Georgia. He was a great-grandson of Charles Hooks, who had been a Representative from North Carolina, and son-in-law of Joseph Wheeler, Confed ...
died April 18, 1932.
Richard Russell Jr. Richard Brevard Russell Jr. (November 2, 1897 – January 21, 1971) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 66th Governor of Georgia from 1931 to 1933 before serving in the United States Senate for alm ...
, the Democratic
Governor of Georgia The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor also has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either veto or approve bills passed by the Georgia Legisl ...
, appointed fellow-Democrat John S. Cohen April 25, 1932 to continue the term but Cohen was not a candidate for election. Russell then won the September 14, 1932 Democratic primary over
Charles R. Crisp Charles Robert Crisp (October 19, 1870 – February 7, 1937) was a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, son of Charles Frederick Crisp. Life Born in Ellaville, Georgia, Crisp atte ...
, 57.72% to 42.28%. Russell was then unopposed in the November 8, 1932 special election.


Idaho


Illinois


Indiana


Iowa

Primaries were held June 6, 1932. Murphy served only 3 years until his July 16, 1936 death.


Kansas


Kentucky


Louisiana


Maryland


Missouri


Nevada


New Hampshire


New Jersey (Special)


New York


North Carolina

North Carolina had 2 elections for the same seat, due to the December 12, 1930 death of five-term Democrat
Lee S. Overman Lee Slater Overman (January 3, 1854December 12, 1930) was a Democratic U.S. senator from the state of North Carolina between 1903 and 1930. He was the first US Senator to be elected by popular vote in the state, as the legislature had appointed ...
.


North Carolina (Special)

Democratic former-
Governor of North Carolina The governor of North Carolina is the head of government of the U.S. state of North Carolina. The governor directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander in chief of the military forces of the state. The current governor, ...
Cameron A. Morrison Cameron A. Morrison (October 5, 1869August 20, 1953) was an American politician and the List of governors of North Carolina, 55th Governor of North Carolina, governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina from 1921 to 1925. Early life and career ...
was appointed December 13, 1930 to continue Overman's term, pending a special election. Primaries for both parties were held June 4, 1932 Morrison lost the primary run-off election. Reynolds was seated December 5, 1932.


North Carolina (Regular)

Primaries for both parties were held June 4, 1932 and a Democratic run-off primary was held July 2, 1932. Interim appointee
Cameron A. Morrison Cameron A. Morrison (October 5, 1869August 20, 1953) was an American politician and the List of governors of North Carolina, 55th Governor of North Carolina, governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina from 1921 to 1925. Early life and career ...
lost the primary run-off election. Reynolds would be re-elected once and serve until his 1945 retirement.


North Dakota

44.85%


Ohio


Oklahoma


Oregon


Pennsylvania


South Carolina

, - , , colspan=5 , Democratic hold , -


South Dakota


Utah


Vermont


Washington


Wisconsin


See also

* 1932 United States elections **
1932 United States presidential election The 1932 United States presidential election was the 37th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 1932. The election took place against the backdrop of the Great Depression. Incumbent Republican President Herbert Hoover w ...
** 1932 United States House of Representatives elections *
72nd United States Congress The 72nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1931 ...
*
73rd United States Congress The 73rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1933, ...


Notes


References

{{United States Senate elections