1932 United States presidential election in Washington (state)

The 1932 United States presidential election in Washington took place on November 8, 1932, as part of the 1932 United States presidential election. State voters chose eight representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Outside a few Presidential and gubernatorial elections, Washington was a virtually one-party Republican state during the “System of 1896”,Burnham, Walter Dean; ‘The System of 1896’, in Kleppner, Paul (editor), The Evolution of American Electoral Systems, pp. 176-179 where the only competition was via Republican primaries.Murray, Keith; ‘Issues and Personalities of Pacific Northwest Politics, 1889-1950’, The Pacific Northwest Quarterly, vol. 41, no. 3 (July 1950), pp. 213-233 Apart from Woodrow Wilson’s two elections, during the first of which the GOP was severely divided, no Democrat after William Jennings Bryan in 1900 carried a single county in the state until Al Smith won German Catholic Ferry County in 1928.

However, since the 1928 election when Washington state had been won by more than 36 percentage points, the United States had fallen into the Great Depression, which had been particularly severe in the rural western parts of the nation.Davies, Richard O.; ‘The Politics of Desperation: William A. Hirth and the Presidential Election of 1932’; Agricultural History, vol. 38, no. 4 (October 1964), pp. 226-234 The New Deal was especially popular in the Pacific States,Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, p. 485 and as a result Roosevelt was assured of carrying the state.

Washington state was won by Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt (D–New York), running with Speaker John Nance Garner, with 57.46 percent of the popular vote, against incumbent President Herbert Hoover (R–California), running with Vice President Charles Curtis, with 33.94 percent of the popular vote. Roosevelt flipped every county won by his rival Hoover in 1928, becoming the first Democrat to sweep every county in Washington state – a feat he would repeat in 1936 but which has never been emulated since. He was the first-ever Democratic victor in the southwestern logging counties of Klickitat, Lewis and Pacific,Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, p. 332 and also in inland Benton County and Chelan County. Roosevelt was also the first Democrat since William Jennings Bryan in 1896, and only the second overall, to carry the state with an outright majority.

This was the last election in Washington in which voters chose presidential electors directly. The state adopted the modern "short ballot" starting with the 1936 election.

Results + General Election ResultsParty Pledged to Elector Votes Democratic Party Franklin D. Roosevelt William J. Lindberg353,260 Democratic Party Franklin D. Roosevelt Eldrige Wheeler352,463 Democratic Party Franklin D. Roosevelt Paul A. Newman352,449 Democratic Party Franklin D. Roosevelt Henry S. Volkmar352,192 Democratic Party Franklin D. Roosevelt H. C. Davis352,179 Democratic Party Franklin D. Roosevelt Nella W. Hurd351,891 Democratic Party Franklin D. Roosevelt Ben Spear351,458 Democratic Party Franklin D. Roosevelt D. N. Judson350,730 Republican Party Herbert Hoover Reno Odlin208,645 Republican Party Herbert Hoover Alex Polson208,479 Republican Party Herbert Hoover E. L. French208,476 Republican Party Herbert Hoover Charles E. Myers208,449 Republican Party Herbert Hoover Ione C. Earp208,296 Republican Party Herbert Hoover Peter Henning208,285 Republican Party Herbert Hoover William L. McCormick208,238 Republican Party Herbert Hoover Bruce E. McGregor207,767 Liberty Party William Hope Harvey Charles W. Baum30,308 Liberty Party William Hope Harvey Roy Thomas30,240 Liberty Party William Hope Harvey Edith Kathrens30,194 Liberty Party William Hope Harvey R. A. Henderson30,193 Liberty Party William Hope Harvey Doreen Eggleton30,186 Liberty Party William Hope Harvey P. H. Thomson30,178 Liberty Party William Hope Harvey George Cyre30,172 Liberty Party William Hope Harvey A. V. Wallis30,047 Socialist Party Norman M. Thomas George W. Scott17,080 Socialist Party Norman M. Thomas A. R. Klein16,844 Socialist Party Norman M. Thomas W. Hitchcock16,818 Socialist Party Norman M. Thomas H. O. Fuhrberg16,814 Socialist Party Norman M. Thomas J. Richard Brown16,776 Socialist Party Norman M. Thomas J. L. Newlun16,672 Socialist Party Norman M. Thomas C. H. Bungay16,619 Socialist Party Norman M. Thomas Stella K. Garrison16,502 Communist Party William Z. Foster Floyd E. Nell2,972 Communist Party William Z. Foster Mrs. C. H. Harter2,950 Communist Party William Z. Foster Joe Scott2,946 Communist Party William Z. Foster W. F. Wilson2,944 Communist Party William Z. Foster G. W. Westbloom2,943 Communist Party William Z. Foster Charles Goold2,931 Communist Party William Z. Foster H. G. Price2,930 Communist Party William Z. Foster Alton E. Casler2,928 Prohibition Party William D. Upshaw Charles L. Haggard1,540 Prohibition Party William D. Upshaw Louis Ludwig Anderson1,517 Prohibition Party William D. Upshaw Alice B. Bacon1,508 Prohibition Party William D. Upshaw Canlipe Smith1,503 Prohibition Party William D. Upshaw Asenath B. Weakley1,502 Prohibition Party William D. Upshaw William E. Haycox1,500 Prohibition Party William D. Upshaw Mary Dixon1,490 Prohibition Party William D. Upshaw Alva T. Whig1,484 Socialist Labor Party Verne L. Reynolds Lyle Clark1,009 Socialist Labor Party Verne L. Reynolds William Klaunig996 Socialist Labor Party Verne L. Reynolds Warren Joseph Chamberlain980 Socialist Labor Party Verne L. Reynolds Fred Herrick980 Socialist Labor Party Verne L. Reynolds Henry Genies976 Socialist Labor Party Verne L. Reynolds Paul Swanson976 Socialist Labor Party Verne L. Reynolds U. G. Stark972 Socialist Labor Party Verne L. Reynolds Paul K. Tipton967Votes cast 614,814

Results by county CountyFranklin D. RooseveltDemocraticHerbert HooverRepublicanWilliam Hope HarveyLibertyNorman ThomasSocialistOther candidatesVarious partiesMarginTotal votescast#%#%#%#%#%#%Adams1,50461.89%86735.68%80.33%431.77%80.33%63726.21%2,430Asotin1,99465.33%96031.45%160.52%581.90%240.79%1,03433.88%3,052Benton2,63357.28%1,69436.85%1433.11%891.94%380.83%93920.43%4,597Chelan7,31652.79%5,58440.29%8085.83%1090.79%420.30%1,73212.50%13,859Clallam3,95452.46%1,87024.81%1,54220.46%921.22%791.05%2,08427.65%7,537Clark9,10460.05%4,90132.33%7274.80%3021.99%1260.83%4,20327.72%15,160Columbia1,49164.88%71431.07%40.17%632.74%261.13%77733.81%2,298Cowlitz5,44348.98%3,76733.90%1,66614.99%1671.50%700.63%1,67615.08%11,113Douglas1,94157.73%1,17935.07%1654.91%661.96%110.33%76222.67%3,362Ferry1,03571.63%32222.28%372.56%443.04%70.48%71349.34%1,445Franklin1,54062.27%83833.89%120.49%722.91%110.44%70228.39%2,473Garfield81854.32%66944.42%100.66%10.07%80.53%1499.89%1,506Grant1,37657.10%84034.85%1114.61%712.95%120.50%53622.24%2,410Grays Harbor10,31055.92%5,14127.89%2,57913.99%1360.74%2701.46%5,16928.04%18,436Island1,51756.99%80330.17%27010.14%491.84%230.86%71426.82%2,662Jefferson1,99461.03%95229.14%2668.14%391.19%160.49%1,04231.89%3,267King108,73859.09%63,34634.42%4,0042.18%6,5473.56%1,3960.76%45,39224.67%184,031Kitsap10,00270.57%3,46524.45%3612.55%2371.67%1080.76%6,53746.12%14,173Kittitas4,26663.82%1,96329.37%2814.20%971.45%771.15%2,30334.46%6,684Klickitat2,15559.15%1,33536.65%290.80%711.95%531.45%82022.51%3,643Lewis8,45454.21%4,64729.80%2,30514.78%870.56%1010.65%3,80724.41%15,594Lincoln2,72559.30%1,74838.04%230.50%791.72%200.44%97721.26%4,595Mason2,18155.89%99525.50%67517.30%391.00%120.31%1,18630.39%3,902Okanogan3,96957.13%2,27732.78%5788.32%891.28%340.49%1,69224.36%6,947Pacific3,09955.46%1,73731.08%61210.95%651.16%751.34%1,36224.37%5,588Pend Oreille1,77264.18%85530.97%80.29%1134.09%130.47%91733.21%2,761Pierce38,45158.86%19,00629.09%5,1837.93%2,0843.19%6030.92%19,44529.77%65,327San Juan78652.37%60740.44%906.00%120.80%60.40%17911.93%1,501Skagit8,39560.45%4,24630.57%5924.26%1631.17%4923.54%4,14929.87%13,888Skamania93463.89%44430.37%201.37%533.63%110.75%49033.52%1,462Snohomish18,35259.27%9,31030.07%1,9366.25%1,0523.40%3131.01%9,04229.20%30,963Spokane36,95356.74%24,84838.15%2680.41%2,6104.01%4460.68%12,10518.59%65,125Stevens4,26260.94%2,24732.13%931.33%3314.73%610.87%2,01528.81%6,994Thurston6,30845.97%4,24130.91%2,87620.96%1320.96%1651.20%2,06715.06%13,722Wahkiakum73053.52%44232.40%16111.80%141.03%171.25%28821.11%1,364Walla Walla5,57852.75%4,65344.00%150.14%2752.60%540.51%9258.75%10,575Whatcom11,35550.44%9,25441.11%4141.84%1,0154.51%4732.10%2,1019.33%22,511Whitman5,94553.99%4,72742.93%180.16%2612.37%600.54%1,21811.06%11,011Yakima13,88051.70%11,15141.54%1,4025.22%2530.94%1600.60%2,72910.17%26,846Totals353,26057.46%208,64533.94%30,3084.93%17,0802.78%5,5210.90%144,61523.52%614,814

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Adams Asotin Benton Chelan Clallam Clark Columbia Cowlitz Douglas Franklin Garfield Grant Grays Harbor Island Jefferson King Kitsap Kittitas Klickitat Lewis Lincoln Mason Okanogan Pacific Pend Oreille Pierce San Juan Skagit Skamania Snohomish Spokane Stevens Thurston Wahkiakum Walla Walla Whatcom Whitman Yakima

See also United States presidential elections in Washington (state)

Notes

References