The 1932 New Jersey Republican presidential primary was held on May 17, 1932, in New Jersey as one of the Republican Party's statewide nomination contests ahead of the 1932 United States presidential election. Delegates to the 1932 Republican National Convention were elected from each of the state's congressional districts, along with seven delegates at-large.
The plurality of the elected delegates were not publicly committed to supporting any candidate, but most were establishment politicians who supported incumbent Herbert Hoover. Where delegates pledged explicitly to Hoover ran, they won every race. Four delegates were elected on tickets opposed to the prohibition of alcohol under the Volstead Act. In the non-binding presidential preference primary held concurrently, U.S. senator Joseph I. France was the only candidate listed on the ballot, but several thousand write-in votes were cast for Hoover.
Ultimately, all of the New Jersey delegates voted for Hoover at the national convention, as he was easily renominated. He lost the general election in a landslide to New York governor Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Background Procedure In 1932, New Jersey was allocated 31 total delegates to the Republican National Convention. Seven delegates were elected at-large, and two delegates were elected from each of the state's twelve congressional districts, along with two alternates. Delegates were given the choice of pledging support to a particular candidate or running as uncommitted delegates.
The state also held a presidential preference primary. Joseph I. France was the only candidate listed on the ballot.
Endorsements
Results
Preference primary results
Despite France's large margin in the "beauty contest" primary, he received significantly fewer votes than Hoover had in 1928, when Hoover was also the only candidate listed. Further, three of the largest counties in the state (Bergen, Essex, and Passaic) did not record any write-in votes, depressing Hoover's total significantly.
Delegate primary results Delegate slate Candidate Delegate candidates Delegates Aggregate votes Statewide District Total Oftotal(%) Total Oftotal(%) Uncommitted 7 8 13 39.93 Herbert Hoover 0 1010 30.30 Regular Republican 0 8 6 18.18 Anti-Prohibition 0 5 4 12.12 Total 7 33 33 100.0 1,246,302 100.00 Registered voters, and turnout Delegate primary results by contest +1932 New Jersey Republican primaryContestDelegatesand popular vote Uncommitted HooverAnti-ProhibitionOther Total At-large7 1,779,3371st district2 81,8022nd district2 51,7513rd district2 40,1064th district2 49,7055th district2 45,1856th district2 50,2107th district2 38,6758th district2 34,2439th district2 42,45710th district2 37,59111th district2 30,24612th district2 39,66113th district211,903District totals12104553,535
Aftermath Ultimately, the New Jersey delegation unanimously supported Hoover at the 1932 Republican National Convention.
References