1932 United States presidential election in Virginia

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1932 United States presidential election in Virginia
Flag of Virginia (1861).svg
  1928 November 8, 1932 1936  
  FDR in 1933.jpg Unsuccessful 1932.jpg
Nominee Franklin D. Roosevelt Herbert Hoover
Party Democratic Republican
Home state New York Iowa
Running mate John N. Garner Charles Curtis
Electoral vote110
Popular vote203,97989,637
Percentage68.46%30.09%

Virginia Presidential Election Results 1932.svg
County Results

President before election

Herbert Hoover
Republican

Elected President

Franklin D. Roosevelt
Democratic

The 1932 United States presidential election in Virginia took place on November 8, 1932. Voters chose eleven representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Contents

Like all former Confederate States, early twentieth-century Virginia almost completely disenfranchised its black and poor white populations through the use of a cumulative poll tax and literacy tests. [1] So severe was the disenfranchising effect of the new 1902 Constitution that it has been calculated that a third of the electorate during the first half of the twentieth century comprised state employees and officeholders. [1]

This limited electorate meant Virginian politics was controlled by political machines based in Southside Virginia—the 1920 would see the building of the Byrd Organization which would control the state's politics until the Voting Rights Act. Progressive “antiorganization” factions were rendered impotent by the inability of almost all their potential electorate to vote. [2] Unlike the Deep South, historical fusion with the “Readjuster” Democrats, [3] defection over free silver of substantial proportions of the Northeast-aligned white electorate of the Shenandoah Valley and Southwest Virginia, [4] and an early move towards a “lily white” Jim Crow party [3] meant that in general elections the Republicans retained around one-third of the small statewide electorate, [5] with the majority of GOP support located in the western part of the state. However—like in Tennessee during the same era—the parties avoided competition in many areas by an agreed division over local offices. [2]

1928 saw a substantial change, whereby a combination of anti-Catholicism in the Tidewater region and growing middle-class Republicanism in the cities saw Republican Herbert Hoover carry Virginia's electoral votes [6] and elect three Congressmen, including the local district of emerging machine leader Byrd. [7] However, a combination of record drought [8] and the economic catastrophe of the Great Depression meant that the trend towards the GOP would be short-lived. [9] The Depression had extremely severe effects in the South, which had the highest unemployment rate in the nation, and many Southerners blamed this on the North and on Wall Street, rejecting Hoover's claim that the Depression's causes were exogenous. [10]

For some time in 1932, Byrd was seen as a possible compromise candidate between Roosevelt and Al Smith for the Democratic presidential nomination; [11] however, Southern opposition to Smith meant that Byrd ultimately wavered on seeking the nomination and accepted Roosevelt, [12] as even delegates from such states as North Carolina rejected him for FDR.

Neither major party candidate campaigned in the state, and no polls were taken early in the campaign. when the state was finally polled in the middle of October, Roosevelt was clearly leading over Hoover by around five-to-two. [13] A later poll had Roosevelt winning by seventy thousand votes, despite overall being much more favourable to the incumbent president than most other polls. [14] As it turned out, the earlier poll was more accurate, with Roosevelt winning by over one hundred and fourteen thousand votes. Roosevelt ultimately won the national election with 57.41 percent of the vote.

Results

1932 United States presidential election in Virginia [15]
PartyCandidateVotesPercentageElectoral votes
Democratic Franklin D. Roosevelt 203,97968.46%11
Republican Herbert Hoover (inc.)89,63730.09%0
Socialist Norman Thomas 2,3820.80%0
Prohibition William David Upshaw 1,8430.62%0
Communist William Z. Foster 860.03%0
Farmer-Labor Jacob Coxey 150.01%0
Totals297,942100.00%11

Results by county or independent city

1932 United States presidential election in Virginia by counties and independent cities [16]
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Democratic
Herbert Clark Hoover
Republican
Various candidates
Other parties
MarginTotal votes cast
# %# %# %# %
Accomack County 2,45881.74%52717.53%220.73%1,93164.22%3,007
Albemarle County 1,94978.24%50820.39%341.36%1,44157.85%2,491
Alleghany County 1,29353.50%1,09545.30%291.20%1988.19%2,417
Amelia County 70182.08%14216.63%111.29%55965.46%854
Amherst County 1,76489.09%1959.85%211.06%1,56979.24%1,980
Appomattox County 1,12383.99%20415.26%100.75%91968.74%1,337
Arlington County 3,28552.69%2,80645.01%1432.29%4797.68%6,234
Augusta County 2,60661.51%1,54136.37%902.12%1,06525.14%4,237
Bath County 59459.88%38438.71%141.41%21021.17%992
Bedford County 2,32181.99%46916.57%411.45%1,85265.42%2,831
Bland County 78357.74%55641.00%171.25%22716.74%1,356
Botetourt County 1,80859.12%1,20939.54%411.34%59919.59%3,058
Brunswick County 1,36195.58%523.65%110.77%1,30991.92%1,424
Buchanan County 1,37265.24%72734.57%40.19%64530.67%2,103
Buckingham County 87079.82%20418.72%161.47%66661.10%1,090
Campbell County 1,69283.72%30114.89%281.39%1,39168.83%2,021
Caroline County 1,07678.89%27019.79%181.32%80659.09%1,364
Carroll County 1,53750.79%1,46148.28%280.93%762.51%3,026
Charles City County 24573.13%8525.37%51.49%16047.76%335
Charlotte County 1,30088.02%16911.44%80.54%1,13176.57%1,477
Chesterfield County 1,88669.90%72626.91%863.19%1,16042.99%2,698
Clarke County 84186.43%12412.74%80.82%71773.69%973
Craig County 64967.18%30231.26%151.55%34735.92%966
Culpeper County 1,34975.70%41723.40%160.90%93252.30%1,782
Cumberland County 51184.05%8413.82%132.14%42770.23%608
Dickenson County 2,63567.95%1,22831.67%150.39%1,40736.28%3,878
Dinwiddie County 1,02890.18%1049.12%80.70%92481.05%1,140
Elizabeth City County 1,22662.58%70035.73%331.68%52626.85%1,959
Essex County 42080.15%10119.27%30.57%31960.88%524
Fairfax County 2,71465.33%1,36832.93%721.73%1,34632.40%4,154
Fauquier County 1,99983.43%37915.82%180.75%1,62067.61%2,396
Floyd County 69939.90%1,05159.99%20.11%-352-20.09%1,752
Fluvanna County 57975.39%17622.92%131.69%40352.47%768
Franklin County 2,24572.96%81226.39%200.65%1,43346.57%3,077
Frederick County 1,53676.19%45622.62%241.19%1,08053.57%2,016
Giles County 1,75462.60%1,01636.26%321.14%73826.34%2,802
Gloucester County 91675.64%28023.12%151.24%63652.52%1,211
Goochland County 62977.65%16620.49%151.85%46357.16%810
Grayson County 2,30658.26%1,62441.03%280.71%68217.23%3,958
Greene County 39460.43%25839.57%00.00%13620.86%652
Greensville County 69285.33%11213.81%70.86%58071.52%811
Halifax County 3,58391.85%2757.05%431.10%3,30884.80%3,901
Hanover County 1,07380.56%23817.87%211.58%83562.69%1,332
Henrico County 2,45863.43%1,29133.32%1263.25%1,16730.12%3,875
Henry County 1,14676.25%34222.75%151.00%80453.49%1,503
Highland County 46455.37%35542.36%192.27%10913.01%838
Isle of Wight County 98277.02%28422.27%90.71%69854.75%1,275
James City County 30271.06%11627.29%71.65%18643.76%425
King and Queen County 36868.79%15428.79%132.43%21440.00%535
King George County 47569.65%20329.77%40.59%27239.88%682
King William County 61276.12%17722.01%151.87%43554.10%804
Lancaster County 63968.93%27229.34%161.73%36739.59%927
Lee County 2,89258.84%1,98540.39%380.77%90718.45%4,915
Loudoun County 2,44079.45%60019.54%311.01%1,84059.92%3,071
Louisa County 87968.62%36628.57%362.81%51340.05%1,281
Lunenburg County 1,14191.50%927.38%141.12%1,04984.12%1,247
Madison County 84961.52%52237.83%90.65%32723.70%1,380
Mathews County 65256.50%48842.29%141.21%16414.21%1,154
Mecklenburg County 2,18888.30%27511.10%150.61%1,91377.20%2,478
Middlesex County 59580.19%12717.12%202.70%46863.07%742
Montgomery County 1,80553.01%1,52244.70%782.29%2838.31%3,405
Nansemond County 1,26486.22%19613.37%60.41%1,06872.85%1,466
Nelson County 1,45785.61%23813.98%70.41%1,21971.62%1,702
New Kent County 28670.44%11528.33%51.23%17142.12%406
Norfolk County 2,92672.09%1,07226.41%611.50%1,85445.68%4,059
Northampton County 1,26480.15%29818.90%150.95%96661.26%1,577
Northumberland County 63071.27%24527.71%91.02%38543.55%884
Nottoway County 1,34880.67%27716.58%462.75%1,07164.09%1,671
Orange County 1,25379.96%30919.72%50.32%94460.24%1,567
Page County 1,85158.61%1,26139.93%461.46%59018.68%3,158
Patrick County 1,34272.42%48626.23%251.35%85646.20%1,853
Pittsylvania County 3,12481.35%65617.08%601.56%2,46864.27%3,840
Powhatan County 43378.02%10819.46%142.52%32558.56%555
Prince Edward County 97081.04%19616.37%312.59%77464.66%1,197
Prince George County 59783.03%11515.99%70.97%48267.04%719
Prince William County 1,49978.61%38620.24%221.15%1,11358.36%1,907
Princess Anne County 1,45176.29%43222.71%191.00%1,01953.58%1,902
Pulaski County 2,31466.99%1,10932.11%310.90%1,20534.89%3,454
Rappahannock County 59081.94%12417.22%60.83%46664.72%720
Richmond County 46169.95%19229.14%60.91%26940.82%659
Roanoke County 2,50958.79%1,70439.93%551.29%80518.86%4,268
Rockbridge County 1,76467.35%81130.97%441.68%95336.39%2,619
Rockingham County 2,75053.85%2,19442.96%1633.19%55610.89%5,107
Russell County 3,27470.09%1,38629.67%110.24%1,88840.42%4,671
Scott County 2,13755.64%1,67343.56%310.81%46412.08%3,841
Shenandoah County 2,63550.51%2,51448.19%681.30%1212.32%5,217
Smyth County 2,28754.50%1,84343.92%661.57%44410.58%4,196
Southampton County 1,35787.15%18211.69%181.16%1,17575.47%1,557
Spotsylvania County 78468.35%34630.17%171.48%43838.19%1,147
Stafford County 73161.38%45438.12%60.50%27723.26%1,191
Surry County 65388.72%739.92%101.36%58078.80%736
Sussex County 68883.39%12214.79%151.82%56668.61%825
Tazewell County 2,71356.97%2,00542.10%440.92%70814.87%4,762
Warren County 1,09674.46%36724.93%90.61%72949.52%1,472
Warwick County 64571.67%24226.89%131.44%40344.78%900
Washington County 2,78460.17%1,77438.34%691.49%1,01021.83%4,627
Westmoreland County 64174.80%21224.74%40.47%42950.06%857
Wise County 5,27668.13%2,40531.06%630.81%2,87137.07%7,744
Wythe County 1,86653.56%1,58945.61%290.83%2777.95%3,484
York County 45756.84%30938.43%384.73%14818.41%804
Alexandria City 2,94170.29%1,19928.66%441.05%1,74241.63%4,184
Bristol City 1,25279.09%30719.39%241.52%94559.70%1,583
Buena Vista City 25858.90%15435.16%265.94%10423.74%438
Charlottesville City 1,28775.53%40924.00%80.47%87851.53%1,704
Clifton Forge City 91772.15%32825.81%262.05%58946.34%1,271
Danville City 2,26473.41%74023.99%802.59%1,52449.42%3,084
Fredericksburg City 81268.18%36630.73%131.09%44637.45%1,191
Hampton City 77271.22%29427.12%181.66%47844.10%1,084
Harrisonburg City 99558.81%66539.30%321.89%33019.50%1,692
Hopewell City 95772.50%34225.91%211.59%61546.59%1,320
Lynchburg City 3,65674.07%1,20024.31%801.62%2,45649.76%4,936
Martinsville City 73977.14%21222.13%70.73%52755.01%958
Newport News City 2,70362.80%1,51535.20%862.00%1,18827.60%4,304
Norfolk City 8,81465.45%4,40332.69%2501.86%4,41132.75%13,467
Petersburg City 1,92078.69%49020.08%301.23%1,43058.61%2,440
Portsmouth City 3,34463.17%1,84034.76%1102.08%1,50428.41%5,294
Radford City 54259.63%34137.51%262.86%20122.11%909
Richmond City 14,63170.75%5,60227.09%4482.17%9,02943.66%20,681
Roanoke City 6,21565.15%3,19533.49%1301.36%3,02031.66%9,540
South Norfolk City 59763.17%32934.81%192.01%26828.36%945
Staunton City 98863.54%55135.43%161.03%43728.10%1,555
Suffolk City 1,01378.71%26520.59%90.70%74858.12%1,287
Williamsburg City 38776.63%9919.60%193.76%28857.03%505
Winchester City 1,17961.73%69836.54%331.73%48125.18%1,910
Totals203,97968.46%89,63730.09%4,3261.45%114,34238.38%297,942

Analysis

Although Roosevelt won Virginia by a margin that exceeded Woodrow Wilson’s two victories in the state and was the best Democratic performance since Andrew Jackson exactly a century previously, Hoover—despite losing every county except Floyd—was still able to maintain a small portion of the urban and Tidewater gains gains made by the Republicans during the 1920s. [6] In some counties of the Virginia Peninsula and Middle Peninsula, the incumbent president bettered Calvin Coolidge’s 1924 performance even in a depression year.

As of the 2020 presidential election , this is the last election in which Carroll County, Highland County, and Shenandoah County voted for a Democratic presidential candidate. [17] This is the closest anyone has come to sweeping every Virginia county since 1820.

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References

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  13. "Roosevelt Overwhelmingly". The Tampa Times . October 21, 1932. p. 4-A.
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