1932 Arizona gubernatorial election

For related races, see 1932 United States gubernatorial elections.

1932 Arizona gubernatorial election

←  1930 November 8, 1932 1934  →

Nominee Benjamin Baker Moeur Jack Kinney Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 75,314 42,202 Percentage 63.22% 35.43%

County results Moeur:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Kinney:      50–60%

Governor before election George W. P. Hunt Democratic Elected Governor Benjamin Baker Moeur Democratic

The 1932 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1932. Incumbent Governor George W. P. Hunt sought the Democratic nomination but lost in the primary to Benjamin Baker Moeur. Moeur's pre-gubernatorial experience included serving as the Secretary of the Board of Education for Arizona State Teachers College, which later became Arizona State University.

Moeur defeated cattle rancher Jack Kinney in the general election and was sworn in as Arizona's fourth governor (excluding non-consecutive terms) on January 3, 1933.

Democratic primary

The Democratic primary took place on September 13, 1932. Incumbent Governor George W. P. Hunt, who was elected to his seventh (non-consecutive) term over then-incumbent Governor John Calhoun Phillips in 1930, was opposed in the primary by Benjamin Baker Moeur, who had served as Secretary of the Board of Education for Arizona State Teacher's College prior to running for the office of Governor, as well as Attorney General K. Berry Peterson, State Senator Fred Sutter, and Webster C. Reed. ^[1]

Candidates

• George W. P. Hunt, incumbent Governor, former Ambassador to Siam
• Benjamin Baker Moeur, Secretary of the Board of Education
• K. Berry Peterson, Attorney General of Arizona
• Fred Sutter, State Senator
• Webster C. Reed

Results

Democratic primary results ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Benjamin Baker Moeur	30,389	35.46%
	Democratic	George W. P. Hunt (incumbent)	25,094	29.28%
	Democratic	K. Berry Peterson	20,051	23.40%
	Democratic	Fred Sutter	9,434	11.01%
	Democratic	Webster C. Reed	727	0.85%
Total votes			85,695	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

• J. C. "Jack" Kinney, cattle rancher
• W. W. Midgley, rancher
• William Walton

Results

Republican primary results ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	J. C. "Jack" Kinney	11,873	63.72%
	Republican	W. W. Midgley	5,662	30.39%
	Republican	William Walton	1,099	5.90%
Total votes			18,634	100.00%

General election

Arizona gubernatorial election, 1932 ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Benjamin Baker Moeur	75,314	63.22%	+11.83%
	Republican	J. C. "Jack" Kinney	42,202	35.43%	−13.18%
	Socialist	Lawrence McGivern	826	0.69%	+0.69%
	Arizona Progressive Democratic Party	Andrew Jackson Bettwy	584	0.49%	+0.49%
	Communist	Martin Gehon	198	0.17%	+0.17%
Majority			33,112	27.80%
Total votes			119,124	100.00%
	Democratic hold		Swing	+25.02%

Results by county

County	Benjamin Baker Moeur Democratic		Jack C. Kinney Republican		Lawrence McGivern Socialist		Andrew Jackson Bettwy AZ Progressive Democratic		Martin Gehon Communist		Margin		Total votes cast [3]
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Apache	1,101	53.68%	946	46.12%	1	0.05%	2	0.10%	1	0.05%	155	7.56%	2,051
Cochise	7,724	68.64%	3,290	29.24%	208	1.85%	29	0.26%	2	0.02%	4,434	39.40%	11,253
Coconino	2,402	63.09%	1,385	36.38%	14	0.37%	2	0.05%	4	0.11%	1,017	26.71%	3,807
Gila	4,441	65.74%	2,189	32.41%	79	1.17%	29	0.43%	17	0.25%	2,252	33.34%	6,755
Graham	3,006	78.18%	795	20.68%	16	0.42%	21	0.55%	7	0.18%	2,211	57.50%	3,845
Greenlee	1,588	79.56%	387	19.39%	1	0.05%	10	0.50%	10	0.50%	1,201	60.17%	1,996
Maricopa	29,118	65.08%	15,148	33.85%	110	0.25%	283	0.63%	86	0.19%	13,970	31.22%	44,745
Mohave	1,603	70.55%	633	27.86%	20	0.88%	8	0.35%	8	0.35%	970	42.69%	2,272
Navajo	2,479	59.71%	1,528	36.80%	144	3.47%	0	0.00%	1	0.02%	951	22.90%	4,152
Pima	8,403	47.16%	9,282	52.09%	48	0.27%	47	0.26%	39	0.22%	-879	-4.93%	17,819
Pinal	3,049	71.25%	1,210	28.28%	8	0.19%	8	0.19%	4	0.09%	1,839	42.98%	4,279
Santa Cruz	1,356	59.24%	821	35.87%	5	0.22%	106	4.63%	1	0.04%	535	23.37%	2,289
Yavapai	5,791	63.98%	3,148	34.78%	81	0.89%	20	0.22%	11	0.12%	2,643	29.20%	9,051
Yuma	3,253	67.63%	1,440	29.94%	91	1.89%	19	0.40%	7	0.15%	1,813	37.69%	4,810
Totals	75,314	63.22%	42,202	35.43%	826	0.69%	584	0.49%	198	0.17%	33,112	27.80%	119,124

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Maricopa
• Santa Cruz
• Yavapai
• Yuma

References

1. "Our Campaigns - AZ Governor- D Primary Race - Sep 13, 1932".
2. "Official Canvass Primary Election Returns, September 13th, 1932". Arizona Secretary of State. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
3. "Official Canvass General Election Returns, November 8th, 1932". Arizona Secretary of State. Retrieved July 12, 2024.

Bibliography

• Goff, John S. (1973). George The Fifth and Bibliographical and Biographical Notes (ed.). George W. P. Hunt and his Arizona. Phoenix: Socio-Technical Publications. pp. 159, 171–177, 273–277.