1932 New Jersey Republican presidential primary

1932 New Jersey Republican presidential primaries

←  1928 May 15, 1932 1936  →
Presidential delegate primary
33 Republican National Convention delegates
Candidate Uncommitted Herbert Hoover Anti-Prohibition Home state California Delegate count 12 10 4 Popular vote 274,506 217,704 61,325 Percentage 49.6% 39.3% 11.1%
Presidential preference primary (non-binding)
No Republican National Convention delegates
Candidate Joseph I. France Herbert Hoover (write-in) Home state Maryland California Popular vote 141,330 10,116 Percentage 93.3% 6.7%

Main article: 1932 Republican Party presidential primaries

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. ^[1]

The state also held a presidential preference primary. Joseph I. France was the only candidate listed on the ballot. ^[1]

Endorsements

Herbert Hoover (incumbent)

Uncommitted

Results

Preference primary results

1932 New Jersey Republican presidential preference primary ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joseph I. France	141,330	93.32%
	Republican	Herbert Hoover (inc.; write-in)	10,116	6.68%
Total votes			151,446	100.00%

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. ^[1]

Delegate primary results

Delegate slate		Candidate	Delegate candidates		Delegates		Aggregate votes
			Statewide	District	Total	Of total (%)	Total	Of total (%)
	Uncommitted	—	7	8	13	39.93
	Herbert Hoover	Herbert Hoover	0	10	10	30.30
	Regular Republican	—	0	8	6	18.18
	Anti-Prohibition [a]	—	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 primary ^[1]

Contest	Delegates and popular vote
	Uncommitted	Hoover	Anti-Prohibition	Other	Total
At-large	7 1,671,954 (93.96%)	–	–	107,383 (6.04%)	1,779,337
1st district	–	2 81,802 (100.00%)	–	–	81,802
2nd district	2 51,751 (100.00%)	–	–	–	51,751
3rd district	2 [b] 40,106 (100.00%)	–	–	–	40,106
4th district	–	2 41,038 (82.56%)	8,667 (17.44%)	–	49,705
5th district	2 [c] 45,185 (100.00%)	–	–	–	45,185
6th district	–	2 50,210 (100.00%)	–	–	50,210
7th district	2 [d] 38,675 (100.00%)	–	–	–	38,675
8th district	–	2 34,243 (100.00%)	–	–	34,243
9th district	20,045 [e] (47.21%)	–	2 22,412 (52.79%)	–	42,457
10th district	2 37,591 (100.00%)	–	–	–	37,591
11th district	–	–	2 30,246 (100.00%)	–	30,246
12th district	2 39,661 (100.00%)	–	–	–	39,661
13th district	1,492 (12.53%)	2 10,411 (87.47%)	–	–	11,903
District totals	12 274,506 (49.59%)	10 217,704 (39.33%)	4 61,325 (11.08%)	–	553,535

1. Anti-prohibition delegates ran under several different slogans. In the fourth district, Enrest L. De Paur ran as a "Anti-Hoover-Anti-Prohibition" candidate. In the ninth district, two delegates were successfully elected on a "Repeal of the 18th Amendment" ticket. In the eleventh district, two more delegates were elected under the "Immediate Volstead Modification Repeal Prohibition Amendment" ticket.
2. As "Regular Republican" candidates.
3. As "Regular Republican" candidates.
4. As "Regular Republican" candidates.
5. As "Regular Republican" candidates.

Aftermath

Ultimately, the New Jersey delegation unanimously supported Hoover at the 1932 Republican National Convention.

References

1. "Results of the Primary Election Held May 15th, 1932" (PDF). New Jersey Department of State.