1932 Texas gubernatorial election

1932 Texas gubernatorial election

←  1930 November 8, 1932 1934  →
Turnout	70.3% 45.7% [1]
Nominee Miriam A. Ferguson Orville Bullington Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 522,395 317,590 Percentage 61.98% 37.68%
County results [a] Ferguson:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Bullington:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Tie:     Not Reported:
Governor before election Ross S. Sterling Democratic Elected Governor Miriam A. Ferguson Democratic

The 1932 Texas gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1932, to elect the governor of Texas. Democratic nominee and former governor of Texas Miriam A. Ferguson defeated Republican nominee Orville Bullington. ^[2]

Democratic primary

The Democratic primary election was held on July 23, 1932. As no candidate won a majority of votes, there was a run-off on August 27, 1932, between the two highest ranking candidates former governor of Texas Miriam A. Ferguson and incumbent governor of Texas Ross S. Sterling. Ferguson would eventually win the primary with 50.20% against Sterling, which marked the closest primary defeat for an incumbent governor in United States history. ^[3]

Candidates

• Roger Q. Evans, San Antonio resident
• Miriam A. Ferguson, former governor of Texas
• C. A. Frakes, Port Arthur resident
• J. Ed Glenn, hitchhiker ^[4]
• Tom F. Hunter, Wichita Falls attorney ^[5]
• Frank Putnam, anti-prohibition advocate ^[6]
• Ross S. Sterling, incumbent governor of Texas
• M. H. Wolfe, former chairman of the Democratic state executive committee and prohibitionist ^[7]

Withdrew

• George W. Armstrong, attorney, oilman, and rancher (ran as an Independent) ^{[8] [9]}

Results

First round results by county:

Ferguson

•      30–40%
•      40–50%
•      50–60%
•      60–70%
•      70-80%

Sterling

•      20–30%
•      30–40%
•      40–50%
•      50–60%
•      60–70%
•      70-80%
•      80-90%
•      >90%

Hunter

•      30–40%
•      40–50%
•      50–60%
•      60–70%

Hunter-Ferguson Tie

•      30-40%

1932 Democratic primary ^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Miriam A. Ferguson	402,238	41.56%
	Democratic	Ross S. Sterling (incumbent)	296,383	30.62%
	Democratic	Tom F. Hunter	220,391	22.77%
	Democratic	M. H. Wolfe	32,241	3.33%
	Democratic	George W. Armstrong	5,312	0.55%
	Democratic	Roger Q. Evans	3,974	0.41%
	Democratic	Frank Putnam	2,962	0.31%
	Democratic	C. A. Frakes	2,338	0.24%
	Democratic	J. Ed Glenn	2,089	0.22%
Total votes			967,928	100.0%

Runoff

Runoff results by county:

Ferguson

•      50–60%
•      60–70%
•      70-80%
•      80-90%

Sterling

•      50–60%
•      60–70%
•      70-80%
•      80-90%
•      >90%

Tie

•      50%

1932 Democratic primary runoff ^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Miriam A. Ferguson	477,644	50.20%
	Democratic	Ross S. Sterling (incumbent)	473,846	49.80%
Total votes			951,490	100.0%

Republican convention

The Republican convention was held on August 9, 1932. In the months leading up to the convention, John F. Grant was seen as the likely nominee. In the days before the convention, a movement to nominate Orville Bullington began to grow. Bullington had not sought the party's nomination, but party leaders thought that he was their strongest candidate and backed him regardless. ^[12]

Candidates

• Orville Bullington, attorney, businessman and member of the Texas Republican Executive Committee ^[13]
• George C. Hopkins, Dallas resident

Withdrew

• John F. Grant, lumberman

Results

During the convention, Grant withdrew his candidacy and Bullington was nominated unanimously. In his convention speech, Bullington came out strongly in favor of prohibition and pledged to uphold the Eighteenth Amendment. Bullington's nomination temporarily divided the party, and R. B. Creager threatened to back Grant if he opposed Bullington. Grant, however, chose not to challenge Bullington, thus avoiding a split. ^{[14] [15] [16]}

General election

Candidates

• George W. Armstrong, attorney, oilman, and rancher (Jacksonian Democrat) ^{[8] [9] [17]}
• Orville Bullington, attorney, businessman and member of the Texas Republican Executive Committee ^[13] (Republican)
• George Clifton Edwards (Socialist)
• Miriam A. Ferguson, former governor of Texas (Democratic)
• Otho L. Heitt (Liberty)
• Philip L. Howe (Communist)

Campaign

Similar to her 1924 campaign, Ferguson's candidacy saw a large number of defections. ^[18] After his lawsuit to keep Ferguson off of the ballot failed, ^[19] Democratic incumbent Ross Sterling crossed party lines to endorse Orville Bullington. ^[20]

Results

On election day, November 8, 1932, Democratic nominee Miriam A. Ferguson won re-election by a margin of 204,805 votes over Bullington, thereby retaining Democratic control over the office of governor. By contrast, Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated Herbert Hoover by a margin of 662,389 votes in the concurrent presidential election. ^[21] Ferguson was sworn in as the 32nd governor of Texas on January 17, 1933. ^[22]

1932 Texas gubernatorial election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Miriam A. Ferguson	522,395	61.98%
	Republican	Orville Bullington	317,590	37.68%
	Socialist	George Clifton Edwards	1,873	0.22%
	Independent Democratic	George W. Armstrong	768	0.09%
	Communist	Philip L. Howe	138	0.02%
	Liberty	Otho L. Heitt	134	0.09%
Total votes			843,898	100.00%
	Democratic hold

References

1. "Texas Almanac, 1939-1940". Portal to Texas History. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
2. John D. Huddleston (June 12, 2010). "Ferguson, Miriam Amanda Wallace". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association.
3. "A Failure to Launch? Kansas' Republican Gubernatorial Contest and the History of Incumbent Governor Primary Performance – Sabato's Crystal Ball".
4. "State Races Grow Heated; 2 Weeks Left". Brownsville Herald. Brownsville, Texas. July 11, 1932. p. 6. Retrieved July 3, 2024– via Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers at the Library of Congress.
5. Hunter, Ann Cox (April 2, 1981). "1612 Buchanan". Witchita Falls Cultural Resources Survey. Witchita Falls, Texas. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
6. "Ferguson Campaigning". Brownsville Herald. Brownsville, Texas. May 16, 1932. p. 6. Retrieved July 3, 2024– via Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers at the Library of Congress.
7. "Texas Demos". Brownsville Herald. Brownsville, Texas. July 19, 1932. p. 8. Retrieved July 3, 2024– via Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers at the Library of Congress.
8. "Armstrong, George Washington". TSHA. November 1, 1994. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
9. "Armstrong Quits". Brownsville Herald. Brownsville, Texas. July 4, 1932. p. 1. Retrieved July 3, 2024– via Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers at the Library of Congress.
10. "TX Governor – D Primary". ourcampaigns.com. January 13, 2010. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
11. "TX Governor – D Primary Runoff". ourcampaigns.com. January 13, 2010. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
12. "Texas G.O.P." Henderson Daily News. Henderson, Texas. August 10, 1932. p. 2. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
13. Olien, Roger M. (1981). From Token to Triumph: The Texas Republicans Since 1920 . Dallas, Texas: Southern Methodist University Press. p. 62. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
14. "Bullington Is Nominated". The Daily Tribune. Bay City, Texas. August 10, 1932. p. 1. Retrieved July 4, 2024– via Portal to Texas History.
15. "G. O. P. Sentiment Turns From Grant". Brownsville Herald. Brownsville, Texas. August 8, 1932. p. 1. Retrieved July 4, 2024– via Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers at the Library of Congress.
16. "Grant Complains". Brownsville Herald. Brownsville, Texas. August 22, 1932. p. 1. Retrieved July 4, 2024– via Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers at the Library of Congress.
17. "The Last Populist – George Washington Armstrong and the Texas Gubernatorial Election of 1932". East Texas Historical Association. 2002. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
18. Duckworth, Allen (1947). "Democratic Dilemma in Texas". Southwest Review. 32 (1). Southern Methodist University: 34–40. JSTOR   43466794.
19. Associated Press (October 9, 1932). "Mrs. Ferguson's Name To Go on Dem Ballot". Brownsville Herald. Vol. 41, no. 83. Retrieved November 4, 2023– via Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers at the Library of Congress.
20. "Sterling for Republican: Wearing Bullington Button Denotes Party Change". Lawrence Journal-World. Vol. 76, no. 253. Lawrence, Kansas. October 21, 1932. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
21. "1932 Presidential General Election Results – Texas". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
22. "TX Governor". ourcampaigns.com. June 26, 2006. Retrieved May 11, 2023.

1. Map only includes the results for Ferguson and Bullington, as other results were not included in the data.