Arkansas elections, 1932

Last updated

Arkansas held a general election on November 8, 1932. At the top of the ticket, Franklin D. Roosevelt won the state handily in his successful bid to become 32nd President of the United States. Arkansans elected Hattie Caraway to the United States Senate, the first woman elected to a full term in history. For the United States House of Representatives, Bill Cravens, a former Representative from 1907 to 1913, returned to politics and defeated a wide field in the Arkansas 4th. Tilman Parks defeated several challengers to retain the Arkansas 7th. All of Arkansas's statewide constitutional offices were up for reelection, including governor. Incumbent Harvey Parnell declined to run for reelection, and was supplanted by Junius Marion Futrell.

Arkansas State of the United States of America

Arkansas is a state in the southern region of the United States, home to over 3 million people as of 2018. Its name is of Siouan derivation from the language of the Osage denoting their related kin, the Quapaw Indians. The state's diverse geography ranges from the mountainous regions of the Ozark and the Ouachita Mountains, which make up the U.S. Interior Highlands, to the densely forested land in the south known as the Arkansas Timberlands, to the eastern lowlands along the Mississippi River and the Arkansas Delta.

Franklin D. Roosevelt 32nd president of the United States

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American statesman and political leader who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. A Democrat, he won a record four presidential elections and became a central figure in world events during the first half of the 20th century. Roosevelt directed the federal government during most of the Great Depression, implementing his New Deal domestic agenda in response to the worst economic crisis in U.S. history. As a dominant leader of his party, he built the New Deal Coalition, which realigned American politics into the Fifth Party System and defined American liberalism throughout the middle third of the 20th century. His third and fourth terms were dominated by World War II. Roosevelt is widely considered to be one of the most important figures in American history, as well as among the most influential figures of the 20th century. Though he has also been subject to much criticism, he is generally rated by scholars as one of the three greatest U.S. presidents, along with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

United States Senate Upper house of the United States Congress

The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, which along with the United States House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the legislature of the United States. The Senate chamber is located in the north wing of the Capitol, in Washington, D.C.

Contents

During the Solid South, the Democratic Party held firm control of virtually every office in The South, including Arkansas. Winning the Democratic primary was considered tantamount to election, with several different factions of the party battling in the open primaries. The election was held a few years into the Great Depression, and Americans and Arkansans battling steep unemployment and poverty sought politicians and policies to remedy the economic malaise.

Solid South Electoral support of the Southern United States for Democratic Party candidates from 1877 to 1964

For the play titled Solid South see Lawton Campbell

Democratic Party (United States) political party in the United States

The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Democratic Party was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party. The Democrats' dominant worldview was once social conservatism and economic liberalism while populism was its leading characteristic in the rural South. In 1912, Theodore Roosevelt ran as a third-party candidate in the Progressive Party, beginning a switch of political platforms between the Democratic and Republican Party over the coming decades, and leading to Woodrow Wilson being elected as the first fiscally progressive Democrat. Since Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal coalition in the 1930s, the Democratic Party has also promoted a social liberal platform, supporting social justice.

Southern United States Cultural region of the United States

The southern United States, also known as the American South, Dixie, Dixieland, or simply the South, is a region of the United States of America. It is located between the Atlantic Ocean and the western United States, with the midwestern United States and northeastern United States to its north and the Gulf of Mexico and Mexico to its south.

Though the state elected big government-liberal Franklin Roosevelt, Futrell represented a realignment toward severe cuts and retrenchment in the governor's mansion. Conservative, small-government Democrats also took state senate and state representative positions across Arkansas. Though 1932 is considered a realignment election nationally toward Democrats and larger government, in Arkansas, Futrell was the most conservative governor elected in decades, marking a shift from Progressive Era-type politicians in Arkansas.

Retrenchment is an act of cutting down or reduction, particularly of public expenditure.

The Progressive Era was a period of widespread social activism and political reform across the United States that spanned from the 1890s to the 1920s. The main objectives of the Progressive movement were eliminating problems caused by industrialization, urbanization, immigration, and political corruption. The movement primarily targeted political machines and their bosses. By taking down these corrupt representatives in office, a further means of direct democracy would be established. They also sought regulation of monopolies and corporations through antitrust laws, which were seen as a way to promote equal competition for the advantage of legitimate competitors.

President

Roosevelt defeated Herbert Hoover by a 85.96% to 12.91% margin in Arkansas, earning the state's nine electoral votes. His New Deal was very popular in the state, which was struggling with high unemployment and poor prospects for agriculture, which represented most of Arkansas's economy.

Herbert Hoover 31st president of the United States

Herbert Clark Hoover was an American engineer, businessman, and politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933. A member of the Republican Party, he held office during the onset of the Great Depression. Prior to serving as president, Hoover led the Commission for Relief in Belgium, served as the director of the U.S. Food Administration, and served as the 3rd U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

New Deal Economic programs of U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt

The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1936. It responded to needs for relief, reform and recovery from the Great Depression. Major federal programs included the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the Civil Works Administration (CWA), the Farm Security Administration (FSA), the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 (NIRA) and the Social Security Administration (SSA). They provided support for farmers, the unemployed, youth and the elderly. The New Deal included new constraints and safeguards on the banking industry and efforts to re-inflate the economy after prices had fallen sharply. New Deal programs included both laws passed by Congress as well as presidential executive orders during the first term of the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs focused on what historians refer to as the "3 Rs": relief for the unemployed and poor, recovery of the economy back to normal levels and reform of the financial system to prevent a repeat depression. The New Deal produced a political realignment, making the Democratic Party the majority with its base in liberal ideas, the South, traditional Democrats, big city machines and the newly empowered labor unions and ethnic minorities. The Republicans were split, with conservatives opposing the entire New Deal as hostile to business and economic growth and liberals in support. The realignment crystallized into the New Deal coalition that dominated presidential elections into the 1960s while the opposing conservative coalition largely controlled Congress in domestic affairs from 1937 to 1964.

Federal

United States Senate

Thaddeus H. Caraway held Arkansas's Class III senate from 1920 until his death on November 6, 1931. Per the custom at the time, his wife Hattie Caraway was appointed to serve the remainder of his term. Though she faced several primary challengers, Caraway became the first woman to be elected to a full term in the Senate in November 1932 by a 89.5% to 10.5% margin over John W. White, the Republican.

Thaddeus H. Caraway American politician

Thaddeus Horatius Caraway was a Democratic Party politician from the U.S. state of Arkansas who represented the state first in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1913 to 1921 and then in the U.S. Senate from 1921 until his death.

Widow's succession was a political practice prominent in some countries in the early part of the 20th century, by which a politician who died in office was succeeded by his widow, either through election or direct appointment to the seat. Many of the earliest women to hold political office in the modern era attained their positions through this practice.

Republican Party (United States) political party in the United States

The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP, is one of the two major political parties in the United States; the other is its historic rival, the Democratic Party.

Caraway defeated Vincent Miles, O.L. Bodenhamer, William G. Hutton, William F. Kirby, Melbourne Martin, and Charles Brough.

William F. Kirby American politician

William Fosgate Kirby was a Democratic Party politician from Arkansas who represented the state in the U.S. Senate from 1916 to 1921.

United States House

State

Governor

County results, gubernatorial
Futrell:
50-60%     60-70%     70-80%
80-90%     90%+
Livesay:
Did not win any counties Arkansas Governor Election Results by County, 1932.svg
County results, gubernatorial
Futrell:
     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
     80–90%     90%+
Livesay:
Did not win any counties

Lieutenant Governor

Incumbent lieutenant governor Lawrence Wilson faced a six-way primary battle for reelection. Though Democratic voters had historically given two two-year terms to faithful politicians, Wilson had become embroiled in scandals after pardoning his brother from a ten-year prison sentence while serving as acting governor, and in his capacity to dissolve three insolvent banks in his home county.

Candidates in the Democratic primary were Lieutenant Governor Wilson, Lee Cazort, Paul Grabiel, Fred Hutto, Joe W. Kimysey, R.F. Milwee, and J. Rosser Venable. [1]

Constitutional offices

Attorney General

Hal L. Norwood won reelection as Arkansas Attorney General. He was challenged in the Democratic primary by Hal C. Norwood, Boyd Cypert, John C. Sheffield, and J.G. Ragsdale. [1]

Secretary of State

Ed F. McDonald won reelection as Arkansas Secretary of State unopposed.

Auditor

J. Oscar Humphrey won reelection as Arkansas State Auditor. He was challenged in the Democratic primary by Roy H. Hand and Charlie Parker. [1]

Treasurer

Roy V. Leonard won reelection as Arkansas State Treasurer unopposed.

State Land Commissioner

A new Arkansas State Land Commissioner was elected in 1932. The incumbent, Belva Martin, elected not to pursue reelection. Three men sought the Democratic nomination: William L. DeCamp of Little Rock, George W. Neal of Murfreesboro, and Ed P. Rosser of Russellville. [2]

George W. Neal ultimately won election.

See also

Related Research Articles

Hattie Wyatt Caraway United States Senator from Arkansas

Hattie Ophelia Wyatt Caraway was an American politician who became the first woman elected to serve a full term as a United States Senator. Caraway represented Arkansas. She was the first woman to preside over the Senate. She won reelection to a full term in 1932 with the active support of fellow Senator Huey Long, of neighboring Louisiana.

Homer Martin Adkins was the 32nd governor of the U.S. state of Arkansas. Prior to his public service as Governor of Arkansas, he had a career as a pharmacist, salesman, and military officer.

Harvey Parnell was a farmer and politician from Southeast Arkansas. Parnell served in the Arkansas General Assembly for eight years, first in the Arkansas House of Representatives, and later serving a term in the Arkansas Senate. Following the re-establishment of the lieutenant governor position, Parnell won the statewide election and served under Governor John Martineau. When Martineau resigned to take a federal judgeship in March 1928, Parnell was elevated to become the state's 29th governor, a position he would hold until 1933. Early in his time as governor, Parnell was responsible for Progressive reforms popular with rural voters, including expansion and modernization of the highway system and public school reform. But as the Dust Bowl and Great Depression ravaged the Arkansas economy, Parnell's programs were blamed for bankrupting the state, and his popularity plummeted. He left politics after his second full gubernatorial term ended in January 1933.

Blanche Lincoln American politician

Blanche Meyers Lambert Lincoln is an American politician and lawyer who served as a U.S. Senator from Arkansas from 1999 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, Lincoln was first elected to the Senate in 1998; she was the first woman elected to the Senate from Arkansas since Hattie Caraway in 1932 and, at age 38, was the youngest woman ever elected to the Senate. She previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Arkansas's 1st congressional district from 1993 to 1997.

72nd United States Congress

The Seventy-second United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1931, to March 4, 1933, during the last two years of Herbert Hoover's presidency. The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the Thirteenth Decennial Census of the United States in 1910. The Senate had a Republican majority. The House started with a very slim Republican majority, but by the time it first met in December 1931, the Democrats had gained a majority through special elections.

1982 United States Senate elections

The United States Senate elections of 1982 were held on November 2, 1982. They were elections for the United States Senate following Republican gains in 1980. A total of four seats changed hands between parties, and the lone independent, Senator Harry Byrd Jr., retired. Democrats made a net gain of one seat in the elections. A special election in 1983 was then held after the winner of Washington's 1982 election died at the beginning of the term.

1978 United States Senate elections

The United States Senate elections, 1978 in the middle of Democratic President Jimmy Carter's term. Thirteen seats changed hands between parties. The Democrats at first lost a net of two seats to the Republicans, and then one more in a special election. Democrats nevertheless retained a 58-41 majority.

Women in the United States Senate Wikimedia list article

There have been 56 total women in the United States Senate since its establishment in 1789. The first woman who served as a U.S. Senator, Rebecca Latimer Felton, represented Georgia for a single day in 1922. The first woman elected to the Senate was Hattie Caraway from Arkansas in 1932. Seventeen of the women who have served were appointed; seven of those were appointed to succeed their deceased husbands. The 116th Congress has 25 female senators, meaning for the first time in history, one-fourth of the members of the U.S. Senate are female.

In the United States politics, party switching is any change in party affiliation of a partisan public figure, usually one who is currently holding elected office. Use of the term "party switch" can also connote a transfer of held power in an elected governmental body from one party to another.

1932 United States Senate elections

The United States Senate elections of 1932 coincided with Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt's crushing defeat of incumbent Herbert Hoover in the presidential election. With the Hoover administration widely blamed for the Great Depression, Republicans lost twelve seats and control of the chamber.

Bill Halter American politician, activist

William A. Halter is an American politician best known for being the 14th Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to succeed the late Republican Winthrop Paul Rockefeller in 2006, defeating Republican challenger Jim Holt.

Democratic Party of Arkansas

The Democratic Party of Arkansas is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Arkansas. It is responsible for promoting the ideologies and core values of the national Democratic Party in Arkansas.

2012 West Virginia elections

West Virginia's 2012 general elections were held on November 6, 2012. Primary elections were held on May 8, 2012.

1992 United States elections Election in the United States on 1992

The 1992 United States elections elected state governors, the national president, and members of the 103rd United States Congress. The election took place after the redistricting that resulted from the 1990 Census. Democrats won control of the presidency and both chambers of Congress for the first time since the Republican victory in the 1980 elections.

Elections for state and federal offices for the 2010 election cycle in Connecticut were held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010. Any necessary primary elections for the Republican and Democratic parties were held on Tuesday, August 10, 2010.

1932 Montana gubernatorial election

The 1932 Montana gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1932. Incumbent Governor of Montana John E. Erickson, who was first elected governor in 1924 and was re-elected in 1928, ran for re-election. He won the Democratic primary with a plurality and advanced to the general election, where he faced Frank A. Hazelbaker, the Lieutenant Governor of Montana. Despite the fact that Franklin D. Roosevelt carried the state in a landslide in the presidential election that year, Erickson only narrowly defeated Hazelbaker to win re-election to his third and final term as governor, though he would later resign just a few months into his term to appoint himself to the United States Senate.

1954 Arizona gubernatorial election

The 1954 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 1954. Incumbent Governor John Howard Pyle, the first Republican elected to the office in two decades, ran for reelection for a third term.

2015 Virginia House of Delegates election

The Virginia House of Delegates election of 2015 was held on Tuesday, November 3. All 100 seats of the Virginia House of Delegates were on the ballot. While Republicans maintained an enormous edge against Democrats in the chamber, their net loss of one seat cost them their previously-held veto-proof majority against Governor Terry McAuliffe.

1932 Arkansas gubernatorial election

The 1932 Arkansas gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1932, to elect the Governor of Arkansas, concurrently with the election to Arkansas's Class III U.S. Senate seat, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

1930 Arkansas gubernatorial election

The 1930 Arkansas gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1930, to elect the Governor of Arkansas, concurrently with the election to Arkansas's Class II U.S. Senate seat, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Staff of the Harrison Daily Times (July 16, 1932). "Primary List is Certified by Committee". Harrison Daily Times . 13 (245). Harrison: The Times Publishing Company. p. 1. OCLC   18545584 via NewspaperARCHIVE.
  2. Staff of the Associated Press (April 11, 1932). "State Political Notes". Hope Star . 88 (171). Hope: Star Publishing Company. p. 1. OCLC   23187909 via NewspaperARCHIVE.