1932 Election Results Hoover VS Roosevelt

Franklin Roosevelt's overwhelming victory in his 1930 reelection campaign for Governor set the stage for his bid for the Presidency. Roosevelt and his aids immediately began to maneuver behind the scenes to gain Roosevelt the Democratic presidential nomination. Louis Howe worked on the inside, while Jim Farley traveled the country attempting to garner support for Roosevelt. Franklin was the early favorite, but due to the Democratic convention rules that a candidate needed to receive 2/3 of the votes at the convention, a small lead was not enough.

 

On March 15, Governor Roosevelt officially announced he was running for the Presidency. As the convention approached, Roosevelt had the lead. His opponents included Al Smith and John Garner of Texas. The key to securing a convention victory was winning the nomination on one of the first ballots. On June 30, the first votes were cast for the nomination. Roosevelt received 666 (1/2), Smith received 203 (3/4), and Garner received 90 (1/4.) It was an impressive showing for Roosevelt. However, FDR was still 104 votes shy of the 2/3 needed to secure the nomination. Finally, on the fourth ballot, after Garner was offered the vice-presidential candidacy, Roosevelt won the presidential nomination. The next day, in a break with tradition, Roosevelt flew to Chicago to accept the nomination.
Roosevelt engaged in a vigorous campaign, attacking the policies of the Hoover administration. The onset of the economic depression made the Republican position almost untenable. The Republicans had taken credit for the country’ s economic prosperity. Now, it was hard to evade responsibility for the economic depression. Roosevelt's one area of weakness was the corruption of New York's Tammany political organization. Charges of fraud had been brought against New York City's Mayor, James Walker. Roosevelt personally conducted the hearing. FDR gained important support by virtue of his resourceful handling of this investigation. The campaign took place against the background of the great economic depression. Roosevelt campaigned feverishly to prove that, despite his disability, he could vigorously undertake the position of United States President. At first, Hoover had planned to stay in the White House working during the crisis, but Roosevelt’ s ads brought Hoover out on the campaign trail. Hoover tried to depict Roosevelt as an extremist who would bring the country to ruin. Hoover’ s dour campaigning, compared to Roosevelt's more positive upbeat approach, worked against him. With 1/4 of the workforce unemployed, Roosevelt won an overwhelming victory.

Participation of Eligible Voters 52.6%

Democratic Convention
Republican Convention

 

State results in 1932

Electoral Results in 1932

Alabama Franklin Roosevelt 120,725 48.5 Herbert Hoover 127,796 51.3
Arizona Franklin Roosevelt 52,533 57.6 Herbert Hoover 38,537 42.2
Arkansas Franklin Roosevelt 77,784 39.3 Herbert Hoover 119,196 60.3
California Franklin Roosevelt 1,162,323 64.7 Herbert Hoover 614,365 34.2
Colorado Franklin Roosevelt 253,872 64.7 Herbert Hoover 133,131 33.9
Connecticut Franklin Roosevelt 296,641 53.6 Herbert Hoover 252,085 45.6
Delaware Franklin Roosevelt 68,860 65.8 Herbert Hoover 35,354 33.8
Florida Franklin Roosevelt 145,860 57.9 Herbert Hoover 101,764 40.4
Georgia Franklin Roosevelt 101,800 44.0 Herbert Hoover 129,604 56.0
Idaho Franklin Roosevelt 97,322 64.2 Herbert Hoover 52,926 34.9
Illinois Franklin Roosevelt 1,769,141 56.9 Herbert Hoover 1,313,817 42.3
Indiana Franklin Roosevelt 848,290 59.7 Herbert Hoover 562,691 39.6
Iowa Franklin Roosevelt 623,570 61.8 Herbert Hoover 379,011 37.6
Kansas Franklin Roosevelt 513,672 72.0 Herbert Hoover 193,003 27.1
Kentucky Franklin Roosevelt 558,064 59.3 Herbert Hoover 381,070 40.5
Louisiana Franklin Roosevelt 51,160 23.7 Herbert Hoover 164,655 76.3
Maine Franklin Roosevelt 179,923 68.6 Herbert Hoover 81,179 31.0
Maryland Franklin Roosevelt 301,479 57.1 Herbert Hoover 223,626 42.3
Massachusetts Franklin Roosevelt 775,566 49.2 Herbert Hoover 792,758 50.2
Michigan Franklin Roosevelt 965,396 70.4 Herbert Hoover 396,762 28.9
Minnesota Franklin Roosevelt 560,977 57.8 Herbert Hoover 396,451 40.8
Mississippi Franklin Roosevelt 27,030 17.8 Herbert Hoover 124,538 82.2
Missouri Franklin Roosevelt 834,080 55.6 Herbert Hoover 662,684 44.2
Montana Franklin Roosevelt 113,300 58.4 Herbert Hoover 78,578 40.5
Nebraska Franklin Roosevelt 345,745 63.2 Herbert Hoover 197,950 36.2
Nevada Franklin Roosevelt 18,327 56.5 Herbert Hoover 14,090 43.5
New Hampshire Franklin Roosevelt 115,404 58.7 Herbert Hoover 80,715 41.0
New Jersey Franklin Roosevelt 926,050 59.8 Herbert Hoover 616,517 39.8
New Mexico Franklin Roosevelt 69,708 59.0 Herbert Hoover 48,211 40.8
New York Franklin Roosevelt 2,193,344 49.8 Herbert Hoover 2,089,863 47.4
North Carolina Franklin Roosevelt 348,923 54.9 Herbert Hoover 286,227 45.1
North Dakota Franklin Roosevelt 131,419 54.8 Herbert Hoover 106,648 44.5
Ohio Franklin Roosevelt 1,627,546 64.9 Herbert Hoover 864,210 34.5
Oklahoma Franklin Roosevelt 394,046 63.7 Herbert Hoover 219,174 35.4
Oregon Franklin Roosevelt 205,341 64.2 Herbert Hoover 109,223 34.1
Pennsylvania Franklin Roosevelt 2,055,382 65.2 Herbert Hoover 1,067,586 33.9
Rhode Island Franklin Roosevelt 117,522 49.5 Herbert Hoover 118,973 50.2
South Carolina Franklin Roosevelt 5,858 8.5 Herbert Hoover 62,700 91.4
South Dakota Franklin Roosevelt 157,603 60.2 Herbert Hoover 102,660 39.2
Tennessee Franklin Roosevelt 195,388 55.3 Herbert Hoover 157,143 44.5
Texas Franklin Roosevelt 372,324 51.9 Herbert Hoover 344,542 48.0
Utah Franklin Roosevelt 94,618 53.6 Herbert Hoover 80,985 45.9
Vermont Franklin Roosevelt 90,404 66.9 Herbert Hoover 44,440 32.9
Virginia Franklin Roosevelt 164,609 53.9 Herbert Hoover 140,146 45.9
Washington Franklin Roosevelt 335,844 67.1 Herbert Hoover 156,772 31.3
West Virginia Franklin Roosevelt 375,551 58.4 Herbert Hoover 263,784 41.0
Wisconsin Franklin Roosevelt 544,205 53.5 Herbert Hoover 450,259 44.3
Wyoming Franklin Roosevelt 52,748 63.7 Herbert Hoover 29,299 35.4