The 1932 United States Senate elections coincided with the Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt's landslide victory over the incumbent Herbert Hoover in the presidential election. The 32 seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections, and special elections were held to fill vacancies. Events of the election With the Hoover administration widely blamed for the Great Depression, Republicans lost twelve seats and control of the chamber to the Democrats, who won 28 of the 34 contested races (two Democratic incumbents, Duncan U. Fletcher of Florida and John H. Overton of Louisiana, were re-elected unopposed). Democrats gained another seat through an appointment in Nebraska, bringing their total number of seats up to 60.
Among the Republican incumbents defeated in 1932 were Senate Majority Leader James Watson and five-term Senator Reed Smoot, an author of the controversial Smoot-Hawley tariff. This was the first of four elections in which a Senate leader lost re-election, and the only time they were a Republican. This election marked the first time a woman was elected to the Senate, that being Hattie Caraway of Arkansas. As of 2024, this is the last time Democrats won a Senate election in Kansas.
This is also one of only five occasions where 10 or more Senate seats changed hands in an election, with the other occasions being in 1920, 1946, 1958, and 1980.
Gains, losses, and holds Retirements Three Democrats retired instead of seeking re-election.
StateSenatorReplaced by Colorado Georgia (special) Missouri
Defeats Eleven Republicans and three Democrats sought re-election but lost in the primary or general election.
StateSenatorReplaced by California Colorado (special) Connecticut Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Louisiana Nevada New Hampshire North Carolina Utah Washington Wisconsin
Post-election changes
StateSenatorReplaced by Montana New Mexico Vermont Virginia Nebraska Wyoming
Change in composition
After the January special election
D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D FL Plurality → R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
Before the November elections
D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D Plurality → FL R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
Result of the November elections
D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D Majority → D D D D D D D D D D FL R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R Key: D Democratic FL Farmer–Labor R Republican
Race summary
All races are general elections for class 3 seats, unless noted.
Elections during the 72nd Congress In these elections, the winners were elected and seated during 1932; ordered by election date.
State Incumbent Results Candidates Senator Party Electoral history Arkansas(Class 3) Hattie Caraway Democratic 1931 Interim appointee elected January 12, 1932.Democratic hold.Winner was subsequently re-elected in November. Colorado(Class 3) Walter Walker Democratic 1929 Interim appointee lost election to finish the term.New senator elected November 8, 1932.Republican gain.Winner was not elected to the next term, see below. Georgia(Class 2) John S. Cohen Democratic 1932 Interim appointee retired.New senator elected November 8, 1932.Democratic hold. New Jersey(Class 2) W. Warren Barbour Republican 1931 Interim appointee elected November 8, 1932. North Carolina(Class 3) Cameron A. Morrison Democratic 1930 Interim appointee lost nomination to finish the term.New senator elected November 8, 1932.Democratic hold.Winner was also elected to next term, see below.
Elections leading to the 73rd Congress All elections are for Class 3 seats.
State Incumbent Results Candidates Senator Party Electoral history Alabama Hugo Black Democratic 1926 Incumbent re-elected. Arizona Carl Hayden Democratic 1926 Incumbent re-elected. Arkansas Hattie Caraway Democratic 1931 1932 Incumbent re-elected. California Samuel M. Shortridge Republican 19201926 Incumbent lost renomination.New senator elected.Democratic gain. Colorado Walter Walker Democratic 1932 Interim appointee retired.New senator elected.Democratic gain.Winner was not elected to finish the term, see above. Connecticut Hiram Bingham III Republican 1924 1926 Incumbent lost re-election.New senator elected.Democratic gain. Florida Duncan U. Fletcher Democratic 1909 1909 191419201926 Incumbent re-elected. Georgia Walter F. George Democratic 1922 1926 Incumbent re-elected. Idaho John Thomas Republican 1928 1928 Incumbent lost re-election.New senator elected.Democratic gain. Illinois Otis F. Glenn Republican 1928 Incumbent lost re-election.New senator elected.Democratic gain. Indiana James E. Watson Republican 1916 19201926 Incumbent lost re-election.New senator elected.Democratic gain. Iowa Smith W. Brookhart Republican 1922 19241926 1926 Incumbent lost renomination.Incumbent lost re-election as an Independent.New senator elected.Democratic gain. Kansas George McGill Democratic 1930 Incumbent re-elected. Kentucky Alben W. Barkley Democratic 1926 Incumbent re-elected. Louisiana Edwin S. Broussard Democratic 19201926 Incumbent lost renomination.New senator elected.Democratic hold. Maryland Millard Tydings Democratic 1926 Incumbent re-elected. Missouri Harry B. Hawes Democratic 1926 1926 Incumbent retired.New senator elected.Democratic hold.Incumbent then resigned and winner was appointed to finish the current term. Nevada Tasker Oddie Republican 19201926 Incumbent lost re-election.New senator elected.Democratic gain. New Hampshire George H. Moses Republican 1918 19201926 Incumbent lost re-election.New senator elected.Democratic gain. New York Robert F. Wagner Democratic 1926 Incumbent re-elected. North Carolina Cameron A. Morrison Democratic 1930 Interim appointee lost nomination.New senator elected.Democratic hold.Winner was also elected to finish the current term, see above. North Dakota Gerald Nye Republican 1925 1926 1926 Incumbent re-elected. Ohio Robert J. Bulkley Democratic 1930 Incumbent re-elected. Oklahoma Elmer Thomas Democratic 1926 Incumbent re-elected. Oregon Frederick Steiwer Republican 1926 Incumbent re-elected. Pennsylvania James J. Davis Republican 1930 Incumbent re-elected. South Carolina Ellison D. Smith Democratic 1909191419201926 Incumbent re-elected. South Dakota Peter Norbeck Republican 19201926 Incumbent re-elected. Utah Reed Smoot Republican 19031909191419201926 Incumbent lost re-election.New senator elected.Democratic gain. Vermont Porter H. Dale Republican 1909 1923 1926 Incumbent re-elected. Washington Wesley L. Jones Republican 1909191419201926 Incumbent lost re-election.New senator elected.Democratic gain.Incumbent then died November 19, 1932, and Elijah S. Grammer (R) was appointed to finish the current term. Wisconsin John J. Blaine Republican 1926 Incumbent lost renomination.New senator elected.Democratic gain.
Closest races Eleven races had a margin of victory under 10%:
State Party of winner Margin Colorado (special) Republican (flip) 0.25% Connecticut Democratic (flip) 0.8% New Hampshire Democratic (flip) 1.08% New Jersey Republican 1.09% Kansas Democratic 3.7% Nevada Democratic (flip) 4.2% Pennsylvania Republican 6.1% Illinois Democratic (flip) 6.2% Colorado (regular) Democratic 6.4% Ohio Democratic 6.7% South Dakota Republican 9.2%
New York was the tipping point state with a margin of 17.2%.
Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
There were two elections for the same seat, due to the November 6, 1931 death of two-term Democrat Thaddeus H. Caraway.
Caraway's widow, Democrat Hattie Wyatt Caraway, was appointed November 13, 1931 to continue his term.
Arkansas (special)
Arkansas (regular)
In May 1932, Caraway surprised Arkansas politicians by announcing that she would run for a full term in the upcoming election, joining a field already crowded with prominent candidates who had assumed she would step aside. She told reporters, "The time has passed when a woman should be placed in a position and kept there only while someone else is being groomed for the job." When she was invited by Vice President Charles Curtis to preside over the Senate she took advantage of the situation to announce that she would run for reelection. Populist former Governor and Senator Huey Long of neighboring Louisiana traveled to Arkansas on a seven-day campaign swing on her behalf. She was the first female senator to preside over the body as well as the first to chair a committee (Senate Committee on Enrolled Bills). Lacking any significant political backing, Caraway accepted the offer of help from Long, whose efforts to limit incomes of the wealthy and increase aid to the poor she had supported. Long was also motivated by sympathy for the widow and his ambition to extend his influence into the home state of his party rival, Senator Joseph Robinson, who had been Al Smith's vice-presidential candidate in 1928. Bringing his colorful and flamboyant campaign style to Arkansas, Long stumped the state with Caraway for a week just before the Democratic primary. He helped her to amass nearly twice as many votes as her closest opponent.
Long effectively used a method to quiet crying babies at campaign stops in Arkansas to encourage voter interest: Mrs. Caraway would never forget nor cease to laugh over the plans we made for caring for obstreperous infants in the audience so that their mothers might listen to the speeches without the crowds being disturbed. I remember when I saw her notice one of our campaigners take charge of the first baby. The child began fretting and then began to cry. One of the young men accompanying us immediately gave it a drink of water. The child quieted for a bit and resumed a whimper, whereupon the same campaign worker handed the baby an all-day sucker, which it immediately grasped and soon fell asleep. Mrs. Caraway did not understand that it was a matter of design until it had been repeated several times.Huey Pierce Long Jr., Every Man a King: The Autobiography of Huey P. Long (New Orleans: National Book Club, Inc., 1933), pp. 313–314.
Caraway went on to win the general election in November, with the accompanying victory of Franklin D. Roosevelt as U.S. President.
California
Colorado
There were two elections on November 8, 1932, for the same seat, due to the death of one-term Republican Charles W. Waterman. The primaries were held on September 13, 1932.
Colorado (special)
Democrat Walter Walker was appointed to continue the term, pending the special election, which he then lost.
Republican attorney Karl C. Schuyler was elected to finish the term, but he lost the contemporaneous election to the next term. He died in 1933.
Colorado (regular)
Democratic former senator Alva B. Adams was elected to start the new term that would begin in March 1933.
Adams would be re-elected once and serve until his December 1, 1941 death.
Connecticut
Florida
Georgia
There were two elections due to the death of William J. Harris. It was only the second time that both of Georgia's Senate seats have been up for election at the same time, following double-barrel elections in 1914.
Georgia (regular)
Georgia (special)
Democratic incumbent William J. Harris died April 18, 1932. Richard Russell Jr., the Democratic Governor of Georgia, appointed fellow-Democrat John S. Cohen April 25, 1932 to continue the term but Cohen was not a candidate for election.
Russell then won the September 14, 1932 Democratic primary over Representative Charles R. Crisp (nicknamed by Russell as "kilowatt Charlie" due to his links to the unpopular Georgia Power Company), 57.72% to 42.28%. Russell was then unopposed in the November 8, 1932 special election.
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Primaries were held on June 6, 1932.