The 1932 United States presidential election in Alabama took place on November 8, 1932, as part of the nationwide presidential election. Alabama voters chose eleven representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. In Alabama, voters voted for electors individually instead of as a slate, as in the other states.
Since the 1890s, Alabama had been effectively a one-party state ruled by the Democratic Party. Disenfranchisement of almost all African-Americans and a large proportion of poor whites via poll taxes, literacy tests and informal harassment had essentially eliminated opposition parties outside of Unionist Winston County and a few nearby northern hill counties that had been Populist strongholds. The only competitive statewide elections became Democratic Party primaries that were limited by law to white voters. Unlike most other Confederate states, however, soon after black disenfranchisement Alabama's remaining white Republicans made rapid efforts to expel blacks from the state Republican Party. Indeed, under Oscar D. Street, who ironically was appointed state party boss as part of the pro-Taft "black and tan" faction in 1912, the state GOP would permanently turn "lily-white", with the last black delegates from the state at any Republican National Convention serving in 1920.
The 1920 election, aided by isolationism in Appalachia and the whitening of the state GOP,Heersink and Jenkins, Republican Party Politics and the American South, p. 19 saw the Republicans gain their best presidential vote share in Alabama since 1884, while the GOP even exceed forty percent in the House of Representatives races for the 4th, 7th and 10th congressional districts. However, isolationist sentiment in Appalachia would ease after the election of Warren G. Harding while funding issues meant the Republicans would not emulate their efforts in the rest of the decade.See
Then in 1928, a virtual "civil war" broke out in the state Democratic Party over the nomination of Al Smith, as the hegemonic Democratic Party was placed in a quandary over the nomination of an urban, Catholic, racial liberal. The loyalists centred in the Black Belt supported Smith and the traditional Democratic Party as the best route to maintaining absolute white supremacy through encouraging capital investment, whereas the "Hoovercrats" led by former leaders of the Ku Klux Klan backed Republican Herbert Hoover and were intensely focused on nativism, Prohibition and Protestant fundamentalism.
After Smith narrowly carried the state, Hoovercrat leader James Thomas Heflin would not be renominated for the Senate in 1930, while the economic catastrophe of the Great Depression meant that this trend towards the GOP would be short-lived. The Depression had extremely severe effects in the South, which had the highest unemployment rate in the nation, and many Southerners blamed this on the North and on Wall Street, rejecting Hoover's claim that the Depression's causes were exogenous. No campaigning was done in the state, and polls showed always that Democratic nominees Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt and Speaker John Nance Garner would re-establish the large margins by which the state had been won before 1928. An early October poll showed Roosevelt leading incumbent President Herbert Hoover and Vice President Charles Curtis by a nine-to-two majority. This poll underestimated the return of the Hoovercrats to the party, for Roosevelt won 84.74 percent of the vote to a mere 14.13 percent for Hoover. This remains the only time in history that any presidential candidate has won every single county in Alabama, due to Roosevelt carrying Southern Unionist and reliably Republican Winston County by just a single vote.
Results + General election resultsParty Pledged to Elector Votes Democratic Party Franklin D. Roosevelt L. R. Tucker207,910 Democratic Party Franklin D. Roosevelt W. C. Davis207,832 Democratic Party Franklin D. Roosevelt H. B. Fuller207,773 Democratic Party Franklin D. Roosevelt B. H. Cooper207,763 Democratic Party Franklin D. Roosevelt H. D. Agnew207,760 Democratic Party Franklin D. Roosevelt Jas. B. Stanley207,756 Democratic Party Franklin D. Roosevelt W. F. Miller207,751 Democratic Party Franklin D. Roosevelt Bernard Harwood207,723 Democratic Party Franklin D. Roosevelt T. E. Buntin207,711 Democratic Party Franklin D. Roosevelt R. E. Jones207,661 Democratic Party Franklin D. Roosevelt Y. M. Quinn207,635 Republican Party Herbert Hoover (incumbent) Frank H. Lathrop34,675 Republican Party Herbert Hoover (incumbent) Precy Pitts34,664 Republican Party Herbert Hoover (incumbent) S. B. Adams34,663 Republican Party Herbert Hoover (incumbent) Victor Hovis34,657 Republican Party Herbert Hoover (incumbent) J. M. Pennington34,655 Republican Party Herbert Hoover (incumbent) C. W. McKay34,655 Republican Party Herbert Hoover (incumbent) C. P. Lunsford34,654 Republican Party Herbert Hoover (incumbent) Arthur B. Fowler34,649 Republican Party Herbert Hoover (incumbent) W. A. Clardy34,647 Republican Party Herbert Hoover (incumbent) Leon McCalebe34,634 Republican Party Herbert Hoover (incumbent) C. E. Roberts34,628 Socialist Party of America Norman Thomas M. D. Alexander2,030 Socialist Party of America Norman Thomas Otis H. Britton2,029 Socialist Party of America Norman Thomas T. D. Hendrix2,026 Socialist Party of America Norman Thomas C. G. Hutchisson2,025 Socialist Party of America Norman Thomas Orville H. Mastin2,025 Socialist Party of America Norman Thomas J. O. Meadows2,025 Socialist Party of America Norman Thomas George Wilson2,025 Socialist Party of America Norman Thomas Paul Nichols2,023 Socialist Party of America Norman Thomas E. E. Stuart2,023 Socialist Party of America Norman Thomas Henry Trapp2,020 Socialist Party of America Norman Thomas W. Frank Wynne2,020 Communist Party USA William Z. Foster Andrew M. Forsman726 Communist Party USA William Z. Foster John A. Lindquist676 Prohibition Party William David Upshaw William David Upshaw13Total votes 245,354
Results by county CountyFranklin D. RooseveltDemocraticHerbert HooverRepublicanNorman ThomasSocialistWilliam Z. FosterCommunistWilliam D. UpshawProhibitionMarginTotal votes cast#%#%#%#%#%#% Autauga 1,322 89.81% 138 9.38% 11 0.75% 1 0.07% 0 0.00% 1,184 80.43% 1,472 Baldwin 2,097 75.43% 544 19.57% 131 4.71% 8 0.29% 0 0.00% 1,553 55.86% 2,780 Barbour 2,207 96.88% 64 2.81% 6 0.26% 1 0.04% 0 0.00% 2,143 94.07% 2,278 Bibb 1,636 90.29% 145 8.00% 31 1.71% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1,491 82.28% 1,812 Blount 2,232 77.99% 582 20.34% 43 1.50% 5 0.17% 0 0.00% 1,650 57.65% 2,862 Bullock 1,004 98.72% 12 1.18% 1 0.10% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 992 97.54% 1,017 Butler 2,280 96.45% 74 3.13% 9 0.38% 1 0.04% 0 0.00% 2,206 93.32% 2,364 Calhoun 4,392 85.98% 685 13.41% 28 0.55% 3 0.06% 0 0.00% 3,707 72.57% 5,108 Chambers 2,552 87.85% 342 11.77% 7 0.24% 4 0.14% 0 0.00% 2,210 76.08% 2,905 Cherokee 1,897 83.09% 359 15.72% 23 1.01% 4 0.18% 0 0.00% 1,538 67.37% 2,283 Chilton 1,664 51.17% 1,533 47.14% 53 1.63% 2 0.06% 0 0.00% 131 4.03% 3,252 Choctaw 1,533 96.90% 48 3.03% 1 0.06% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1,485 93.87% 1,582 Clarke 2,408 97.69% 53 2.15% 3 0.12% 1 0.04% 0 0.00% 2,355 95.54% 2,465 Clay 2,104 68.78% 933 30.50% 13 0.42% 9 0.29% 0 0.00% 1,171 38.28% 3,059 Cleburne 1,403 77.43% 405 22.35% 2 0.11% 2 0.11% 0 0.00% 998 55.08% 1,812 Coffee 2,868 96.73% 95 3.20% 1 0.03% 1 0.03% 0 0.00% 2,773 93.52% 2,965 Colbert 2,908 89.64% 312 9.62% 24 0.74% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 2,596 80.02% 3,244 Conecuh 2,125 94.91% 114 5.09% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 2,011 89.82% 2,239 Coosa 1,265 82.63% 250 16.33% 15 0.98% 1 0.07% 0 0.00% 1,015 66.30% 1,531 Covington 3,855 97.15% 99 2.49% 10 0.25% 4 0.10% 0 0.00% 3,756 94.66% 3,968 Crenshaw 2,248 93.20% 127 5.27% 3 0.12% 30 1.24% 4 0.17% 2,121 87.94% 2,412 Cullman 2,910 73.78% 956 24.24% 71 1.80% 7 0.18% 0 0.00% 1,954 49.54% 3,944 Dale 2,300 93.65% 155 6.31% 1 0.04% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 2,145 87.34% 2,456 Dallas 3,027 96.62% 93 2.97% 12 0.38% 1 0.03% 0 0.00% 2,934 93.65% 3,133 DeKalb 4,217 54.13% 3,496 44.88% 73 0.94% 4 0.05% 0 0.00% 721 9.26% 7,790 Elmore 3,197 87.88% 159 4.37% 7 0.19% 275 7.56% 0 0.00% 2,922 80.32% 3,638 Escambia 2,024 92.67% 157 7.19% 3 0.14% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1,867 85.49% 2,184 Etowah 5,167 82.08% 1,066 16.93% 62 0.98% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 4,101 65.15% 6,295 Fayette 2,013 72.70% 733 26.47% 19 0.69% 4 0.14% 0 0.00% 1,280 46.23% 2,769 Franklin 2,876 64.53% 1,547 34.71% 34 0.76% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1,329 29.82% 4,457 Geneva 2,559 90.33% 270 9.53% 1 0.04% 3 0.11% 0 0.00% 2,289 80.80% 2,833 Greene 665 95.82% 9 1.30% 20 2.88% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 645 92.94% 694 Hale 1,276 94.59% 70 5.19% 1 0.07% 2 0.15% 0 0.00% 1,206 89.40% 1,349 Henry 1,741 97.43% 42 2.35% 4 0.22% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1,699 95.08% 1,787 Houston 3,863 95.83% 157 3.89% 7 0.17% 2 0.05% 2 0.05% 3,706 91.94% 4,031 Jackson 3,112 76.69% 938 23.11% 8 0.20% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 2,174 53.57% 4,058 Jefferson 30,858 85.15% 4,567 12.60% 779 2.15% 34 0.09% 1 0.00% 26,291 72.55% 36,239 Lamar 2,207 89.24% 258 10.43% 4 0.16% 4 0.16% 0 0.00% 1,949 78.81% 2,473 Lauderdale 3,336 88.09% 431 11.38% 19 0.50% 1 0.03% 0 0.00% 2,905 76.71% 3,787 Lawrence 1,920 86.53% 299 13.47% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1,621 73.05% 2,219 Lee 1,988 94.53% 103 4.90% 11 0.52% 1 0.05% 0 0.00% 1,885 89.63% 2,103 Limestone 2,667 95.94% 107 3.85% 5 0.18% 1 0.04% 0 0.00% 2,560 92.09% 2,780 Lowndes 1,073 98.35% 18 1.65% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1,055 96.70% 1,091 Macon 905 94.07% 56 5.82% 1 0.10% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 849 88.25% 962 Madison 4,795 88.76% 559 10.35% 45 0.83% 3 0.06% 0 0.00% 4,236 78.42% 5,402 Marengo 2,097 95.45% 50 2.28% 50 2.28% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 2,047 93.17% 2,197 Marion 2,325 80.73% 545 18.92% 5 0.17% 1 0.03% 4 0.14% 1,780 61.81% 2,880 Marshall 3,921 79.45% 904 18.32% 65 1.32% 45 0.91% 0 0.00% 3,017 61.13% 4,935 Mobile 9,658 84.37% 1,710 14.94% 61 0.53% 18 0.16% 0 0.00% 7,948 69.43% 11,447 Monroe 1,972 96.52% 66 3.23% 3 0.15% 2 0.10% 0 0.00% 1,906 93.29% 2,043 Montgomery 10,066 95.57% 441 4.19% 18 0.17% 8 0.08% 0 0.00% 9,625 91.38% 10,533 Morgan 4,896 86.62% 656 11.61% 31 0.55% 69 1.22% 0 0.00% 4,240 75.02% 5,652 Perry 1,382 95.05% 37 2.54% 2 0.14% 33 2.27% 0 0.00% 1,345 92.50% 1,454 Pickens 1,479 87.10% 128 7.54% 9 0.53% 82 4.83% 0 0.00% 1,351 79.56% 1,698 Pike 2,545 97.92% 52 2.00% 1 0.04% 1 0.04% 0 0.00% 2,493 95.92% 2,599 Randolph 2,227 74.09% 767 25.52% 10 0.33% 2 0.07% 0 0.00% 1,460 48.57% 3,006 Russell 1,894 97.28% 46 2.36% 5 0.26% 2 0.10% 0 0.00% 1,848 94.92% 1,947 Shelby 2,365 72.48% 864 26.48% 33 1.01% 1 0.03% 0 0.00% 1,501 46.00% 3,263 St. Clair 2,185 59.46% 1,449 39.43% 38 1.03% 3 0.08% 0 0.00% 736 20.03% 3,675 Sumter 1,293 98.03% 26 1.97% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1,267 96.06% 1,319 Talladega 3,353 84.33% 617 15.52% 4 0.10% 2 0.05% 0 0.00% 2,736 68.81% 3,976 Tallapoosa 3,391 95.87% 138 3.90% 6 0.17% 2 0.06% 0 0.00% 3,253 91.97% 3,537 Tuscaloosa 5,322 94.08% 302 5.34% 28 0.49% 4 0.07% 1 0.02% 5,020 88.74% 5,657 Walker 4,734 74.31% 1,583 24.85% 44 0.69% 10 0.16% 0 0.00% 3,151 49.46% 6,371 Washington 1,307 94.10% 81 5.83% 1 0.07% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1,226 88.26% 1,389 Wilcox 1,358 98.33% 23 1.67% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1,335 96.67% 1,381 Winston 1,006 49.83% 1,005 49.78% 7 0.35% 1 0.05% 0 0.00% 1 0.05% 2,019Totals207,91084.76%34,67514.14%2,0300.83%6750.28%130.01%173,23570.62%245,303
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
Baldwin Blount Calhoun Chambers Cherokee Chilton Choctaw Clay Cleburne Conecuh Coosa Cullman DeKalb Elmore Escambia Etowah Fayette Franklin Geneva Jackson Jefferson Madison Marshall Morgan Randolph St. Clair Shelby Winston
See also United States presidential elections in Alabama
Notes
References