United States Senate election in South Carolina, 1932
Encyclopedia
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from the state of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. Incumbent Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Senator Ellison D. Smith
Ellison D. Smith
Ellison DuRant "Cotton Ed" Smith was a Democratic Party politician from the U.S. state of South Carolina. He represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1909 until 1944....
won the Democratic primary and defeated Republican challenger Clara Harrigal in the general election to win another six year term.
Democratic primary
Senator Ellison D. SmithEllison D. Smith
Ellison DuRant "Cotton Ed" Smith was a Democratic Party politician from the U.S. state of South Carolina. He represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1909 until 1944....
was opposed in the Democratic primary by longtime South Carolina politician Coleman Livingston Blease. Smith was the leader in the first primary election
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
on August 30 and won the runoff election
Two-round system
The two-round system is a voting system used to elect a single winner where the voter casts a single vote for their chosen candidate...
two weeks later on September 13.
| Democratic Primary | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic Primary Runoff | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Ellison D. Smith Ellison D. Smith Ellison DuRant "Cotton Ed" Smith was a Democratic Party politician from the U.S. state of South Carolina. He represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1909 until 1944.... |
150,468 | 56.7 | +19.7 |
| Coleman Livingston Blease | 114,840 | 43.3 | +13.3 |
General election campaign
Since the end of Reconstruction in 1877, the Democratic PartyDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
dominated the politics of South Carolina
Politics of South Carolina
Prior to the 1960s, the state Democratic Party was firmly in control of the government of South Carolina at all levels. The state Republican Party was little more than a country club group organized to reap the benefits when a Republican was in the White House...
and its statewide candidates were never seriously challenged. Smith did not campaign for the general election as there was no chance of defeat. Republican Clara Harrigal, an Aiken
Aiken, South Carolina
Aiken is a city in and the county seat of Aiken County, South Carolina, United States. With Augusta, Georgia, it is one of the two largest cities of the Central Savannah River Area. It is part of the Augusta-Richmond County Metropolitan Statistical Area. Aiken is home to the University of South...
businesswoman and Republican National Committeewoman, was the first woman to run for statewide office in South Carolina.
General election results
| colspan=5 |DemocraticDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
hold
|-
See also
- List of United States Senators from South Carolina
- United States Senate elections, 1932
- United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 1932United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 1932The 1932 South Carolina United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 8, 1932 to select six Representatives for two-year terms from the state of South Carolina. The state lost a seat from redistricting that occurred from the 1930 Census. Four incumbents were re-elected...