| Year: | 1932 |
| Type: | Presidential election year |
| Election Day: | November 8 |
| Incumbent President: | Herbert Hoover (Republican) |
| Next Congress: | 73rd |
| President Control: | Democratic gain |
| President Candidate1: | Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) |
| Electoral Vote1: | 472 |
| President Candidate2: | Herbert Hoover (R) |
| Electoral Vote2: | 59 |
| President Pv Margin: | Democratic +17.8% |
| President Map Caption: | 1932 presidential election results. Red denotes states won by Hoover, blue denotes states won by Roosevelt. Numbers indicate the electoral votes won by each candidate. |
| Senate Seats Contested: | 34 of 96 seats (32 Class 3 seats + 5 special elections)[1] |
| Senate Control: | Democratic gain |
| Senate Net Change: | Democratic +12 |
| Senate Map Caption: | 1932 Senate results |
| House Seats Contested: | All 435 voting members |
| House Control: | Democratic hold |
| House Net Change: | Democratic +97 |
| House Map Caption: | 1932 House of Representatives results |
| Governor Seats Contested: | 35 |
| Governor Net Change: | Democratic +11 |
| Governor Map Caption: | 1932 gubernatorial election results |
The 1932 United States elections were held on November 8, during the Great Depression. The presidential election coincided with U.S. Senate, U.S. House, and gubernatorial elections in several states.[2] [3] The election marked the end of the Fourth Party System and the start of the Fifth Party System. The election is widely considered to be a realigning election, and the newly established Democratic New Deal coalition experienced much more success than their predecessors had in the Fourth Party System.[4]
Democratic New York Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated Republican incumbent president Herbert Hoover in a landslide, with Hoover winning only six Northeastern states. Roosevelt's victory was the first by a Democratic candidate since Woodrow Wilson won re-election in 1916. Roosevelt took his party's nomination on the fourth ballot, defeating 1928 nominee Al Smith and Speaker of the House John Nance Garner.
In addition to Hoover's defeat, the Republicans also suffered crushing defeats in both congressional chambers: they lost 101 seats in the House of Representatives, with the Democrats expanding their House majority to a supermajority, and also lost twelve seats in the Senate, [3] with Democrats winning control of the chamber for the first time since 1918.[5] This would be the last time that an incumbent president lost re-election and his party lost control of both chambers of Congress in a single term until 2020.[6] [7]
The election took place after the 1930 United States census and the subsequent congressional re-apportionment. The Reapportionment Act of 1929 provided a permanent method of apportioning 435 House seats; previously, Congress had had to pass apportionment legislation after each census.