Politics: The 1932 Democratic Nomination Race

POLITICS: THE 1932 DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION RACE

Roosevelt the Frontrunner

Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York was the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for president, but with victory for the Democrats almost a certainty, stakes were high, and an internecine primary battle broke out in the Democratic ranks. Challenging Roosevelt were a series of "favorite son" candidates, including Gov. George White of Ohio, Gov. William "Alfalfa Bill" Murray of Oklahoma (with his "Bread, Butter, Bacon, and Beans" campaign), Sen. James H. Lewis of Illinois, Speaker of the House John Nance Garner of Texas, and former senator James A. Reed of Missouri. Of these challengers Garner, promoted by newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst, had the most convention delegates lined up behind him. Roosevelt faced his greatest challenge, however, from the party's 1928 presidential nominee, Alfred E. "AT Smith of New York. Smith, supported by party conservatives, had almost two hundred delegate votes when the Democrats opened their convention in Chicago on 27 June. Because the Democratic Party had a rule requiring a candidate to have two-thirds of the delegate vote to win the nomination, Roosevelt, though he held a majority of delegate votes (with 682 votes cast for him early on the morning of 1 July), was 89 votes short of the nomination after three ballots. At this point Garner had 101 delegate votes. To break the impasse Roosevelt's campaign headquarters intimated to Garner—who had the support of the delegates from California and Texas—that the vice-presidential spot on the ticket would be his if he supported Roosevelt. On the fourth ballot Garner released his delegates to vote for Roosevelt. California and Texas moved into the Roosevelt camp, and Roosevelt received 945 votes to become the Democrats' nominee for the presidency. Smith and other conservatives, motivated by what historian Frank Freidel has called a "fierce hatred of Roosevelt," refused to make the nomination unanimous. Elated by his success, Roosevelt broke with tradition—which called for a candidate to wait at home to be informed of his nomination—and flew to Chicago from Albany, New York, to accept the nomination. In his rousing speech to party delegates Roosevelt said,

On the farms, in the large metropolitan areas, in the smaller cities and in the villages, millions of our citizens cherish the hope that their old standards of living and of thought have not gone forever. Those millions cannot and shall not hope in vain.

I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people. Let us all here assembled constitute ourselves prophets of a new order of competence and of courage. This is more than a political campaign; it is a call to arms. Give me your help, not to win votes alone, but to win in this crusade to restore America to its own people.

Democratic Platform

Roosevelt ran on a party platform that offered a mix of conservative and progressive solutions to the economic woes of the day. Condemning "the disastrous policies" of the Republican administration, the platform lambasted President Hoover for failing to balance the federal budget and promised to do so if the Republican candidate were elected. On the progressive side, the Democrats promised a series of federal work programs and relief payments to the needy. Roosevelt hinted at aid for farmers and railroads, as well as at the introduction of industrial planning and governmental regulation of banks and public utilities.

Senate	72nd Congress	73rd Congress	Net Gain/Loss
Democrats	47	60	+13
Republicans	48	35	−13
Other	1	1	0

House	72nd Congress	73rd Congress	Net Gain/Loss
Democrats	220	310	+90
Republicans	214	117	−97
Other	1	5	+4

Governors	1930	1932	Net Gain/Loss
Democrats	25	38	+13
Republicans	21	8	−13
Other	2	2	0