1932 Georgia gubernatorial election

The 1932 Georgia gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1932, in order to elect the Governor of Georgia.

1932 Georgia Democratic gubernatorial primary
September 14, 1932
 
Nominee Eugene Talmadge Hosea Abit Nix
Party Democratic Democratic
Popular vote 116,381 78,588
Percentage 42.02% 28.38%
 
Nominee Thomas W. Hardwick John N. Holder
Party Democratic Democratic
Popular vote 35,252 19,697
Percentage 12.73% 7.11%
Governor before election

Richard Russell Jr.
Democratic

 Elected Governor

Eugene Talmadge
Democratic

Elections in Georgia

Incumbent Democrat Governor Richard Russell Jr. did not run for re-election to a second term, but instead ran for the U.S. Senate.

As was common at the time, the Democratic candidate ran unopposed in the general election so therefore the Democratic primary was the real contest, and winning the primary was considered tantamount to election.

Democratic primary

The Democratic primary election was held on September 14, 1932. As Talmadge won a majority of county unit votes, there was no run-off.

County unit system

From 1917 until 1962, the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Georgia used a voting system called the county unit system to determine victors in statewide primary elections.[1]

The system was ostensibly designed to function similarly to the Electoral College, but in practice the large ratio of unit votes for small, rural counties to unit votes for more populous urban areas provided outsized political influence to the smaller counties.[2][3]

Under the county unit system, the 159 counties in Georgia were divided by population into three categories. The largest eight counties were classified as "Urban", the next-largest 30 counties were classified as "Town", and the remaining 121 counties were classified as "Rural". Urban counties were given 6 unit votes, Town counties were given 4 unit votes, and Rural counties were given 2 unit votes, for a total of 410 available unit votes. Each county's unit votes were awarded on a winner-take-all basis.[2][3]

Candidates were required to obtain a majority of unit votes (not necessarily a majority of the popular vote), or 206 total unit votes, to win the election. If no candidate received a majority in the initial primary, a runoff election was held between the top two candidates to determine a winner.[4]

Candidates

Results
Democratic primary[9][10][11]
Candidate Votes % CUV
Eugene Talmadge 116,381 42.02 264
Hosea Abit Nix 78,588 28.38 94
Thomas W. Hardwick 35,252 12.73 30
John N. Holder 19,697 7.11 10
H. B. Edwards 12,897 4.66 8
John I. Kelley 12,115 4.37 4
Hoke O'Kelley 1,823 0.66 0
F. B. Summers 197 0.07 0

General election

In the general election, Talmadge ran unopposed.

Results
1932 Georgia gubernatorial election[12][13][14][15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Democratic Eugene Talmadge 240,242 100.00%
Turnout 240,242 100.00%
Democratic hold Swing

References
  1. "County Unit System". Georgia County Clerks Association. Archived from the original on 31 May 2008. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  2. "Eugene Talmadge". The Jim Crow Encyclopedia. The African American Experience. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  3. "County Unit System, eh?". Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies. 6 October 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  4. Buchanan, Scott (13 June 2017). "County Unit System". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  5. History of Highway Construction in the State of Georgia and of the State Highway Board, 1916-1939 (PDF). Prepared by Division of Highway Planning of the State Highway Board of Georgia. 1939. p. 16.
  6. "Lankford trails Dean". Evening Star. Washington, D.C. 15 September 1932. p. 1. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  7. "Hoke O'Kelley Memorial Library". Emory University: History and Traditions. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  8. Saye, Albert B. (1948). A Constitutional History of Georgia, 1732-1945. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press. p. 379. ISBN 0-8203-3554-1.
  9. Congressional Quarterly 1998, p. 107.
  10. "GA Governor, 1932 - D Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  11. Georgia Register 1937, pp. 542-545.
  12. Congressional Quarterly 1998, p. 48.
  13. "GA Governor, 1932". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  14. Glashan 1979, pp. 68-69.
  15. Georgia Register 1937, pp. 657.

Bibliography
  • Gubernatorial Elections, 1787-1997. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Inc. 1998. ISBN 1-56802-396-0.
  • Glashan, Roy R. (1979). American Governors and Gubernatorial Elections, 1775-1978. Meckler Books. ISBN 0-930466-17-9.
  • Compiled by Mrs. J.E. Hays, State Historian and Director (1937). Georgia's Official Register, 1933-1935-1937 (PDF). Atlanta, GA: State of Georgia, Department of Archives and History.
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