1932 United States Senate election in Arkansas

The 1932 United States Senate election in Arkansas took place on November 8, 1932. Incumbent Senator Hattie Caraway, who had been appointed to succeed her late husband Thaddeus Caraway in 1931 and won a special election to complete his term in January, ran for a full term in office.

1932 U.S. Senate election in Arkansas

← Jan. 1932 (special) November 8, 1932 1938 →

Nominee Hattie Caraway John H. White Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 187,994 21,558 Percentage 89.71% 10.29%

Results by county Caraway:      50–60%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% White:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Hattie Caraway Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Hattie Caraway Democratic

In winning, Caraway became the first woman ever elected to a full term in the United States Senate.

Background

See also: 1932 United States Senate special election in Arkansas

Incumbent U.S. Senator Thaddeus Caraway died in office on November 6, 1931. Governor of Arkansas Harvey Parnell appointed Caraway's widow, Hattie, to fill the vacant seat until a successor could be duly elected. The special election to complete the unexpired term was held in January, and Hattie Caraway won against only nominal opposition.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• O. L. Bodenhamer, former national commander of The American Legion (1929–30)
• Charles H. Brough, former governor of Arkansas (1917–21)
• Hattie Caraway, incumbent U.S. Senator
• William G. Hutton, former Sheriff of Pulaski County^[1]
• William F. Kirby, former U.S. Senator (1916–21)
• Melbourne M. Martin
• Vincent M. Miles, former member of the Democratic National Committee (1921–29)

Campaign

In May 1932, Vice President Charles Curtis invited Senator Caraway to preside over the Senate, making her the first woman to do so.^[2] She took advantage of the opportunity to announce that she would run for reelection, surprising Arkansas politicians by joining a field already crowded with prominent candidates who had assumed she would step aside. She told reporters, "The time has passed when a woman should be placed in a position and kept there only while someone else is being groomed for the job."^[3]

Senator Huey Long of neighboring Louisiana traveled to Arkansas on a seven-day campaign swing on Caraway's behalf just before the primary. Caraway supported Long's efforts to limit income inequality and increase poverty aid.^[4] Long was also motivated by personal sympathy for the widow and his ambition to extend his influence into the home state of his party rival, Senator Joseph Robinson.^{[5][page needed]}

Long later recalled his campaign methods on behalf of Caraway:

Mrs. Caraway would never forget nor cease to laugh over the plans we made for caring for obstreperous infants in the audience so that their mothers might listen to the speeches without the crowds being disturbed. I remember when I saw her notice one of our campaigners take charge of the first baby. The child began fretting and then began to cry. One of the young men accompanying us immediately gave it a drink of water. The child quieted for a bit and resumed a whimper, whereupon the same campaign worker handed the baby an all-day sucker, which it immediately grasped and soon fell asleep. Mrs. Caraway did not understand that it was a matter of design until it had been repeated several times.^[6]

Endorsements

Hattie Caraway

Federal officials

• Huey Long, U.S. Senator from Louisiana^[7]

Results

1932 Democratic U.S. Senate primary^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Hattie Caraway (incumbent)	127,702	44.73%
	Democratic	O. L. Bodenhamer	63,858	22.37%
	Democratic	Vincent M. Miles	30,423	10.66%
	Democratic	Charles H. Brough	26,207	9.18%
	Democratic	William F. Kirby	21,448	7.51%
	Democratic	W. G. Hutton	8,922	3.13%
	Democratic	Melbourne M. Martin	6,961	2.44%
Total votes			285,521	100.00%

General election

Results

1932 U.S. Senate election in Arkansas^[8][9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Hattie Caraway (incumbent)	187,994	89.71%
	Republican	John H. White	21,558	10.29%
Total votes			214,441	100.00%

See also

• 1932 United States Senate elections

References

1. "Mrs. Caraway Gets 'Spoils' While Huey Collects Glory". The Alexander City Outlook. August 18, 1932. Retrieved September 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Women in Congress: Statistics and Brief Overview" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. December 6, 2019. p. 13. (PDF) from the original on January 23, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
3. "CARAWAY, Hattie Wyatt | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives". history.house.gov. from the original on February 15, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
4. "Women in Congress: Statistics and Brief Overview" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. December 6, 2019. p. 13. (PDF) from the original on January 23, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
5. Hendricks, Nancy (April 9, 2013). Senator Hattie Caraway: An Arkansas Legacy. The History Press. ISBN 978-1-60949-968-6.
6. Huey Pierce Long, Jr., Every Man a King: The Autobiography of Huey P. Long (New Orleans: National Book Club, Inc., 1933), pp. 313–314.
7. Williams, T. Harry (1981) [1969]. Huey Long. New York: Vintage Books. pp. 583–593. ISBN 978-0-394-74790-3.
8. Arkansas Secretary of State Mark Martin (2018). "Historical Report of the Secretary of State" (PDF). p. 362.
9. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives (1933). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1932" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office.