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 County results Smith: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% >90% Blease: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1932 United States Senate election in South Carolina was held on November 8.
On September 13, incumbent SenatorEllison D. Smith defeated former SenatorCole Blease in the Democratic primary with 56.7% of the vote.
At this time, South Carolina was a one-party state, and the Democratic nomination was tantamount to victory. Smith won the November general election without any effort.
| Democratic Primary | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Ellison D. Smith | 100,270 | 37.0 |
| Coleman Livingston Blease | 81,297 | 30.0 |
| Ashton H. Williams | 48,084 | 17.7 |
| Leon W. Harris | 41,478 | 15.3 |
| Democratic Primary Runoff | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Ellison D. Smith | 150,468 | 56.7 | +19.7 |
| Coleman Livingston Blease | 114,840 | 43.3 | +13.3 |
Since the end ofReconstruction in 1877, theDemocratic Party dominated thepolitics of South Carolina 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, anAiken businesswoman and Republican National Committeewoman, was the first woman to run for statewide office in South Carolina.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Ellison D. Smith (incumbent) | 104,472 | 98.14% | −1.86% | |
| Republican | Clara Harrigal | 1,976 | 1.86% | N/A | |
| Majority | 102,496 | 96.29% | −3.71% | ||
| Turnout | 106,448 | ||||
| Democratichold | |||||
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