1932 Washington gubernatorial election
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 County results Martin: 30–40% 40–50% 50-60% 60–70% 70–80% Gellatly: 30–40% 40–50% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1932 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1932. Democratic nominee Clarence D. Martin defeated Republican nominee John Arthur Gellatly with 57.29% of the vote.
Martin was the first Democrat elected governor of Washington with an absolute majority. He was also the first Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Washington to ever win Pacific County and San Juan County and the first since 1892 to win Jefferson County. Additionally, Clallam County, Clark County, Kitsap County, Thurston County, Wahkiakum County, and Whatcom County voted Democratic for the first time since 1896.[a]
Primary election
Primary elections were held on September 13, 1932.[1]
Democratic party
Candidates
- Clarence D. Martin, Mayor of Cheney
- Frank R. Nicholas
- William Harrison Pemberton, former Associate Justice of the Washington Supreme Court
- Lewis B. Schwellenbach, attorney
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Clarence D. Martin | 67,168 | 36.32% | |
| Democratic | William Harrison Pemberton | 57,124 | 30.89% | |
| Democratic | Lewis B. Schwellenbach | 55,094 | 29.79% | |
| Democratic | Frank R. Nicholas | 5,557 | 3.00% | |
| Total votes | 184,943 | 100.00% | ||
Republican party
Candidates
- Glen S. Corkery
- John Arthur Gellatly, incumbent Lieutenant Governor
- Roland H. Hartley, incumbent Governor
- M. G. Tennent
- Dell W. Thomas
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Arthur Gellatly | 119,015 | 54.52% | |
| Republican | Roland H. Hartley (incumbent) | 68,718 | 31.48% | |
| Republican | M. G. Tennent | 18,393 | 8.43% | |
| Republican | Dell W. Thomas | 7,439 | 3.41% | |
| Republican | Glen S. Corkery | 4,723 | 2.16% | |
| Total votes | 218,288 | 100.00% | ||
General election
Candidates
Major party candidates
- Clarence D. Martin, Democratic
- John Arthur Gellatly, Republican
Other candidates
- Luvern Clyde Hicks, Liberty
- John F. McKay, Socialist
- Fred E. Walker, Communist
- Edward Kriz, Socialist Labor
- Maslen Meade, Independent
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Clarence D. Martin | 352,215 | 57.29% | +14.57% | |
| Republican | John Arthur Gellatly | 207,497 | 33.75% | −22.46% | |
| Liberty | Luvern Clyde Hicks | 41,710 | 6.78% | ||
| Socialist | John F. McKay | 9,987 | 1.62% | +1.37% | |
| Communist | Fred E. Walker | 2,532 | 0.41% | +0.27% | |
| Socialist Labor | Edward Kriz | 449 | 0.07% | −0.60% | |
| Independent | Maslen Meade | 378 | 0.06% | ||
| Majority | 144,718 | 23.54% | |||
| Total votes | 614,768 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratic gain from Republican | Swing | +37.03% | |||
Results by county
| County[3] | Clarence D. Martin Democratic | John A. Gellatly Republican | L. C. Hicks Liberty | John F. McKay Socialist | All Others Various | Margin | Total votes cast | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Adams | 1,811 | 74.34% | 613 | 25.16% | 4 | 0.16% | 7 | 0.29% | 1 | 0.04% | 1,198 | 49.18% | 2,436 |
| Asotin | 2,147 | 70.37% | 867 | 28.42% | 13 | 0.43% | 21 | 0.69% | 3 | 0.10% | 1,280 | 41.95% | 3,051 |
| Benton | 2,978 | 64.61% | 1,492 | 32.37% | 112 | 2.43% | 23 | 0.50% | 4 | 0.09% | 1,486 | 32.24% | 4,609 |
| Chelan | 6,467 | 45.87% | 6,673 | 47.33% | 910 | 6.45% | 34 | 0.24% | 14 | 0.10% | -206 | -1.46% | 14,098 |
| Clallam | 3,612 | 47.87% | 2,058 | 27.27% | 1,798 | 23.83% | 27 | 0.36% | 51 | 0.68% | 1,554 | 20.59% | 7,546 |
| Clark | 8,615 | 56.99% | 5,291 | 35.00% | 1,040 | 6.88% | 125 | 0.83% | 45 | 0.30% | 3,324 | 21.99% | 15,116 |
| Columbia | 1,489 | 64.18% | 797 | 34.35% | 11 | 0.47% | 23 | 0.99% | 0 | 0.00% | 692 | 29.83% | 2,320 |
| Cowlitz | 3,858 | 34.77% | 3,404 | 30.67% | 3,754 | 33.83% | 44 | 0.40% | 37 | 0.33% | 104[b] | 0.94% | 11,097 |
| Douglas | 1,822 | 53.68% | 1,391 | 40.98% | 150 | 4.42% | 26 | 0.77% | 5 | 0.15% | 431 | 12.70% | 3,394 |
| Ferry | 1,087 | 74.20% | 333 | 22.73% | 27 | 1.84% | 15 | 1.02% | 3 | 0.20% | 754 | 51.47% | 1,465 |
| Franklin | 1,715 | 68.82% | 742 | 29.78% | 8 | 0.32% | 18 | 0.72% | 9 | 0.36% | 973 | 39.04% | 2,492 |
| Garfield | 869 | 58.01% | 559 | 37.32% | 66 | 4.41% | 2 | 0.13% | 2 | 0.13% | 310 | 20.69% | 1,498 |
| Grant | 1,505 | 61.93% | 776 | 31.93% | 129 | 5.31% | 17 | 0.70% | 3 | 0.12% | 729 | 30.00% | 2,430 |
| Grays Harbor | 9,010 | 48.62% | 5,100 | 27.52% | 4,141 | 22.35% | 41 | 0.22% | 238 | 1.28% | 3,910 | 21.10% | 18,530 |
| Island | 1,551 | 57.94% | 811 | 30.30% | 280 | 10.46% | 25 | 0.93% | 10 | 0.37% | 740 | 27.64% | 2,677 |
| Jefferson | 1,660 | 50.52% | 1,222 | 37.19% | 380 | 11.56% | 18 | 0.55% | 6 | 0.18% | 438 | 13.33% | 3,286 |
| King | 104,156 | 56.92% | 68,629 | 37.50% | 4,905 | 2.68% | 4,347 | 2.38% | 960 | 0.52% | 35,527 | 19.41% | 182,997 |
| Kitsap | 9,538 | 67.33% | 4,083 | 28.82% | 377 | 2.66% | 119 | 0.84% | 49 | 0.35% | 5,455 | 38.51% | 14,166 |
| Kittitas | 4,293 | 63.74% | 1,952 | 28.98% | 340 | 5.05% | 108 | 1.60% | 42 | 0.62% | 2,341 | 34.76% | 6,735 |
| Klickitat | 1,937 | 52.76% | 1,642 | 44.73% | 24 | 0.65% | 37 | 1.01% | 31 | 0.84% | 295 | 8.04% | 3,671 |
| Lewis | 7,728 | 48.82% | 4,644 | 29.34% | 3,380 | 21.35% | 26 | 0.16% | 52 | 0.33% | 3,084 | 19.48% | 15,830 |
| Lincoln | 3,094 | 66.81% | 1,485 | 32.07% | 17 | 0.37% | 34 | 0.73% | 1 | 0.02% | 1,609 | 34.74% | 4,631 |
| Mason | 2,023 | 51.87% | 1,018 | 26.10% | 843 | 21.62% | 11 | 0.28% | 5 | 0.13% | 1,005 | 25.77% | 3,900 |
| Okanogan | 3,763 | 53.42% | 2,688 | 38.16% | 541 | 7.68% | 46 | 0.65% | 6 | 0.09% | 1,075 | 15.26% | 7,044 |
| Pacific | 2,815 | 49.68% | 1,941 | 34.26% | 832 | 14.68% | 21 | 0.37% | 57 | 1.01% | 874 | 15.43% | 5,666 |
| Pend Oreille | 2,017 | 72.95% | 674 | 24.38% | 8 | 0.29% | 59 | 2.13% | 7 | 0.25% | 1,343 | 48.57% | 2,765 |
| Pierce | 35,693 | 55.00% | 20,244 | 31.19% | 7,656 | 11.80% | 1,030 | 1.59% | 273 | 0.42% | 15,449 | 23.81% | 64,896 |
| San Juan | 694 | 47.37% | 689 | 47.03% | 74 | 5.05% | 6 | 0.41% | 2 | 0.14% | 5 | 0.34% | 1,465 |
| Skagit | 8,012 | 57.52% | 4,784 | 34.35% | 621 | 4.46% | 74 | 0.53% | 437 | 3.14% | 3,228 | 23.18% | 13,928 |
| Skamania | 651 | 44.87% | 762 | 52.52% | 20 | 1.38% | 13 | 0.90% | 5 | 0.34% | -111 | -7.65% | 1,451 |
| Snohomish | 17,818 | 57.45% | 9,928 | 32.01% | 2,212 | 7.13% | 876 | 2.82% | 182 | 0.59% | 7,890 | 25.44% | 31,016 |
| Spokane | 45,993 | 70.45% | 17,219 | 26.38% | 266 | 0.41% | 1,617 | 2.48% | 187 | 0.29% | 28,774 | 44.08% | 65,282 |
| Stevens | 4,853 | 68.83% | 1,898 | 26.92% | 88 | 1.25% | 186 | 2.64% | 26 | 0.37% | 2,955 | 41.91% | 7,051 |
| Thurston | 5,312 | 38.38% | 4,172 | 30.14% | 4,202 | 30.36% | 30 | 0.22% | 124 | 0.90% | 1,110[b] | 8.02% | 13,840 |
| Wahkiakum | 517 | 38.27% | 510 | 37.75% | 304 | 22.50% | 6 | 0.44% | 14 | 1.04% | 7 | 0.52% | 1,351 |
| Walla Walla | 5,975 | 55.92% | 4,615 | 43.20% | 18 | 0.17% | 69 | 0.65% | 7 | 0.07% | 1,360 | 12.73% | 10,684 |
| Whatcom | 11,201 | 50.05% | 9,675 | 43.23% | 552 | 2.47% | 566 | 2.53% | 386 | 1.72% | 1,526 | 6.82% | 22,380 |
| Whitman | 7,303 | 66.12% | 3,626 | 32.83% | 12 | 0.11% | 97 | 0.88% | 7 | 0.06% | 3,677 | 33.29% | 11,045 |
| Yakima | 16,633 | 61.77% | 8,490 | 31.53% | 1,595 | 5.92% | 143 | 0.53% | 68 | 0.25% | 8,143 | 30.24% | 26,929 |
| Totals | 352,215 | 57.29% | 207,497 | 33.75% | 41,710 | 6.78% | 9,987 | 1.62% | 3,359 | 0.55% | 144,718 | 23.54% | 614,768 |
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
- Adams
- Asotin
- Benton
- Clallam
- Clark
- Columbia
- Douglas
- Ferry
- Franklin
- Garfield
- Grant
- Island
- Jefferson
- King
- Kitsap
- Klickitat
- Lincoln
- Mason
- Okanogan
- Pacific
- Pend Oreille
- Pierce
- San Juan
- Skagit
- Snohomish
- Spokane
- Stevens
- Thurston
- Wahkiakum
- Walla Walla
- Whatcom
- Whitman
- Yakima
Notes
- ^ The Democratic nominee in 1896 was primarily the Populist nominee, the two parties having run a fusion ticket in that election.
- ^ a b Martin's margin over Hicks
References
- ^ a b c "September 1932 Primary". Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
- ^ "November 1932 General". Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
- ^ a b Washington Secretary of State. "Governor". Abstract of Votes Polled in the State of Washington at the General Election held November 8, 1932. Olympia, Washington. p. 16.
