Election to the United States House of Representatives in 1932

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Majority of Seats in the House of Representatives by State:
  • 80.1–100% of the seats for the Democrats
  • 60.1–80% of the seats for the Democrats
  • 60% or less of the seats for the Democrats
  • 60% or less of the seats for the Republicans
  • 60.1–80% of the seats for Republicans
  • 80.1–100% of the seats for Republicans
  • 60% or less of the seats for the Farmer Labor Party
    • Changes in the distribution of seats compared to the area code:
  • 6+ seats won by the Democrats
  • 3–5 seats won by the Democrats
  • 1-2 seats won by the Democrats
  • 3–5 seats won by the Farmer Labor Party
  • no change in the distribution of seats

    • The elections to the United States House of Representatives were held on November 8, 1932 at the end of the term of Republican President Herbert Hoover instead. The elections for the presidency and the elections to the Senate took place in parallel . In the state of Maine there was already an election on September 12th.

    The dominant theme of the election campaign was the severe economic crisis that hit the country after the stock market crash of October 29, 1929 ( Black Thursday ). In 1932 the crisis had peaked and unemployment reached nearly 33%. The incumbent President Hoover has been accused of not having taken the right steps to deal with the crisis effectively or inactivity, and Hoover's popularity was at an all time low. Another, albeit less important, election campaign issue was prohibition , which most voters believed had not been effective in preventing alcohol consumption, but had led to a significant increase in organized crime and smuggling.

    The candidate of the Democratic Party , Franklin D. Roosevelt , won with his promise of a New Deal 's presidential election in a landslide victory over Herbert Hoover. At the same time, the House of Representatives also saw strong gains for the Democrats at the expense of the Republicans. In 24 states, the Democrats gained 97 seats, while the Republicans lost 101 seats and were unable to gain seats in any single state. In Minnesota , the Farmer-Labor Party won five seats. The election result allowed the newly elected President Roosevelt to enforce the New Deal's measures with a secure majority.

    The election results

    Parties Seats
    1930 1932 +/- %
      Democrats 216 313 +97 71.9%
      republican 218 117 −101 26.8%
      Farmer Labor Party 1 5 +4 1.1%
    total 435 435 0 100.0%
    Source: Election Statistics - Office of the Clerk