The 1932 Florida gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1932.
Democratic nominee
David Sholtz
David Sholtz (October 6, 1891 – March 21, 1953) was the 26th Governor of Florida. Prior to serving as Governor he would be a state attorney serving Florida's 7th Judicial Circuit Court and previously as a member of the Florida House of Represe ...
defeated
Republican nominee
William J. Howey with 66.62% of the vote.
Primary elections
Primary elections
Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pri ...
were held on June 7, 1932.
Democratic primary
During the Democratic primary, the campaign platforms for several candidates are known.
David Sholtz
David Sholtz (October 6, 1891 – March 21, 1953) was the 26th Governor of Florida. Prior to serving as Governor he would be a state attorney serving Florida's 7th Judicial Circuit Court and previously as a member of the Florida House of Represe ...
would run on a campaign involving: increasing government services, giving back pay for teachers, making school terms 9 months log, free textbook for school students, creating a workers' compensation law, increasing bank regulation and providing more funding for public welfare. Carl Maples would pitch himself as being someone who supported a localized self-government.
Former governor
Cary A. Hardee would emphasize his record when he was governor while running in the primaries. Another former governor,
John W. Martin would emphasize that he led to many roads being paved in Florida and would promise that if elected for a second nonconsecutive term as governor he would give: "a dollar in his pocket and a smile on his face."
[Cox, Merlin G. (1964) "David Sholtz: New Deal Governor of Florida," Florida Historical Quarterly: Vol. 43 : No. 2 , Article 5.]
Many political observers believed that former governors John W. Martin and Cary A. Hardee would face off against each other in a runoff race.
Candidates
*
David Sholtz
David Sholtz (October 6, 1891 – March 21, 1953) was the 26th Governor of Florida. Prior to serving as Governor he would be a state attorney serving Florida's 7th Judicial Circuit Court and previously as a member of the Florida House of Represe ...
, former
State Representative
A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system.
Two federations literally use the term "state legislature":
* The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...
*
John W. Martin, former
Governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
*
Cary A. Hardee, former Governor
*Stafford Caldwell, attorney for
Florida East Coast Railway
The Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida, currently owned by Grupo México.
Built primarily in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, the FEC was a p ...
*Charles W. Durrance
*T. S. Hart
*Arthur Gomez,
State Senator
A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature.
History
There are typically fewer state senators than there ...
for the 24th District
*
J. Thomas Watson, State Representative
Endorsements
Results
Runoff Results by county
General election
William J. Howey ran on a similar campaign platform to 1928. During his 1932 platform he promised to reduce the amount of circuit courts, replace county school boards with appointed superintendents and give parole to prisoners after serving 1/3 of their sentence. He supported refinancing the state's bonds at lower interest rates. As a way to pay off the state's debts, he proposed stopping all road construction and diverting the funds instead to paying off the state's debts. Howey was in favor of giving more legal rights to women and was fond of the benefits of having a two party system in the state. The Republicans favored abolishing the poll tax in the state while the Democrats were against this as they saw this as a major blow to white supremacy in the state.
Candidates
*David Sholtz, Democratic
*
William J. Howey, Republican, businessman, real estate developer and mayor of
Howey-in-the-Hills.
Results
Results by county
References
{{1932 United States elections
1932
Events January
* January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel.
* January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
Gubernatorial
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...