1932 United States Senate election in Iowa

1932 United States Senate election in Iowa

November 8, 1932

Nominee Louis Murphy Henry Field Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 538,422 399,929 Percentage 54.15% 40.22%

Murphy:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Field:      40–50%      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Smith W. Brookhart Republican Elected U.S. Senator Louis Murphy Democratic

The 1932 United States Senate election in Iowa took place on November 8, 1932. Incumbent Republican Senator Smith Brookhart, a controversial progressive figure within the conservative Iowa Republican Party, was defeated in the June Republican primary by Henry A. Field. Field was in turn defeated in the general election by Democrat Louis Murphy. Brookhart also entered the general election as the candidate of the Progressive Party but finished a distant third.

Primary elections were held on June 6. Field defeated Brookhart in the Republican primary, and Murphy defeated a four-man Democratic field including former senator Daniel F. Steck and future governor Nelson G. Kraschel.

Murphy's victory made him just the second Democratic senator from Iowa elected since 1852 and the first to win election directly.[a] He was first elected to this seat since 1855.

Background

Main articles: 1924 United States Senate election in Iowa and 1926 United States Senate election in Iowa

Smith Wildman Brookhart, the incumbent Senator since 1927, faced heavy opposition from the conservative element of the Iowa Republican Party.

Senator Smith W. Brookhart was first elected to the Senate in 1922, winning a special election to succeed William S. Kenyon.[1] After joining the Senate, Brookhart's "pugnacious cowhide radicalism nettled patrician Senators."[2] His indifference to President Calvin Coolidge in the 1924 presidential election also upset conservatives.[3]

In 1924, he attempted to win re-election to a full term, and it initially appeared he had narrowly defeated Democratic nominee Daniel Steck despite the defection of many conservative Republicans. However, Steck challenged the result in the U.S. Senate and, during a lengthy process, the Iowa Republican Party sided with Steck. Brookhart was removed from office on April 12, 1926 and replaced with Steck by a vote of 45–41. A dozen Senate Republicans voted with Democrats to unseat Brookhart.[3]

Immediately upon his ouster from the Senate, Brookhart returned to Iowa and challenged the incumbent Republican Senator for Iowa's other Senate seat, Albert B. Cummins, a respected veteran of the Senate. Brookhart defeated Cummins in a landslide, despite having little time or resources to mount a campaign, and was returned to the Senate in the fall in another landslide victory.[4]

Republican primary

Candidates

• Smith W. Brookhart, incumbent senator since 1927[b]
• Louis Cook, member of the state board of Assessment and Review[5]
• George Cosson, former Iowa Attorney General and State Senator from Audubon[6]
• L.E. Eickelberg
• Henry Ames Field, Shenandoah businessman, owner of Henry Field Seed and Nursery Co. and radio station KFNF[7]
• Glenn C. Haynes, executive secretary of the Iowa Good Roads Association and former Iowa Auditor[8]

Campaign

The first prominent challenger to Brookhart was George Cosson, a former Iowa Attorney General. In February, Brookhart accused Cosson of being "personally conducted" by Federal Reserve Bank chair Eugene Meyer, whose confirmation Brookhart had opposed.[9] "This is simply an illustration of the political machine Wall Street is attempting to build up for the control of all the states through the federal reserve banking system, the federal land bank system, the joint stock land bank system and the intermediate credit bank system," said Brookhart. Brookhart further accused Meyer of bankrupting the nation's farmers and proposed instead a direct subsidy.[9] Cosson declined to respond to the accusation.[9]

Henry Field, a successful agribusinessman and radio station owner, entered the race in March in response to a draft effort by more conservative Republicans.[7] He, Cosson, and Cook were soon joined by Glenn Haynes, a former state auditor and secretary of the Iowa Good Roads Association.[8]

Eventually, conservatives joined in support of Field as the best alternative to Brookhart. In addition to traditional conservative lines of attack, Field criticized the Senator for missing sessions while on vacation and for the number of his relatives who held federal positions.[10]

Results

1932 Republican U.S. Senate primary[11][12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Henry Ames Field	197,263	45.19%
	Republican	Smith W. Brookhart (incumbent)	145,902	33.42%
	Republican	Glenn C. Haynes	43,050	9.86%
	Republican	George Cosson	29,687	6.80%
	Republican	Louis Cook	12,103	2.77%
	Republican	L.E. Eickelberg	8,513	1.95%
	Write-in		44	0.01%
Total votes			436,562	100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Fred P. Hagemann, nominee for Governor in 1930
• Nelson G. Kraschel, livestock farmer and auctioneer
• Charles F. Lytle
• Louis Murphy, editor of the Dubuque Telegraph-Herald
• Daniel Steck, former U.S. Senator (1926–31)

Results

1932 Democratic U.S. Senate primary[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Louis Murphy	51,537	38.72%
	Democratic	Daniel F. Steck	32,439	24.37%
	Democratic	Nelson G. Kraschel	18,208	13.68%
	Democratic	Charles F. Lytle	17,876	13.43%
	Democratic	Fred P. Hagemann	13,046	9.80%
Total votes			133,106	100.00%

After losing the primary, Kraschel was nominated to run for Lieutenant Governor of Iowa.

General election

Candidates

• Smith W. Brookhart, incumbent Senator since 1926 (Progressive)[b]
• Henry Ames Field, Shenandoah nurseryman (Republican)
• Roy M. Harrop (Farmer-Labor)
• Peter Hunter (Communist)
• T.S. McCrill (Socialist)
• Louis Murphy, editor of the Dubuque Telegraph-Herald (Democratic)

Results

1932 U.S. Senate election in Iowa[13][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Richard Louis Murphy	538,422	54.15%	10.84
	Republican	Henry Ames Field	399,929	40.22%	16.39
	Progressive Party (United States, 1924–34)	Smith W. Brookhart (incumbent)	43,174	4.34%	N/A
	Socialist	T.S. McCrill	11,076	1.11%	N/A
	Farmer–Labor	Roy M. Harrop	1,228	0.12%	N/A
	Communist	Peter Hunter	467	0.05%	N/A
Total votes			831,839	100.00%

See also

• 1932 United States Senate elections

Notes

1. Daniel Steck, the earlier Senator, was elected following a lengthy challenge to the certified 1924 results in the U.S. Senate. He was seated by a vote of the Senate.
2. Brookhart previously served a separate term in the Senate from 1922 to 1926.

References

1. "Brookhart Sworn as Junior Senator," Waterloo Evening Courier, 1922-12-02, at p. 3.
2. "Again, Brookhart," Time, April 20, 1936.
3. "Official Count Indicates Steck is Winner," Cedar Rapids Republican, February 4, 1926 at 4.
4. "Washington Sees Corn Belt Revolt in Brookhart Win," Waterloo Evening Courier, June 8, 1926 at 2.
5. "Four Hats Thrown in Republican Ring to Oppose Brookhart for Senatorship". The Cedar Rapids Gazette. April 3, 1932. p. 4. Cook, a resident of Des Moines, is well known throughout Iowa as a member of the state board of assessment and review, which has been digging up hitherto untaxed property and lightening the burden on real estate
6. "Senator George Cosson". Iowa Legislature. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
7. "Henry Field Feels Iowa Political Pulse with an Eye to Brookhart's Toga". The Des Moines Register. March 20, 1932. p. 22. Retrieved October 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Col. Glenn Haynes is Republican Candidate for Senate". The Cedar Rapids Gazette. Associated Press. April 3, 1932. p. 4. Retrieved October 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Charges George Cosson Is Candidate of Eugene Meyer". The Muscatine Journal. Associated Press. February 23, 1932. p. 9. Retrieved October 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Senate Met While Brookhart was on Chautauqua," Boyden Reporter, May 19, 1932 at 6.
11. "The des Moines Register 22 June 1932, page Page 15". Des Moines Register. June 22, 1932. p. 15. Retrieved January 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Iowa Official Register, 1933–34. pp. 146–47.
13. "Our Campaigns - IA US Senate Race - Nov 08, 1932". www.ourcampaigns.com.
14. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives (1933). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1932" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office.