Start date November 8, 1932 | ||
 | ||
The 1932 South Carolina United States Senate election was held on November 8, 1932, to select the U.S. Senator from the state of South Carolina. Incumbent Democratic Senator Ellison D. Smith won the Democratic primary and defeated Republican challenger Clara Harrigal in the general election to win another six-year term.
Contents
Democratic primary
Senator Ellison D. Smith was opposed in the Democratic primary by longtime South Carolina politician Coleman Livingston Blease. Smith was the leader in the first primary election on August 30 and won the runoff election two weeks later on September 13.
General election campaign
Since the end of Reconstruction in 1877, the Democratic Party dominated the politics 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, an Aiken businesswoman and Republican National Committeewoman, was the first woman to run for statewide office in South Carolina.