1932 United States Senate election in Iowa

none March 2026 September 2023 1932 United States Senate election in Iowa Iowa Flag of Iowa (xrmap collection).svg presidential no 1926 United States Senate election in Iowa 1926 1936 United States Senate special election in Iowa 1936 (special) November 8, 1932 File:SenatorRLouisMurphy.jpg 150x150px Louis Murphy Democratic Party (United States) 538,422 54.15% File:3x4.svg Henry Field Republican Party (United States) 399,929 40.22% 1932 United States Senate election in Iowa results map by county.svg 240px County resultsMurphy: #BDD3FF 30–40% #a5b0ff 40–50% #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584cde 70–80%Field: #ffb2b2 40–50% #e27f7f 50–60% U.S. Senator Smith W. Brookhart Republican Party (United States) Louis Murphy Democratic Party (United States) 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.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. He was first elected to this seat since 1855. Background 1924 United States Senate election in Iowa 1926 United States Senate election in Iowa thumb|left|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."Brookhart Sworn as Junior Senator," Waterloo Evening Courier, 1922-12-02, at p. 3. After joining the Senate, Brookhart's "pugnacious cowhide radicalism nettled patrician Senators.""Again, Brookhart," Time, April 20, 1936. His indifference to President Calvin Coolidge in the 1924 presidential election also upset conservatives."Official Count Indicates Steck is Winner," Cedar Rapids Republican, February 4, 1926 at 4. 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. 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."Washington Sees Corn Belt Revolt in Brookhart Win," Waterloo Evening Courier, June 8, 1926 at 2. Republican primary Candidates Smith W. Brookhart, incumbent senator since 1927Brookhart Brookhart previously served a separate term in the Senate from 1922 to 1926.https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-algona-upper-des-moines-brookhart/177696694/ Easy for Brookhart The Algona Upper Des Moines 2 March 30, 1932 July 28, 2025 Louis Cook, member of the state board of Assessment and Reviewhttps://www.newspapers.com/article/the-gazette-cook-for-senate/177696880/ Four Hats Thrown in Republican Ring to Oppose Brookhart for Senatorship The Cedar Rapids Gazette 3 April 1932 4 George Cosson, former Iowa Attorney General and State Senator from AudubonSenator George Cosson https://www.legis.iowa.gov/perma/101520229389 15 October 2022 Iowa Legislature L.E. Eickelberghttps://www.newspapers.com/article/des-moines-tribune-eickelberg/177696289/ Eickelberg Runs For U.S. Senate January 18, 1932 The Des Moines Tribune 11 July 28, 2025 Newspapers.com Henry Ames Field, Shenandoah businessman, owner of Henry Field Seed and Nursery Co. and radio station KFNFHenry Field Feels Iowa Political Pulse with an Eye to Brookhart's Toga 20 March 1932 The Des Moines Register 22 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-des-moines-register-field-for-senate/177694800/ 15 October 2022 Newspapers.com Glenn C. Haynes, executive secretary of the Iowa Good Roads Association and former Iowa AuditorCol. Glenn Haynes is Republican Candidate for Senate https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-gazette-haynes-for-senate/177694873/ The Cedar Rapids Gazette 3 April 1932 Associated Press 15 October 2022 4 Newspapers.com 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.Charges George Cosson Is Candidate of Eugene Meyer 23 February 1932 https://www.newspapers.com/image/542952075 9 subscription 15 October 2022 Associated Press The Muscatine Journal Newspapers.com "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. Cosson declined to respond to the accusation. Henry Field, a successful agribusinessman and radio station owner, entered the race in March in response to a draft effort by more conservative Republicans. He, Cosson, and Cook were soon joined by Glenn Haynes, a former state auditor and secretary of the Iowa Good Roads Association. 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."Senate Met While Brookhart was on Chautauqua," Boyden Reporter, May 19, 1932 at 6. Results 1932 Republican U.S. Senate primarySenatorial Vote Des Moines Register 15 22 June 1932 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-des-moines-register-senatorial-vote/177695466/ 28 January 2022 Newspapers.comhttps://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/publications/REDBK/860893.pdf Iowa Official Register, 1933–34 146–47 Republican Party (United States) Henry Ames Field 197,263 45.19% Republican Party (United States) Smith W. Brookhart (incumbent) 145,902 33.42% Republican Party (United States) Glenn C. Haynes 43,050 9.86% Republican Party (United States) George Cosson 29,687 6.80% Republican Party (United States) Louis Cook 12,103 2.77% Republican Party (United States) L.E. Eickelberg 8,513 1.95% 44 0.01% 436,562 100.00% Democratic primary Candidates Fred P. Hagemann, nominee for Governor in 1930 Nelson G. Kraschel, livestock farmer and auctioneer, future Lieutenant Governor of Iowa and Governor of Iowa 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 Democratic Party (United States) Louis Murphy 51,537 38.72% Democratic Party (United States) Daniel F. Steck 32,439 24.37% Democratic Party (United States) Nelson G. Kraschel 18,208 13.68% Democratic Party (United States) Charles F. Lytle 17,876 13.43% Democratic Party (United States) Fred P. Hagemann 13,046 9.80% 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)Brookhart 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 Iowahttps://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=262140 Our Campaigns - IA US Senate Race - Nov 08, 1932 www.ourcampaigns.com http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1932election.pdf Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1932 Clerk of the United States House of Representatives U.S. Government Printing Office 1933 Democratic Party (United States) Richard Louis Murphy 538,422 54.15% 10.84 Republican Party (United States) Henry Ames Field 399,929 40.22% 16.39 Progressive Party (United States, 1924–1934) Smith W. Brookhart (incumbent) 43,174 4.34% N/A Socialist Party (US) T.S. McCrill 11,076 1.11% N/A Farmer-Labor Party Roy M. Harrop 1,228 0.12% N/A Communist Party (US) Peter Hunter 467 0.05% N/A 831,839 100.00% See also 1932 United States Senate elections Notes References 1932 Iowa United States Senate