Challenge: describe a Smith 1928 / Hoover 1932 voter

[buritobr]

In Massachusetts, Smith margin in 1928 was 1% and FDR margin in 1932 was 4%. So, only a 3% swing. Much smaller than the national swing of 36%.

If one considers that the Hoover 1928 / FDR 1932 voters (it's the economy stupid voters) in Massachusetts were more than 3%, there were some Smith 1928 / Hoover 1932 voters. Who were them?


Smith was a Smith 1928 / Roosevelt 1932 / Landon 1936 voter

[Obnoxiously Slutty Girly Girl]

If you look closely at Catholic Southern Louisiana (you can look at my own maps posted in this section of the forum), you can notice there is a dropoff in Democratic support with several >80% Dem counties dropping to >70% Dem counties due to the fact that FDR was not a Catholic and was not doing as well among Catholic voters compared to Al Smith.

In general I'd say a Smith '28/Hoover '32 voter was a staunch Republican-but even stauncher Catholic- who voted for Al Smith out of Catholic identity loyalty in 1928 but then reverted to the GOP in 1932.

[Intell]

Catholics.

[Libertarian Socialist Dem]

Most Catholics (other then Italians) were Democrats at that time, someone specifically who would have jumped from Smith to Hoover would have to be someone with a particular axe to grind like a Tammany Hall oriented NYC Democrat who was aligned against FDR's upstate wing of the party and maybe had been denied a patronage job.

[Obnoxiously Slutty Girly Girl]

Most Catholics (other then Italians) were Democrats at that time, someone specifically who would have jumped from Smith to Hoover would have to be someone with a particular axe to grind like a Tammany Hall oriented NYC Democrat who was aligned against FDR's upstate wing of the party and maybe had been denied a patronage job.

What explains the drop-off in support among Catholics in Catholic Southern Louisiana? There was no third-party candidate to possibly explain why FDR got a smaller percentage of the vote in some counties in Acadiana than Al Smith did, in case that's what you were thinking. Several counties fell from >80% Smith '28 to >70% FDR '32.

1928


1932

[Libertarian Socialist Dem]

Most Catholics (other then Italians) were Democrats at that time, someone specifically who would have jumped from Smith to Hoover would have to be someone with a particular axe to grind like a Tammany Hall oriented NYC Democrat who was aligned against FDR's upstate wing of the party and maybe had been denied a patronage job.

What explains the drop-off in support among Catholics in Catholic Southern Louisiana? There was no third-party candidate to possibly explain why FDR got a smaller percentage of the vote in some counties in Acadiana than Al Smith did, in case that's what you were thinking. Several counties fell from >80% Smith '28 to >70% FDR '32.

1928


1932

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