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.
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.
Jordan, Frank E. The Primary State: A History of the Democratic Party in South Carolina, 1876-1962. pp. 72–73.
"Supplemental Report of the Secretary of State to the General Assembly of South Carolina." Reports of State Officers Boards and Committees to the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina. Volume I. Columbia, SC: 1933, p. 6.