1902 New York state election

The 1902 New York state election was held on November 4, 1902, to elect the governor, the lieutenant governor, the secretary state, the state comptroller, the attorney general, the state treasurer, the state engineer and a judge of the New York Court of Appeals, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate.

History

The "Liberal Democratic" state convention met at Cooper Union in Manhattan. This party was composed of Bryan Democrats, Chicago Platform Democrats and former Populists which were fiercely opposed to Democratic boss David B. Hill. Judge Samuel Seabury was Permanent Chairman. They nominated Edgar L. Ryder for Governor; J. C. Corbin, of St. Lawrence County, for Lieutenant Governor; John B. Howarth, of Buffalo, for Secretary of State; De Myre S. Fero for Comptroller; Daniel B. Casley, of Westchester County, for Treasurer; Dennis Spellissey, of New York City, for Attorney General; John E. Dugan, of Albany County, for State Engineer; and Robert Stewart, of Brooklyn, for the Court of Appeals.[1]

The Social Democratic state convention met on July 4 at 64, East Fourth Street in Manhattan. They nominated Benjamin Hanford for Governor; William Thurston Brown, of Rochester, for Lieutenant Governor; Leonard D. Abbott for Secretary of State; Gen. Lawrence Mayes, of New York City, for Attorney General; Warren Atkinson, of Brooklyn, for Comptroller; Joel Moses, of Rochester, for Treasurer; Everitt Holmes, of Peekskill, for State Engineer; and John F. Clarke, of New York City, for the Court of Appeals.[2]

The Socialist Labor state convention met on August 30 at Utica, New York.

The Prohibition state convention met on September 5 at Saratoga, New York. Alfred L. Manierre, of New York City, was Temporary Chairman until the choice of Alphonso A. Hopkins as Permanent Chairman. They nominated Manierre for Governor; Alfred A. Hartman, of Albion, for Lieutenant Governor; Alden W. Young, of Oswego, for Secretary of State; Samuel Mitchell, of Hornellsville, for Treasurer; James McNeil, of Hudson, for Comptroller; Emmett F. Smith for State Engineer; Erwin J. Baldwin, of Elmira, for the Court of Appeals; and endorsed Democrat John Cunneen for Attorney General.[3]

The Republican state convention met on September 23 and 24 at Saratoga, New York. Timothy E. Ellsworth was Permanent Chairman. Governor Benjamin B. Odell, Jr., was re-nominated after a roll call in which all votes were cast for him. All other state officers were nominated by acclamation.[4]

The Democratic state convention met on September 30 and October 1 at Saratoga, New York. Martin W. Littleton was Permanent Chairman.[5]

Result

Six Republicans and two Democrats were elected in a tight race.

The incumbents Odell, Miller, Bond and Gray were re-elected.

28 Republicans and 22 Democrats were elected to a two-year term (1903–04) in the New York State Senate.

89 Republicans and 61 Democrats were elected for the session of 1903 to the New York State Assembly.

The Republican, Democratic, Social Democratic, Prohibition and Socialist Labor parties maintained automatic ballot status (necessary 10,000 votes for Governor).

1902 state election results

Office	Republican ticket		Democratic ticket		Social Democratic ticket		Prohibition ticket		Socialist Labor ticket		Liberal Democratic ticket
Governor	Benjamin B. Odell Jr.	665,150	Bird S. Coler	656,347	Benjamin Hanford	23,400	Alfred L. Manierre[6]	20,490	Daniel De Leon	15,886	Edgar L. Ryder[7]	1,894
Lieutenant Governor	Frank W. Higgins	663,689	Charles N. Bulger	653,555	William Thurston Brown	23,652	John A. Hartman	21,358	Norman S. Burnham	16,233	J. C. Corbin	1,901
Secretary of State	John F. O'Brien	663,590	Frank H. Mott	650,731	Leonard D. Abbott[8]	23,766	Alden W. Young[9]	21,584	Boris Reinstein	16,394	John B. Howarth	1,969
Comptroller	Nathan L. Miller	664,412	Charles M. Preston	651,373	Warren Atkinson	24,759	James McNeil	21,310	Peter Jacobson	16,355	Daniel B. Casley	1,937
Attorney General	Henry B. Coman	662,463	John Cunneen	650,700	Lawrence Mayes	23,832	John Cunneen	21,292	John E. Wallace	16,473	Dennis Spellissey	1,916
Treasurer	John G. Wickser	663,490	George R. Finch	651,949	Joel Moses[10]	23,841	Samuel Mitchell	21,442	Charles A. Ruby	16,432	De Myre S. Fero[11]	1,899
State Engineer	Edward A. Bond	663,674	Richard W. Sherman	651,677	Everitt Holmes	23,832	Emmett F. Smith[12]	21,929	John M. Grady	16,473	Flinn	1,926
Judge of the Court of Appeals	William E. Werner	650,505	John Clinton Gray	665,326	John F. Clarke	23,617	Erwin J. Baldwin[13]	21,191	Anton Metzler[14]	16,363	Robert Stewart	1,842

Obs.: "Blank and scattering" votes: 8,901 (Judge), 8,737 (Attorney), 6,632 (Governor)

Notes

1. LIBERAL DEMOCRATS DENOUNCE MR. HILL in NYT on June 8, 1902
2. SOCIAL DEMOCRATS' TICKET in NYT on July 5, 1902
3. STATE PROHIBITION TICKET in NYT on September 6, 1902
4. GOV. ODELL RENOMINATED IN STATE CONVENTION in NYT on September 25, 1902
5. COLER AND BULGER DEMOCRATS' CHOICE in NYT on October 2, 1902
6. Alfred Lee Manierre (May 4, 1861 New York City - Oct. 1, 1911 NYC), Columbia College graduate, lawyer, ran also in 1910 for the Court of Appeals, Obit in NYT on October 2, 1911
7. Edgar Lee Ryder (d. 1936), of Ossining, journalist, assemblyman
8. Leonard D. Abbott, of New York City, ran also for Treasurer in 1900
9. Alden W. Young, locomotive engineer, of Oswego, ran also for Lieutenant Governor in 1904
10. Joel Moses, ran also for Comptroller in 1908
11. De Myre S. Fero, of Orange County, ran also in 1893 (lived then in Glens Falls)
12. Emmett F. Smith, of Patchogue, ran also in 1900
13. Erwin J. Baldwin, ran also for the Court of Appeals in 1912; and for Chief Judge in 1916
14. Anton Metzler, of Rochester, ran also for Secretary of State in 1904

Sources

• The tickets: Elections in Forty-Two States Nov. 4 in NYT on October 19, 1902
• Result: THE VOTE IN NOVEMBER in NYT on December 10, 1902
• Result: STATE CANVASSERS MEET TO-DAY in NYT on December 12, 1902 [the numbers differ slightly from the ones published two days earlier]
• Result: The Tribune Almanac 1903
• The New York Red Book 1903

See also

• New York gubernatorial elections

Further reading

• McCormick, Richard L. From Realignment to Reform: Political Change in New York State 1893-1910 (Cornell University Press, 1981).
• Wesser, Robert F. "Theodore Roosevelt: Reform and Reorganization of the Republican Party in New York, 1901-1906." New York History 46.3 (1965): 230-252 online.