1908 New York state election

The 1908 New York state election was held on November 3, 1908, to elect the governor, the lieutenant governor, the Secretary of 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.

New York gubernatorial election, 1908

November 3, 1908

Nominee Charles Evans Hughes Lewis S. Chanler Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 804,651 735,189 Percentage 47.08% 44.84%

Governor before election Charles Evans Hughes Republican Elected Governor Charles Evans Hughes Republican

History

The Prohibition state convention met on September 2 at Syracuse, New York. Rev. Dr. George E. Stockwell, of Fort Plain, was nominated for governor on the first ballot (vote: Stockwell 232, Hudson 219). The defeated contender, Marshall A. Hudson, of Syracuse, was nominated for lieutenant governor. The convention also nominated Edgar T. Welch, of Westfield, for secretary of state; Harrison L. Hoyt, of Auburn, for comptroller; William T. Richardson, of Wellsville, for treasurer; W. F. L. Manierre, of New York City, for attorney general; and Albert W. Pierson, of Niagara Falls, for state engineer.[1] Welch declined to run, and the Prohibition State Executive Committee met on September 23 at Syracuse and substituted James C. Crawford, of Mount Vernon, on the ticket. They also nominated Coleridge A. Hart for the Court of Appeals.[2]

The Republican state convention met on September 14 and 15 at Convention Hall in Saratoga, New York. U.S. Secretary of State Elihu Root was Temporary and Permanent Chairman. Governor Charles E. Hughes was re-nominated on the first ballot (the other candidates were Speaker James W. Wadsworth, Jr. and John Knox Stewart). White, Gaus, O'Malley, Williams and Haight were nominated unopposed. Samuel S. Koenig defeated William O. Barnes, of Rensselaer County, for secretary of state; and Thomas B. Dunn defeated H. Homer Moore, of Queens, for treasurer.[3]

The Democratic state convention met on September 15 and 16 at Rochester, New York. Denis O'Brien was Temporary Chairman until the choice of Alton B. Parker as Permanent Chairman. The incumbent Lt. Gov. Lewis S. Chanler was nominated for governor. The incumbents Whalen, Glynn, Hauser and Republican judge Haight were re-nominated. John Alden Dix was nominated for lieutenant governor, and George M. Palmer for attorney general; all these nominations were made by acclamation. The only contest happened at the nomination for state engineer. Philip P. Farley was nominated on the first ballot (vote: Farley 321, Leonard C. L. Smith 97).[4]

The Independence League state convention met on September 24 at Cooper Union in New York City. James A. Allen was Temporary and Permanent Chairman. State Chairman William Randolph Hearst assailed in a speech Democrats, Republicans, and the big corporations. They nominated by acclamation Clarence J. Shearn for governor; Dr. Daniel W. Finnimore, of Potsdam, for lieutenant governor; Frank H. Stevens, a labor union man of Nassau County, for secretary of state; Willard H. Glen, a lawyer of Syracuse, for comptroller; William I. Sirovich for treasurer; Assistant Attorney General William A. De Ford for attorney general; M. J. Cafiero, of Brooklyn, for state engineer; Reuben Robie Lyon for the Court of Appeals.[5]

Result

The Republican ticket was elected.

The incumbents Hughes and Haight were re-elected. The incumbents Whalen, Glynn and Hauser were defeated.

The Republican, Democratic, Independence League, Socialist and Prohibition parties maintained automatic ballot status (necessary 10,000 votes), the Socialist Labor Party did not re-attain it.

1908 state election results

Office	Republican ticket		Democratic ticket		Independence League ticket		Socialist ticket		Prohibition ticket		Socialist Labor ticket
Governor	Charles E. Hughes	804,651	Lewis S. Chanler	735,189	Clarence J. Shearn[6]	43,212	Joshua Wanhope	33,994	George E. Stockwell	18,802	Leander A. Armstrong[7]	3,655
Lieutenant Governor	Horace White	827,416	John Alden Dix	707,701	Daniel W. Finnimore	39,055	Gustave A. Strebel[8]	36,841	Marshall A. Hudson	23,239	Frank E. Passanno[9]	3,817
Secretary of State	Samuel S. Koenig	829,737	John S. Whalen	707,259	Frank H. Stevens	37,891	Charles W. Noonan	36,415	James C. Crawford	23,100	Matthew Lechner[10]	3,787
Comptroller	Charles H. Gaus	817,015	Martin H. Glynn	729,166	Willard H. Glen	37,573	Joel Moses[11]	37,204	Harrison L. Hoyt	22,971	Joseph A. Orme	3,817
Attorney General	Edward R. O'Malley	839,944	George M. Palmer[12]	695,876	William A. DeFord[13]	37,948	Henry L. Slobodin[14]	37,542	W. F. L. Manierre	23,194	John Hall[15]	3,862
Treasurer	Thomas B. Dunn	832,449	Julius Hauser	703,944	William I. Sirovich	37,739	B. J. Riley	37,356	William T. Richardson	23,120	Julius Hammer	3,648
State Engineer	Frank M. Williams	838,158	Philip P. Farley[16]	698,077	Mario J. Cafiero	37,557	F. Wilton James	37,432	Albert W. Pierson[17]	23,339	George Luck	8,869
Judge of the Court of Appeals	Albert Haight	1,309,193	Albert Haight	222,550	Reuben Robie Lyon[18]	41,232	S. John Block[19]	37,874	Coleridge A. Hart[20]	23,608	Edmund Seidel	3,970

Notes

1. STATE PROHIBITION TICKET in NYT on September 3, 1908
2. Prohibitionists Fill Vacancies in NYT on September 24, 1908
3. CONVENTION LIVELY AT FINAL SESSION in NYT on September 16, 1908
4. CHANLER AND DIX FOR DEMOCRATS in NYT on September 17, 1908
5. HEARST READS MORE LETTERS in NYT on September 25, 1908 (with sketches of the nominees)
6. Clarence J. Shearn, of New York City, Hearst's personal attorney, former reporter for The New York Times, ran with mayoral candidate Hearst on the Municipal Ownership ticket in 1905 for D.A.
7. Leander A. Armstrong, of Buffalo, ran also for lieutenant governor in 1898 and 1900
8. Gustave A. Strebel, tailor, of Syracuse, ran also for lieutenant governor in 1906, 1910 and 1912; and for governor in 1914
9. Frank E. Passanno, of Troy, ran also for attorney general in 1904; for lieutenant governor in 1906; and for governor in 1914
10. Matthew Lechner, ran also in 1906
11. Joel Moses, ran also for treasurer in 1902
12. George M. Palmer, of Schoharie County, Minority Leader of the New York State Assembly 1902-08
13. William A. DeFord, Assistant Attorney General, of Albany, ran also in 1916
14. Henry L. Slobodin, of New York City, ran also for attorney general in 1906, 1910 and 1912; and for chief judge in 1913
15. John Hall, ran also for governor in 1912; attorney general in 1914; and Secretary of State in 1916
16. Philip P. Farley (b. ca. 1870), of Brooklyn, nephew of Archbishop John Murphy Farley, Assistant Engineer of Atlantic City 1896-99, Superintendent of Standard Oil plant in Bayonne
17. Albert W. Pierson, of Niagara Falls, ran also for state engineer in 1898 and 1910; and for treasurer in 1922
18. Reuben Robie Lyon, lawyer, of Bath, ran also in 1907 and 1910
19. S. John Block, ran also for attorney general in 1916 and 1917
20. Coleridge Allen Hart (b. July 11, 1852, Peekskill), lawyer, of Brooklyn, ran also for attorney general in 1889, and for the Court of Appeals in 1907, 1914, 1916, 1917 and 1920; and for U.S. Senator in 1922

Sources

• The Dem. nominees: SKETCHES OF CANDIDATES in NYT on September 17, 1908
• Result: HUGHES'S PLURALITY 69,462 in NYT on December 16, 1908
• Court of Appeals-New York State Red Book 1909
• Result: The Tribune Almanac 1909

See also

New York gubernatorial elections