The 1898 New York state election was held on November 8, 1898, to elect the

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, the

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

, the Secretary of State, the state comptroller, the

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

, the

state treasurer In the state governments of the United States, 48 of the 50 states have the executive position of treasurer. New York abolished the position in 1926; duties were transferred to New York State Comptroller. Texas abolished the position of Texas ...

and the state engineer, as well as all members of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

and the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

History

The

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

state convention met on June 30 at

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

, and nominated Prof John Kline, of Penn Yan, for governor, Rev. John A. Sayles, of

East Aurora East Aurora is a village in Erie County, New York, United States, southeast of Buffalo. It lies in the eastern half of the town of Aurora. The village population was 5,998 per the 2020 census. It is part of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls Met ...

, for lieutenant governor; Henry Wilbur, editor of ''True Reform'', of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, for secretary of state; Charles Mills, of Sodus, for comptroller; De Witt Hooker, of

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

, for treasurer; Francis Stephen M. Wing, of

Canastota Canastota is a village located inside the Town of Lenox in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 4,804 at the 2010 census. The village of Canastota is in the southern part of the Town of Lenox. Canastota High School is loc ...

, for attorney general; and Albert W. Pierson, of

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, ...

, for state engineer. The Socialist Labor state convention met on August 27 at

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

, and nominated Benjamin Hanford for governor; Leander A. Armstrong, of Buffalo, for lieutenant governor; Philip Jackson, of

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

, for secretary of state; Charles H. Corregan, for attorney general; Max Forker, of

, for comptroller; Joseph Smith, of

Yonkers Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as enu ...

, for treasurer; and John H. Morris of

, for state engineer. The

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

bosses Thomas C. Platt and

Benjamin B. Odell, Jr. Benjamin Barker Odell Jr. (January 14, 1854May 9, 1926) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 34th Governor of New York from 1901 to 1904. Early life Born in Newburgh, New York, in 1854, Odell's father, Benjamin B. Odell ...

, were still busy to compose a ticket on September 25, but had already agreed upon Theodore Roosevelt to head it, against the wish of Governor Frank S. Black to be re-nominated. The state convention met on September 27 at

Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over 2 ...

Sereno E. Payne Sereno Elisha Payne (June 26, 1843 – December 10, 1914) was a United States representative from New York and the first House Majority Leader, holding the office from 1899 to 1911. He was a Republican congressman from 1883 to 1887 and then ...

was Temporary Chairman until the choice of

Horace White Horace White (October 7, 1865 – November 27, 1943) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was the 37th Governor of New York from October 6, 1910 to December 31, 1910. Life He attended Syracuse Central High School, Cornell U ...

as Permanent Chairman. Theodore Roosevelt was nominated for governor on the first ballot (vote: Roosevelt 753, Black 218). The other candidates were nominated by acclamation with exception of John C. Davies for Attorney General who was nominated on the first ballot (vote: Davies 741, John M. Kellogg 229). The Democratic state convention met on September 28 and 29 at

. Frederick C. Schraub, the 1896 Lt. Gov. nominee, was Permanent Chairman. Augustus Van Wyck, the brother of the incumbent first Mayor of the consolidated City of New York, was nominated for governor on the first ballot (vote: Van Wyck 351, John B. Stanchfield 41, Robert C. Titus 39, James K. McGuire 19). The other candidates were nominated by acclamation. The ticket was a compromise between the three biggest Democratic bosses:

David B. Hill David Bennett Hill (August 29, 1843October 20, 1910) was an American politician from New York who was the 29th Governor of New York from 1885 to 1891 and represented New York in the United States Senate from 1892 to 1897. In 1892, he made an u ...

from upstate,

Richard Croker Richard Welstead Croker (November 24, 1843 – April 29, 1922), known as "Boss Croker," was an Irish American political boss who was a leader of New York City's Tammany Hall. His control over the city was cemented with the 1897 election of ...

Tammany Tamanend (historically also known as Taminent, Tammany, Saint Tammany or King Tammany, "the Affable," ) (–) was the Chief of Chiefs and Chief of the Turtle Clan of the Lenni-Lenape nation in the Delaware Valley signing the Peace Treaty with ...

, and Hugh McLaughlin of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. The National Democratic State Committee met on September 30 at 52, William Street, in

. Chairman Robert A. Weidenmann - the only man to speak out loud against Judge Isaac H. Maynard's nomination in 1893 - presided. They decided not to call a convention, and not to endorse any candidates. Returning from

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

as a war hero, Theodore Roosevelt used the

Citizens Union Citizens Union is a New York City-based good government group founded in 1897 to combat the influences of the Tammany Hall political machine. J. Pierpont Morgan, Benjamin Altman, Elihu Root, and Carl Schurz numbered among its 165 founders. In 198 ...

in an astute scheme to get the Republican nomination, in spite of not being a machine Republican and having in mind to uproot the Republican "spoilsmen". He approached the Citizens Union and suggested the nomination of a state ticket what was endorsed by the Citizens' Union Executive Committee with only three dissenting votes. An "Independent Citizens Committee" was formed, and 6,000 signatures for a petition to file a ticket were gathered, the signers believing that Roosevelt headed the ticket and that the Citizens Union backed it. To avoid being ousted from power in an uncertain three-cornered election, the Republican bosses offered Roosevelt the nomination, and suddenly on September 24, he declined to allow his name to be used on the independent ticket. On September 30, a majority of the Citizens Union Executive Committee, led by Chairman R. Fulton Cutting, rejected the idea of a state ticket as "not only inconsistent with, but actually opposed to the fundamental principles and objects of the Citizens' Union," The Independent Citizens Committee answered next day and declared that nominations will be made. The petition to file the independent ticket was taken to the Secretary of State's office on October 12 purporting to represent nominations by the Citizens Union. The Secretary of State reserved his decision if the ticket would be filed or not. On this ticket were Theodore Roosevelt - already nominated by the Republicans state convention in September - for governor; Thomas M. Osborne for lieutenant governor; Oren E. Wilson,

Mayor of Albany From its formal chartering on 22 July 1686 until 1779, the mayors of Albany, New York, were appointed by the royal governor of New York, per the provisions of the original city charter, issued by Governor Thomas Dongan. From 1779 until 1839, may ...

1894-1895, for secretary of state; Thomas E. Kinney, Mayor of Utica, for comptroller; Edmund H. Titchener, of

Binghamton Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conflue ...

, for treasurer; Frederick W. Hinrichs, the Gold Democrats nominee for lieutenant governor in 1896, for attorney general; and George E. Waring, Jr., of

, for state engineer. Roosevelt immediately sent a letter of declination to the Secretary of State. Besides, Republican party officials protested against the petition. The Independent Citizens' Committee on Vacancies substituted Theodore Bacon, a lawyer of

, on the ticket, and Citizens Union Chairman R. Fulton Cutting, despite his earlier rejection of the state ticket idea per se, campaigned for the ticket.''MEETING OF INDEPENDENTS''
in NYT on October 26, 1898

Result

The whole Republican ticket was elected in a tight race. The incumbent Woodruff was re-elected. The Republican, Democratic, Prohibition and Socialist Labor parties maintained automatic ballot status (necessary 10,000).

Notes

Sources

*How to vote split tickets
''HOW TO MARK THE BALLOT''
in NYT on October 31, 1898 *The Democratic nominees
''THE DEMOCRATIC TICKET.; Sketches of the Men Nominated for Office by the Syracuse Convention''
in NYT on September 30, 1898 *Result
''NEW YORK'S OFFICIAL VOTE''
in NYT on December 30, 1898 *Result
''The Tribune Almanac 1899''
*Result in New York County
''OFFICIAL ELECTION FIGURES.; Vote Cast in New York County...''
in NYT on December 24, 1898 *Result in Kings County
''...The Official Vote in Kings''
in NYt on December 4, 1898

History

Result

Notes

Sources

See also