The 1906 New York state election was held on November 6, 1906, 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

Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

state convention met on June 2 at the Workingmen's Educational Building at 247, East Eighty-fourth Street in

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 ...

Morris Hillquit Morris Hillquit (August 1, 1869 – October 8, 1933) was a founder and leader of the Socialist Party of America and prominent labor lawyer in New York City's Lower East Side. Together with Eugene V. Debs and Congressman Victor L. Berger, Hillqui ...

was chosen Permanent Chairman. They nominated

John C. Chase John Calvin Chase (1870–1937) was an American trade union activist and politician. Chase was elected to two terms as mayor of Haverhill, Massachusetts, on the Social Democratic ticket. He is considered the first socialist to elected mayor of ...

for governor; Gustave Adolph Strebel for lieutenant governor;

Henry L. Slobodin Henry L. Slobodin was an American attorney, socialist activist and frequent candidate for public office from New York. Slobodin was active in the Socialist Labor Party of America before leaving in 1899 alongside other socialist activists like M ...

, of

, for attorney general; William W. Arland, of Corning, for secretary of state; John E. O'Rourke, 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 comptroller; William W. Passage, 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 ...

, for treasurer; and R. R. Hunt, of

Schenectady Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

, for state engineer. 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 September 5 at

Binghamton, New York 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 ...

. They nominated Capt. Henry M. Randall, of

Port Jefferson Port Jefferson (informally known as "Port Jeff") is an incorporated village in the town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island. Officially known as the Incorporated Village of Port Jefferson, the population ...

, for governor; Freeman H. Bettys, of

, for lieutenant governor; Charles Richards, of Oswego, for secretary of state; Levi Hoag, 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 comptroller; Robert L. Stokes, of

, for treasurer; Walter Farrington for attorney general; and Victor C. Mott, of Buffalo, for state engineer. The

Independence League The Independence Party, established as the Independence League, was a short-lived minor American political party sponsored by newspaper publisher and politician William Randolph Hearst in 1906. The organization was the successor to the Municip ...

state convention met on September 11 and 12 at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

. They nominated William Randolph Hearst for governor; Lewis S. Chanler for lieutenant governor; John S. Whalen for secretary of state; John Ford for attorney general; Dr. C. H. W. Auel for comptroller; Frank L. Getman for state engineer; and did not nominate anybody for treasurer. After the nomination of Hearst, Chanler and Whalen by the Democratic state convention, the other nominees retired, and on September 29, the Independence League's Executive Committee substituted the Democratic nominees Jackson, Glynn, and Skene on the ticket, and added Hauser for treasurer. 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 ...

state convention met on September 25 and 26 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 ...

. Boss

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 ...

favored Ex-Governor Frank S. Black, Governor

Frank W. Higgins Frank Wayland Higgins (August 18, 1856February 12, 1907) was an American politician who served as the 35th Governor of New York. Early life Higgins was born in Rushford, New York on August 18, 1856. He was the son of Orrin Thrall Higgins (1826 ...

favored his Lt. Gov. Bruce, but after the intervention of President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

, the convention nominated Charles E. Hughes for governor. Merton E. Lewis was nominated for comptroller, and all the other incumbent state officers were re-nominated, all by acclamation. The Democratic state convention met on September 25, 26 and 27 at

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

. Lewis Nixon was Temporary and Permanent Chairman. William Randolph Hearst was nominated for governor on the first ballot (vote: Hearst 309,

William Sulzer William Sulzer (March 18, 1863 – November 6, 1941) was an American lawyer and politician, nicknamed Plain Bill Sulzer. He was the 39th Governor of New York and a long-serving congressman from the same state. Sulzer was the first, and to date ...

124,

John Alden Dix John Alden Dix (December 25, 1860 – April 9, 1928) was an American businessman and politician who served as 38th Governor of New York from January 1911 to January 1913. A native of Glens Falls, New York, Dix attended Cornell University befo ...

17). All other candidates were nominated by acclamation, among them the Independence League nominees Chanler and Whalen.''HEARST NAMED BY DEMOCRATS''
in NYT on September 27, 1906

Result

The Democratic/Independence League fusion ticket was elected with exception of Hearst who was rejected by a large part of the Democratic voters, especially in New York City. Although Republican Hughes was elected governor, this election ended a Republican era in state politics which had lasted a dozen years. The incumbents Bruce, O'Brien, Mayer, Wallenmeier and Van Alstyne were defeated. The Republican, Democratic, Socialist and Prohibition parties maintained automatic ballot status (necessary 10,000 votes), the Independence League attained it, and the Socialist Labor Party did not re-attain it. Obs.: * "Blank, defective and scattering" votes: 2,110 (Governor) * "Blank, defective and scattering" votes: 2,468 (Lieutenant Governor)

Notes

Sources

*How some voters marked the ballots
''QUEER THINGS FOUND IN THE VOTE CANVASS; Inconceivable Ignorance of What to Do with a Ballot''
in NYT on November 17, 1906 *Result
''HEARST LEAGUE FAILS TO GET PARTY RANK''
in NYT on December 19, 1906 *Campaign cost statements
''CAMPAIGN STATEMENTS FAIL TO STATE ALL''
in NYT on November 30, 1906 *Result
''The Tribune Almanac 1907''
*New York Red Book 1908

History

Result

Notes

Sources

Further reading

See also