The 1885 New York state election was held on November 3, 1885, 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 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 September 9 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 ...

. William J. Groo presided. Henry Clay Bascom, of

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

, was nominated for governor by acclamation. W Jennings Demorest, 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 lieutenant governor, Edward Evans, of Tonawanda, for Secretary of State, Hiram Vandenburgh, of

Fulton County Fulton County is the name of eight counties in the United States of America. Most are named for Robert Fulton, inventor of the first practical steamboat: *Fulton County, Arkansas, named after Governor William Savin Fulton *Fulton County, Georgia *F ...

, for treasurer, Frederick Sheldon, of Hornellsville, for attorney general, and George A. Dudley for state engineer, were nominated unanimously. The Greenback State Committee met on September 9 at Clarendon Hall in

. Ralph Beaumont was chosen to preside over the convention. The

Anti-Monopoly ''Anti-Monopoly'' is a board game made by San Francisco State University Professor Ralph Anspach in response to ''Monopoly''. The idea of an anti-monopoly board game dates to 1903 and the original Monopoly created by Lizzie Magie. Background ...

delegates met in an adjoining room, Dr. Seeger presided. The remnants of Benjamin F. Butler's "People's Party" merged with the Anti-Monopolists. When the Greenback/Anti-Monopoly convention opened there was much debate among the several factions, and the Anti-Monopolists walked out. The remaining Greenbackers were split in two opposing factions: the friends and the adversaries of Edward O. Jones, the latter faction led by Louis F. Post, a New York City banker. Post's faction then walked out too, and the remaining delegates nominated George O. Jones, of Albany, for governor; Lyman W. Gage, 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 lieutenant governor; George W. Pimm, of Coldenham, for Secretary of State; Nelson S. Shaler, of Catskill, for comptroller; Allen Wood for treasurer; William B. Guernsey, of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

, for attorney general; and Edwin A. Stillman 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 ...

state convention met on September 23 at the Skating Rink in

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 ...

. James W. Husted was president. Ex-Comptroller Ira Davenport (in office 1880-1881) was nominated for governor after the second ballot. Many candidates were proposed and on the first ballot the votes were scattered among many names, the second ballot stood as follows: Davenport 214, Joseph B. Carr 194, James D. Warren 113, C. N. Bliss 66,

Frederick W. Seward Frederick William Seward (July 8, 1830 – April 25, 1915) was an American politician and member of the Republican Party who twice served as the Assistant Secretary of State. The son of United States Secretary of State William H. Seward, ...

54, Swinburne 29, Drexel 12,

Levi P. Morton Levi Parsons Morton (May 16, 1824 – May 16, 1920) was the 22nd vice president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He also served as United States ambassador to France, as a U.S. representative from New York, and as the 31st Governor of Ne ...

Alonzo B. Cornell Alonzo Barton Cornell (January 22, 1832 – October 15, 1904) was a New York (state), New York politician and businessman who was the List of Governors of New York, 27th Governor of New York from 1880 to 1882. Early years Cornell was born i ...

William M. Evarts William Maxwell Evarts (February 6, 1818February 28, 1901) was an American lawyer and statesman from New York who served as U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Attorney General and U.S. Senator from New York. He was renowned for his skills as a li ...

1. Then many delegates changed their votes and Davenport was nominated. Secretary of State Joseph B. Carr (in office since 1880) was nominated for lieutenant governor; Deputy Secretary of State Anson S. Wood was nominated to succeed Carr; and Ex-Comptroller James W. Wadsworth (in office 1880-1881) was nominated again, all three by acclamation. For Treasurer, a first ballot was taken and the votes were scattered among many different names (vote: D. Ogden Bradley 173, William T. O'Neil 157, Waldo Wallace Rockwell 149, Nathan D. Wendell 88, Robert N. Marvin 76, Stephen C. Medbury 49). Then it was proposed to give the nomination to a German-American, and Charles F. Ulrich was nominated unanimously. Edward B. Thomas was nominated for attorney general on the second ballot (first ballot: Thomas 318, E. H. Hobbs 257, Edward Mitchell 93, Sheldon 8; second ballot: Thomas 353, Hobbs 321, Mitchell 5). William V. Van Rensselaer was nominated for state engineer by acclamation. The Democratic state convention met on September 24. George Raines was president. The incumbent Governor David B. Hill was re-nominated on the first ballot (vote: Hill 338,

Abram S. Hewitt Abram Stevens Hewitt (July 31, 1822January 18, 1903) was an American politician, educator, ironmaking industrialist, and lawyer who was mayor of New York City for two years from 1887–1888. He also twice served as a U.S. Congressman from an ...

33, Henry W. Slocum 8,

Roswell P. Flower Roswell Pettibone Flower (August 7, 1835May 12, 1899) was an American politician who served as the 30th Governor of New York from 1892 to 1894. He also served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1889 to 1891. Biography He was bo ...

1). Contrary to tradition, the nomination was not "made unanimous."

Results

The whole Democratic ticket was elected. The incumbents Hill, Chapin, O'Brien and Sweet were re-elected. 21 Republicans and 11 Democrats were elected to a two-year term (1886–1887) in the State Senate; and 77 Republicans and 51 Democrats were elected to the State Assembly.se
''THE NEXT LEGISLATURE''
in NYT on November 5, 1885

Notes

Sources

*Result for Suffolk, Ulster and Herkimer Counties
''CANVASSING THE RETURNS''
in NYT on November 14, 1885 *Result in New York City
''THE CITY'S VOTE DECLARED''
in NYT on November 21, 1885 *Results
''The Tribune Almanac 1886''

History

Results

Notes

Sources

See also