There have been 91 gubernatorial elections in the state of New York since 1777, with the most recent being held on
November 8, 2022. The next election is scheduled to be held on
November 3, 2026.
General information
Originally the term for
governor of New York
The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has ...
was three years long and began on July 1, the election being held in the last week of April or May 1. In 1817, following the resignation of
Daniel D. Tompkins
Daniel D. Tompkins (June 21, 1774 – June 11, 1825) was an American politician. He was the fifth governor of New York from 1807 to 1817, and the sixth vice president of the United States from 1817 to 1825.
Born in Scarsdale, New York, Tompkins ...
after serving only eight months of his term, there was a new election, since the
1777 Constitution did not give 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 right to succeed to the governor's office, and
DeWitt Clinton
DeWitt Clinton (March 2, 1769February 11, 1828) was an American politician and naturalist. He served as a United States senator, as the mayor of New York City, and as the seventh governor of New York. In this last capacity, he was largely res ...
was elected for a whole three-year-term. The
New York State Constitutional Convention
The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constituti ...
of 1821 reduced the term to two years – beginning on January 1 and ending on December 31 – and moved the election to the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Due to this measure, DeWitt Clinton's own second term was cut short by half a year. Beginning with the
election in 1876, the term was increased to three years again, beginning with the
election in 1894 reduced to two years, and since the
election in 1938 has its present duration of four years.
Although the candidates for lieutenant governor have always run on tickets with the governor's candidates, until the
election of 1950 they were elected on separate ballots, so on several occasions (
1826
Events January–March
* January 15 – The French newspaper ''Le Figaro'' begins publication in Paris, initially as a weekly.
* January 30 – The Menai Suspension Bridge, built by engineer Thomas Telford, is opened between the island o ...
,
1846
Events
January–March
* January 5 – The United States House of Representatives votes to stop sharing the Oregon Country with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom.
* January 13 – The Milan–Venice railway' ...
,
1850
Events
January–June
* April
** Pope Pius IX returns from exile to Rome.
** Stephen Foster's parlor ballad "Ah! May the Red Rose Live Alway" is published in the United States.
* April 4 – Los Angeles is incorporated as a cit ...
,
1906
Events
January–February
* January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...
, and
1924
Events
January
* January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after.
* January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...
) the governor and his lieutenant were elected of opposing tickets.
In only 15 of the total 91 elections has the incumbent lost re-election.
The elected candidates are shown in bold face in the tables below.
Recent elections
2022
2018
2014
2010
2006
2002
Older elections
1966-1998
Gubernatorial elections under the State Constitution of 1938. The term is four years.
1998
1994
1990
1986
1982
1978
1974
1970
1966
1938-1962
1962
1958
1954
1950
1946
1942
1938
1894-1936
Gubernatorial elections under the State Constitution of 1894. The term was two years.
Note: This was the last time the running mate of the elected governor was defeated, Democrat Smith having Republican Lowman as lieutenant for the duration of this term.
Notes:
List of candidates, in NYT on September 13, 1920
List of candidates, in NYT on October 27, 1920
Notes:
*This was the first time women voted for governor of New York, and Alfred E. Smith was the first governor elected with more than 1 million votes.
Election resultin NYT on December 31, 1918
Note: William Sulzer had been elected governor as a Democrat at the previous election, but was impeached. Martin Glynn had been elected Lt. Gov and succeeded to the governorship upon Sulzer's impeachment.
Note
election result in NYT on December 16, 1910
Note: The majority faction of the Democratic Party were then known as "Silver Democrats", and the "National Democrats" were the "Gold Democrats".
Notes:
*Wheeler was nominated by the "Democratic Reform Association 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 ...
" who were opposed to the regular Democrats led by
Hugh McLaughlin.
Election resultin NYT on December 15, 1894
1876-1891
Gubernatorial elections under the State Constitution of 1846, amended in 1874. The term was three years.
*The tickets
in NYT on November 3, 1879
*The tickets
in NYT on November 2, 1876
*The Greenback convention
in NYT on September 27, 1876
1847-1874
Gubernatorial elections under the State Constitution of 1846. The term was two years.
The tickets
in NYT on October 30, 1870
Note: John T. Hoffman was a Democrat, Robert H. Pruyn a Republican. The "Conservative Union" ticket was nominated by the Democrats in an attempt to attract Republicans, especially Democrats who had joined the Republican Union and remained Republicans after the Civil War, to return to the Democratic Party.
Note:
*Horatio Seymour was the candidate of the Democratic Party that wanted to end the war.
*James Wadsworth was a Republican, Lyman Tremain a pre-war Democrat, nominated by the Republican Union in which the Republican Party was joined by the
War Democrats
War Democrats in American politics of the 1860s were members of the Democratic Party who supported the Union and rejected the policies of the Copperheads (or Peace Democrats). The War Democrats demanded a more aggressive policy toward the Con ...
who supported Lincoln and the Union.
*The total of ballots cast were more than 70,000 less than in the previous election because the soldiers in the field were not allowed to vote.
Note:
*William Kelly was the candidate of the majority faction of the Democratic Party which supported
Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen Arnold Douglas (April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. A senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party for president in the 1860 presidential election, which wa ...
for President.
*James T. Brady was a member of
Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...
, nominated by the minority faction of the Democratic Party which supported
John C. Breckinridge
John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821 – May 17, 1875) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. He represented Kentucky in both houses of Congress and became the 14th and youngest-ever vice president of the United States. Serving ...
for President.
Notes:
*Result
Official State Canvass in NYT on December 21, 1854 (William Goodell's votes were counted among the "scattering votes").
*Myron H. Clark won this election with the lowest percentage ever in NY Gov. elections, nominated by the Whigs (of which party he was a member), and endorsed by the Anti-Nebraska Party (which merged in 1855 with the Whigs to form the Republican Party), the Anti-Rent Party, the "Free Democrats" (the remnants of the Free-Soil Party with radical anti-slavery Democrats), and the supporters of Temperance.
*The "Soft" or "Soft-shell" candidate was the choice of the majority faction of the Democratic Party.
*The American Party was called "Know Nothing" in contemporaneous newspapers.
*The "National Democracy" (a faction of the Democratic Party) were called "Hards" or "Hard-shells" by contemporaneous newspapers.
*Liberty Party conventio
in NYT on September 29, 1854
Note:
* At the first judicial election under the Constitution of 1846, Addison Gardiner was elected in June 1847 to the Court of Appeals, to take office on July 1, 1847. To fill the vacancy, on September 27, a special election was scheduled by the State Legislature to be held at the annual state election.
* Resul
''Manual of the Corporation of the City of New York'' (1852)
1822-1846
Gubernatorial elections under the State Constitution of 1821. The term was two years. Until 1840, elections were held during three days beginning on the first Monday in November. Since 1841, until today, all regular elections have been held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The elected candidate takes office on January 1 of the following calendar year.
*Resul
''Manual of the Corporation of the City of New York'' 1852)
*Resul
''Manual of the Corporation of the City of New York'' 1852)(giving wrong number of votes for Smith, "2496" is a
typo
A typographical error (often shortened to typo), also called a misprint, is a mistake (such as a spelling mistake) made in the typing of printed (or electronic) material. Historically, this referred to mistakes in manual type-setting (typography). ...
)
*see als
''The History of the Loco-foco, Or Equal Rights Party: Its Movements, Conventions and Proceedings''by Fitzwilliam Byrdsall (Clement & Packard, 1842)
*Result
''The New Annual Register, Or General Repository of History, Politics, and Literature, for the Year 1823''by Andrew Kippis, William Godwin, George Robinson, G. G. and J. Robinson (Paternoster Row, London, England, 1824)
1777-1820
Gubernatorial elections under the State Constitution of 1777. The term was three years, the election held in the last week of April or on May 1.
Note:
*Tompkins was the sitting US Vice President.
*DeWitt Clinton was legislated out of office on December 31, 1822.
Note: Governor Tompkins was elected US Vice President in November 1816, and he resigned in February 1817. Article XVII of the
New York State Constitution of 1777 said that "...as often as the seat of government shall become vacant, a wise and descreet freeholder of this State shall be, by ballot, elected governor,... which elections shall be always held at the times and places of choosing representatives in assembly..." This meant that, whenever a vacancy occurred, the Lt. Gov. did not succeed to the governor's office but administrated the state only until the end of the yearly term 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 ...
on June 30, the successor being elected in April.
Note: Lt. Gov. Broome died in August 1810, and the
1777 Constitution provided for new elections if a vacancy occurred either in the Governor's or the Lieutenant Governor's office. See 1817 general election.
Note: Aaron Burr was the sitting US Vice President.
Note: John Jay received more votes than George Clinton, but on technicalities the votes of Otsego, Tioga and Clinton counties were disqualified and not counted, giving Clinton a slight majority. Under the
Constitution of 1777, the votes were canvassed by a joint committee of the state legislature, six members each from the
assembly
Assembly may refer to:
Organisations and meetings
* Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions
* General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...
and the
senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
. The members were
David Gelston
David Gelston (July 4, 1744 – August 21, 1828) was an American merchant and politician.
Early life
Gelston was born on July 4, 1744, in Bridgehampton in Suffolk County on Long Island in what was then the Province of New York. He was a so ...
,
Thomas Tillotson
Thomas Tillotson (May 5, 1832) was an American physician and politician.
Life
Born in the Province of Maryland around 1751 or 1752, Tillotson received a thorough education, studied medicine, and practiced. He was the great great nephew of the A ...
,
Melancton Smith
Melancton Smith (May 7, 1744 – July 29, 1798) was a merchant, lawyer and a New York delegate to the Continental Congress. Praised for his intelligence, liberality, and reasonableness, Smith had attained considerable respect in the State of ...
, David Graham,
Pierre Van Cortlandt, Jr., David McCarty,
Jonathan N. Havens,
Samuel Jones,
Isaac Roosevelt,
Leonard Gansevoort
Leendert "Leonard" Gansevoort (July 14, 1751 – August 26, 1810) was an American political leader from New York who served as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1788.
Early life
He was born in 1751 in Albany County, New York to Harmen Ga ...
, and
Joshua Sands. The state constitution said that the cast votes shall be delivered to the secretary of state "by the sheriff or his deputy". The ballots from
Otsego County were forwarded to the secretary of state by Sheriff Smith who was holding over in office until the appointment of a successor after his term had expired. The ballot box from
Clinton County Clinton County may refer to:
*Counties named for George Clinton, first and third Governor of New York, and later the fourth Vice President of the United States:
**Clinton County, New York
**Clinton County, Ohio
*Counties named for DeWitt Clinton, s ...
was delivered to the secretary of state's office by a person without deputation who had received the box from the sheriff. The ballot box from
Tioga County was delivered to the secretary of state by the clerk of the special deputy appointed by the sheriff. The canvass committee disagreed on whether to allow these ballots to be counted. The question was referred to the
U.S. Senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
s from New York, Federalist
Rufus King
Rufus King (March 24, 1755April 29, 1827) was an American Founding Father, lawyer, politician, and diplomat. He was a delegate for Massachusetts to the Continental Congress and the Philadelphia Convention and was one of the signers of the Unit ...
and Dem.-Rep.
Aaron Burr
Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805. Burr's legacy is defined by his famous personal conflict with Alexand ...
, for arbitration. King said all votes ought to be canvassed. Burr said that the ballots from Clinton County ought to be allowed, and the ones from Otsego and Tioga Counties should be rejected. Thereupon, a majority of the canvass committee (Gelston, Tillotson, Smith, Graham, Van Cortlandt, McCarty, and Havens) rejected the ballots from all three counties and declared George Clinton duly elected governor by a majority of 108 votes. The minority (Jones, Roosevelt, Gansevoort, and Sands) protested in writing. In Otsego County, John Jay had a majority of about 400, and discounting the small majorities for Clinton in Tioga and Clinton Counties, would have won the election. Clinton was accused by the Federalists of
usurpation
A usurper is an illegitimate or controversial claimant to power, often but not always in a monarchy. In other words, one who takes the power of a country, city, or established region for oneself, without any formal or legal right to claim it as ...
and the canvass committee of having made a partisan decision against the wishes of the electorate.
Note: Clinton and Van Cortlandt were re-elected unopposed.
Note: Clinton and Van Cortlandt were re-elected unopposed.
Notes:
*The election began on June 1, but due to the
Revolutionary War it took some time to collect and count the votes, and the official result was announced on July 9. George Clinton accepted the office of Governor on July 11 and assumed its duties immediately, pending taking the oath as soon as he could safely leave his military command.
*There were no parties yet; the Democratic-Republican and Federalist Parties appeared only in 1789, and until then the candidacies were personal. Besides, the candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor were not "running mates"; all candidates were voted for independently.
*The Committee of Safety (the governing body of the State of New York after the Constitutional Convention adjourned) endorsed Philip Schuyler for Governor and George Clinton for Lieutenant Governor, which led to Clinton's receiving votes for both offices and actually winning both. Clinton formally resigned the lieutenant governorship and Pierre Van Cortlandt was elected lieutenant governor in a special election in 1778.
''George Clinton: Yeoman Politician of the New Republic''
by John P. Kaminski, New York State Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution, University of Wisconsin-Madison
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
Center for the Study of the American Constitution (Rowman & Littlefield, 1993, , , page 24)
See also
*
* New York Comptroller elections
The Elections for New York State Comptroller are held every four years. The next scheduled election was due to be held in 2022. The current New York State Comptroller is Thomas DiNapoli.
The Comptroller is directly elected by First Past the Po ...
* New York state elections
The results of elections in the state of New York have tended to be more Democratic-leaning than in most of the United States, with in recent decades a solid majority of Democratic voters, concentrated in New York City and some of its suburbs, i ...
Notes
References
Further reading
* Paterson, David ''" Black, Blind, & In Charge: A Story of Visionary Leadership and Overcoming Adversity."'' Skyhorse Publishing. New York, New York, 2020
Sources
New York Governor elections
{{DEFAULTSORT:New York Gubernatorial Elections
*
Quadrennial elections
Elections
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...