The 1954 New York state election was held on November 2, 1954, 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 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

chief judge A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, th ...

and three associate judges of the New York Court of Appeals, 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 ...

Background

This was the first election in which the voters were required to cast a single joint vote for governor and lieutenant governor, following the amendment to the State Constitution in 1953. Chief Judge

Edmund H. Lewis Edmund Harris Lewis (August 30, 1884, Syracuse, Onondaga County, New York – July 31, 1972, Skaneateles, Onondaga County, New York) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from ...

would reach the constitutional age limit of 70 years at the end of the year. He was elected in 1953, and John Van Voorhis was re-appointed on January 1, 1954, to the seat vacated by Lewis, to fill the vacancy temporarily. Albert Conway and Charles S. Desmond had been elected to the Court of Appeals in 1940, thus their 14-year terms would expire at the end of the year.

Nominations

The Socialist Workers nominated David L. Weiss, electronics worker, for governor; Dorothy Haines, of Buffalo, for lieutenant governor; Harold Robins, 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 comptroller; and Catherine Gratta (born c. 1922), machine inspector, 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 attorney general. The

American Labor Party The American Labor Party (ALP) was a political party in the United States established in 1936 that was active almost exclusively in the state of New York. The organization was founded by labor leaders and former members of the Socialist Party of A ...

nominated John T. McManus for governor; actress Karen Morley for lieutenant governor; Ralph Powe, lawyer, for Comptroller (the only African-American running for a statewide elective office this year); and George W. Fish, lawyer, of

, for attorney general. The

Socialist Labor Party The Socialist Labor Party (SLP)"The name of this organization shall be Socialist Labor Party". Art. I, Sec. 1 of thadopted at the Eleventh National Convention (New York, July 1904; amended at the National Conventions 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1924 ...

filed a petition to nominate candidates as the Industrial Government Party on September 30. The ticket had only three names: Nathan Karp for governor; Stephen Emery for lieutenant governor; and John Emanuel for comptroller. The

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

held its convention on September 21, 1954, in New York City. The main contest was for governor which was between former Secretary of Commerce W. Averell Harriman and Representative

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr. (August 17, 1914 – August 17, 1988) was an American lawyer, politician, and businessman. He served as a United States congressman from New York from 1949 to 1955 and in 1963 was appointed United States Under Secre ...

. Harriman had the backing of Tammany Hall and city organizations, Roosevelt agreed to drop out in exchange for his nomination for attorney general. The next week the Liberal Party of New York endorsed the entire Democratic slate.''CANDIDATE SLATE FILED; Industrial Government Party to Seek Three Offices''
in NYT on October 1, 1954 (subscription required)

Result

Almost the whole Democratic/Liberal ticket was elected, only Republican Jacob K. Javits managed to be elected attorney general. The incumbents Van Voorhis and Desmond were re-elected. The American Labor Party lost its automatic

ballot access Elections in the United States refers to the rules and procedures regulating the conditions under which a candidate, political party, or ballot measure is entitled to appear on voters' ballots. As the nation's election process is decentralized b ...

and disbanded shortly afterwards. Note: The vote for governor is used to define

, for automatic access are necessary 50,000 votes.

Notes

Sources

* Results i
''HARRIMAN MARGIN LOWEST SINCE 1850; Chosen Governor by 11,125 in Official Tally; All-Time Low in Race 108 in 1792''
in NYT on December 17, 1954 (subscription required) he_headline_refers_to_the_New_York_state_election,_1850,_in_which_Washington_Hunt.html" ;"title="New_York_state_election,_1850.html" ;"title="he headline refers to the New York state election, 1850">he headline refers to the New York state election, 1850, in which Washington Hunt">New_York_state_election,_1850.html" ;"title="he headline refers to the New York state election, 1850">he headline refers to the New York state election, 1850, in which Washington Hunt defeated Horatio Seymour by 262 votes; and to the New York gubernatorial election, 1792 in which the incumbent Governor George Clinton (vice president), George Clinton was re-elected by 108 votes over John Jay, after the controversial exclusion of several hundred votes from three counties.] * Results in the ''New York Red Book'' (1955)

Background

Nominations

Result

Notes

Sources

See also