The 1922 New York state election was held on November 7, 1922, 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 ...

, the state engineer and a

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 power ...

, 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 Ass ...

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 comp ...

. Two amendments to the State Constitution were also proposed. During his 1922 reelection bid, Smith notably embraced his position as an opponent of

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 alcoholi ...

History

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 ...

state convention met on July 2 at 5, East Sixteenth 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 ...

. They nominated a tentative ticket which would be the basis for a fusion with the Farmer-Labor Party to be effected later. On it were Ex-

Alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members ...

Edward F. Cassidy for governor; Theresa B. Wiley, 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 lieutenant governor; A. Philip Randolph for secretary of state; James C. Sheahan, a railroad worker of Albany, for comptroller; Morris Berman for treasurer; Hezekiah D. Wilcox for attorney general; Charles P. Steinmetz for state engineer; and John W. Dannes, 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 U.S. Senator. The official state convention met on September 30 at 7 East Fifteenth Street in New York City; S. John Block was chairman. They nominated the same state ticket which was already proposed in July, with one exception. For U.S. Senator, Mrs. Esther Lefkowitz, of Elmhurst was nominated. 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 28 in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York Cit ...

Elihu Root Elihu Root (; February 15, 1845February 7, 1937) was an American lawyer, Republican politician, and statesman who served as Secretary of State and Secretary of War in the early twentieth century. He also served as United States Senator from ...

was temporary chairman until the choice of Speaker

H. Edmund Machold Henry Edmund Machold (July 5, 1880 in Amsterdam, Montgomery County, New York – February 6, 1967) was an American lawyer, businessman and politician. Life He was the son of P. Bernhard Machold and Margaret Mellmen Machold. He attended Alban ...

as permanent chairman. All nominations, except for secretary of state, were unopposed. Governor Nathan L. Miller was re-nominated. William J. Donovan was nominated for lieutenant governor. Secretary of State John J. Lyons was defeated on the first ballot by Samuel J. Joseph, of

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

(vote: Joseph 1031, Lyons 158). The incumbents Comptroller William J. Maier, Treasurer N. Monroe Marshall and U.S. Senator William M. Calder were re-nominated. Superintendent of Public Works Charles L. Cadle, of

, was nominated for state engineer; and Erskine C. Rogers, of Hudson Falls, for attorney general. The Democratic state convention met on September 29 in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, Yonkers, and Rochester. At the 2020 census, the city' ...

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 ...

William S. Hackett was permanent chairman. Ex-Governor Al Smith (in office 1919-20) was nominated again for governor, all 734 votes were cast for him, the only candidate. Mayor of Schenectady George R. Lunn was nominated for lieutenant governor;

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

of Corrections James A. Hamilton for secretary of state; Ex-Mayor of Troy James W. Fleming for comptroller, Captain George K. Shuler for treasurer; Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York Carl Sherman for attorney general; Dwight B. LaDu for state engineer; and New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Royal S. Copeland for U.S. Senator. All nominations were unopposed."Democrats Name Smith for Governor"
''The New York Times''. September 30, 1922.

Result

The whole Democratic ticket was elected. The incumbents Miller, Maier, Marshall and Calder were defeated. The Democratic, Republican and Socialist parties maintained 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 ...

(necessary 15,000 votes for governor), the Farmer-Labor and Prohibition parties lost it; and 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 ...

did not re-attain it.

Amendments

*The amendment proposing to increase the salaries of the judges of the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the Unified Court System of the State of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six Associate Judges who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by ...

from $10,000 to $17,000 was rejected: 572,502 For and 891,980 Against. *The amendment proposing a change in the procedure relating to special city bills was accepted: 819,628 For and 554,654 Against.

Notes

References

Sources

*The tickets
"Aspirants Seeking Office Next Tuesday"
''The New York Times''. November 5, 1922. *Result
"Smith Plurality Fixed at 385,945"
''The New York Times''. December 8, 1922. *Result (Prohibition only)

at Prohibitionists.org * Results, New York Red Book 1923