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

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

, 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 (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

, the

state treasurer In the state and territorial governments of the United States, 54 of the 56 states and territories have the executive position of treasurer. New York abolished the office of New York State Treasurer in 1926, in which the duties were transfer ...

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 Ass ...

and the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

History

The

Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

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 (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Morris Hillquit was chosen Permanent Chairman. They nominated John C. Chase for governor;

Gustave Adolph Strebel Gustave Adolph Strebel (November 11, 1875 – November 27, 1945) was president of the New York State Congress of Industrial Organizations. He was the Socialist Party of America candidate for Governor of New York in the New York state election of ...

for lieutenant governor; Henry L. Slobodin, of

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

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

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

Schenectady Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...

, 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 b ...

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 c ...

. They nominated Capt. Henry M. Randall, of

Port Jefferson Port Jefferson, also known as Port Jeff, is an Administrative divisions of New York (state)#Village, incorporated village in the Administrative divisions of New York (state)#Town, town of Brookhaven, New York, Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New Y ...

, for governor; Freeman H. Bettys, of Rochester, for lieutenant governor; Charles Richards, of Oswego, for secretary of state; Levi Hoag, of Binghamton, 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 United States, American political party sponsored by newspaper publisher and politician William Randolph Hearst in 1906. The organization was the successor ...

state convention met on September 11 and 12 at

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

. 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 state convention met on September 25 and 26 at

Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the United States Census 2020, 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the ...

. Boss Benjamin B. Odell Jr. favored Ex-Governor

Frank S. Black Frank Swett Black (March 8, 1853 – March 22, 1913) was an American newspaper editor, lawyer and politician. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, he was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1895 to 1897, and t ...

, Governor Frank W. Higgins favored his Lt. Gov. Bruce, but after the intervention of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

, the convention nominated

Charles Evans Hughes Charles Evans Hughes (April 11, 1862 – August 27, 1948) was an American politician, academic, and jurist who served as the 11th chief justice of the United States from 1930 to 1941. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

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 a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

. 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), nicknamed Plain Bill, was an American lawyer and politician. He was the 39th governor of New York serving for 10 months in 1913, and a long-serving U.S. representative from the same state. Su ...

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 befor ...

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

See also

Notes

Sources

Further reading