The 1928 New York state elections were held on November 6, 1928, 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, 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 ...

, a U.S. Senator and a judge of the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the supreme court, highest court in the Judiciary of New York (state), Unified Court System of the New York (state), State of New York. It consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeal ...

, 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.

Conventions

Workers Convention

The Workers state convention met on June 10.

Socialist Convention

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 July 15 at

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

Republican Convention

The Republican state convention met on September 29 at

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

Democratic Convention

The Democratic state convention met on October 2 at

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

. William Stormont Hackett, the mayor of Albany, had indicated to friends in late 1925 and early 1926 that he intended to enter the campaign for governor in 1928, presuming that Governor

Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was the 42nd governor of New York, serving from 1919 to 1920 and again from 1923 to 1928. He was the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party's presidential nominee in the 1 ...

won reelection in 1926 and made the presidential race in 1928.
Mayor Erastus Corning: Albany Icon, Albany Enigma
', pp. 64–65 As a result of Hackett's death in early 1926, the Democratic Party in New York next turned to Edwin Corning as their likely nominee for governor in 1928. Corning was a leader of Daniel P. O'Connell's Democratic organization in Albany, and had been elected Lieutenant Governor in 1926. However, Corning began to suffer health problems, and declined to become a candidate. As a result of Hackett's death and Corning's poor health, in 1928 New York Democrats attempted to recruit several other prominent politicians to run, including Robert F. Wagner, George R. Lunn, and Peter G. Ten Eyck. After those efforts failed, the party turned to

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

to make the 1928 governor's race. He was nominated by acclamation at the state party convention.

Result

Four Democrats and two Republicans were elected in a tight race, resulting in no party change overall. The incumbents Tremaine and Copeland were re-elected. The Democratic, Republican, and Socialist parties maintained automatic ballot access, the Socialist Labor Party did not re-attain it, and the Workers Party did not attain it.

Notes

* Vote Totals-New York Red Book 1929 {{Franklin D. Roosevelt 1928