New York State Election, 1938
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The 1938 New York state election was held on November 8, 1938, to elect the
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, 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
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, two
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and two U.S. Representatives-at-large, 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 ...
. The 1938 election was the first election where the Governor of New York was elected to a four-year term, rather than a two-year term as was used since the 1894 election.


History

The Republican state convention met on September 29,
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Oswald D. Heck presided. They nominated D.A. of New York
Thomas E. Dewey Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 47th Governor of New York from 1943 to 1954. He was the Republican Party's nominee for president of the United States in 1944 and ...
for governor. Also nominated were Frederic H. Bontecou for lieutenant governor; Julius Rothstein for comptroller; Col. Arthur V. McDermott for attorney general; and John Lord O'Brian and Edward Corsi for the U.S. Senate. The Democratic state convention met on October 1, and re-nominated the incumbents Lehman, Tremaine, Bennett and Wagner; and completed the ticket with Supreme Court Justice Charles Poletti for lieutenant governor; and John M. Mead for short term in the U.S. Senate. 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 October 1, and nominated again Norman Thomas for governor; and Dr. George W. Hartmann for lieutenant governor; Coleman B. Cheney for Comptroller; and Miss Marion L. Severn for attorney general. The American Labor state convention met on October 3 at the
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in
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and nominated the Democratic incumbent Herbert H. Lehman for governor. They also endorsed Democrats Poletti, Wagner, Mead, Merritt and O'Day; and completed the ticket with
Langdon W. Post Langdon Ward Post (April 10, 1899 – September 2, 1981) was an American politician and housing specialist who served in the New York State Assembly from 1929 to 1932, then as New York City tenement house commissioner and chairman of the newly-for ...
for Comptroller and Joseph V. O'Leary for Attorney-General. Lehman was only able to win reelection due to the votes he received on the American Labor ballot line. Dewey received more votes on the Republican ballot line than Lehman had on the Democratic ballot line. The "Independent Progressive" Party filed a petition to nominate a ticket headed by Republican Thomas E. Dewey. This was done to have a second ballot line, like Gov. Lehman who ran on two lines also. The
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changed its name and filed a petition to nominate candidates as the "Industrial Government Party.""INDUSTRIAL PARTY LISTS CANDIDATES"
''The New York Times'', November 6, 1938 (subscription required)


Result

The whole Democratic ticket was elected. The incumbents Lehman, Tremaine, Bennett, Wagner, Merritt and O'Day were re-elected. This was the first election where governors were elected to four year terms. Obs.: *"Blank, void and scattering" votes: 75,047 (Governor) *The vote for governor is used to define
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, for all other offices numbers are totals on all tickets for candidates nominated on more than one.


See also

*
New York gubernatorial elections There have been 91 gubernatorial elections in the state of New York since 1777, with the most recent being held on 2022 New York gubernatorial election, November 8, 2022. The next election is scheduled to be held on 2026 New York gubernatorial ...
*
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


Sources

*Official Result
"LEHMAN PLURALITY OFFICIALLY 64,394; State Board Puts His Vote Finally at 2,391,286, With 2,326,892 for Dewey LABOR'S POLL AT 419,979 Blank, Void and Scattered Ballots Totaled 75,047; Poletti Won by 229,361"
''The New York Times'', December 8, 1938 (subscription required) New York Red Book {{New York elections
1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...
1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
Thomas E. Dewey