The 1942 New York state election was held on November 3, 1942, 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 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 ...

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 ...

History

The Industrial Government state convention met on April 5, and nominated again Aaron M. Orange for governor. They also nominated Bronko Papadopolis, of

Buffalo Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...

, for lieutenant governor; O. Martin Olson for comptroller; and

Eric Hass Eric Hass (March 4, 1905 – October 2, 1980) was a four-time Socialist Labor candidate for President of the United States. Life Hass was of German and Danish ancestry, and was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1905. He died of a heart attack ...

for attorney general. 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 21 at 303 Fourth Avenue 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 ...

, and nominated Prof. Coleman B. Cheney for governor; Samuel H. Friedman for lieutenant governor; Joseph G. Glass for attorney general; the Rev. Herman J. Hahn for comptroller; and Miss Layle Lane, an African-American teacher, writer and lecturer, and Amicus Most, an engineer of

New Rochelle New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately from Midtown Manhattan. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the 7th-largest city and 2 ...

, for the at-large Congress seats. The petition to nominate these candidates was filed on August 31 with the Secretary of State. The Democratic state convention met on August 20. Influenced by

James A. Farley James Aloysius Farley (May 30, 1888 – June 9, 1976) was an American politician who simultaneously served as chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and postmaster general under Pr ...

, the convention nominated State Attorney General John J. Bennett Jr., for governor on the first ballot with 623 votes against 393 for U.S. Senator James M. Mead, the candidate favored by President

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 ...

. They re-nominated three incumbents: Lieutenant Governor

Charles Poletti Charles Poletti (July 2, 1903 – August 8, 2002) was an American lawyer and politician. He became the 46th governor of New York in December 1942, and was the first person entirely of Italian-American ancestry to become the governor of a U.S. s ...

, Comptroller Joseph V. O'Leary, and Representative at-large Matthew J. Merritt; and completed the ticket with State Solicitor General Henry Epstein for attorney general; and Flora D. Johnson for the other at-large House seat. The American Labor state convention met on August 22, but instead of Bennett (or Mead), they nominated

Tammany Tamanend ("the Affable"; ), historically also known as Taminent, Tammany, Saint Tammany or King Tammany, was the Chief of Chiefs and Chief of the Turtle Clan of the Lenape, Lenni-Lenape nation in the Delaware Valley signing the founding peace t ...

man

Dean Alfange Dean Alfange (December 2, 1897 – October 24, 1989) was an American politician who held nominations and appointments from a number of parties, including the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, the American Labor Party, and the Liberal ...

for governor. They re-nominated Comptroller O'Leary, an American Laborite who had been appointed by Governor Herbert H. Lehman to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Morris S. Tremaine. They endorsed Democrats Poletti, Merritt, and Johnson; and completed the ticket with

Alexander Kahn Alexander Kahn (May 31, 1881 – March 11, 1962) was an American lawyer and newspaper publisher who was general manager of ''The Jewish Daily Forward'' from 1939 to 1962. Early life and education Kahn was born on May 31, 1881, in Smolensk, Russ ...

for attorney general. The Republican state convention met on August 24 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 ...

. They nominated 1938 candidate

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 again, and adjourned. On August 25 they nominated Thomas W. Wallace for lieutenant governor; Frank C. Moore for comptroller; Nathaniel L. Goldstein for attorney general; and Charles Muzzicato and Winifred C. Stanley for Representative at-large. The Communist Party filed a nominating petition for their candidates on August 28. They nominated Israel Amter for governor; Frank Herron, of

, for lieutenant governor; Benjamin J. Davis Jr., of

, for attorney general; Fred Briehl, a dairy farmer of Wallkill, for comptroller; and

Elizabeth Gurley Flynn Elizabeth Gurley Flynn (August 7, 1890 – September 5, 1964) was an American labor leader, activist, and feminist who played a leading role in the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Flynn was a founding member of the American Civil Libe ...

and

Robert Minor Robert Berkeley "Bob" Minor (15 July 1884 – 26 January 1952), alternatively known as "Fighting Bob", was a Editorial cartoon, political cartoonist, a radical journalist, and, beginning in 1920, a leading member of the Communist Party USA. Ba ...

for Representative at-large. Herron, Briehl, Davis, and Minor withdrew from the ticket, and Davis was then nominated for Representative at-large, leaving three gaps on the ticket.''COMMUNISTS LEAVE 3 GAPS ON TICKET''
in NYT on September 8, 1942 (subscription required)

Result

Republicans won almost all statewide elective offices, only the incumbent Democratic Congressman Merritt was re-elected. The incumbents Poletti and O'Leary were defeated. Dewey beat the Democrat John J. Bennett Jr. by 647,628 votes while Lt. Governor Thomas W. Wallace beat Charles Poletti by only 54,303. The primary difference in the two races was that Poletti, like Matthew J. Merritt who won his race as well as Flora D. Johnson and Joseph V. O'Leary, who each lost by a slightly wider margin than Poletti, had the support of approximately 400,000 voters on the American Labor ticket while Bennett lost these votes to Dean Alfange, the American Labor nominee for governor. This was the last election of U.S. Representatives at-large from New York. In 1944 New York's Congressional district map was redrawn to add two more districts. All U.S. Representatives from New York have been elected in individual districts ever since. Obs.: *The vote for governor is used to define

ballot access Ballot access is rules and procedures regulating the right to candidacy, the conditions under which a candidate, political party, or ballot measure is entitled to appear on voters' ballots in elections in the United States. The jurisprudence o ...

, for automatic access are necessary 50,000 votes.

Notes

Sources

*Official Result
''DEWEY'S PLURALITY OFFICIALLY 647,628; State Board of Canvassers Certifies Election Results at Meeting in Albany; RECORD FOR REPUBLICAN; Up-State Margin Also Party Peak in Governorship Race; Poletti Lost by 54,303''
in NYT on December 15, 1942 (subscription required) New York Red Book 1943 with correction in Epstein Attorney General total for misprint in Richmond County total. Correction consistent with total reported by NYV Board of Elections. Correction added 18,000 votes to Epstein total {{US Third Party Election

1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...

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 Tammany Hall

History

Result

See also

Notes

Sources