The 1920 New York state election was held on November 2, 1920, 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 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, two 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 t ...

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 powe ...

, 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 Assem ...

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 com ...

History

In August 1919, Judge

William H. Cuddeback William Herman Cuddeback (March 23, 1852 – August 16, 1919) was an American lawyer and politician from New York, with his career culminating in his election to the New York Court of Appeals in 1912. Biography He was born on March 23, 1852, ...

died, and Abram I. Elkus was appointed to fill the vacancy temporarily. Judge Frederick Collin would reach the constitutional age limit at the end of the year. Thus there were two vacancies on the Court of Appeals to be filled at the state election. The primaries were held on September 14.

Republican primary

Republican state senator (47th District) George F. Thompson lost the primary to Miller, but ran on the Prohibition ticket, as did Temperance activist Ella A. Boole.

Democratic primary

All Prohibition and Socialist candidates were nominated unopposed in the primaries.

Result

The whole Republican ticket was elected. The incumbents Smith and Elkus were defeated. The incumbents Newton, Williams and Wadsworth were re-elected. Judges Chase and Crane moved from additional to regular seats on the Court of Appeals.

Notes

Sources

*Primary candidates
"Primary Rivals Clash Tomorrow"
''The New York Times''. September 13, 1920. p. 3. *The tickets
"Nominees of All Parties for Public Office, for Election Tuesday, November 2"
''The New York Times''. October 23, 1920. p. 14. *Early returns
"Miller Lead, 64,014, 107 Dists. To Come"
''The New York Times''. November 5, 1920. p. 2. *Result
"Republican Lead up State 500,000"
''The New York Times''. December 12, 1920. p. 1. *Results i
''Manual for the Use of the State Legislature''
(1921; see pg. 766ff for Democratic primaries; pg. 769–774 for Republican primaries; pg. 775–798 for the general elections) *Vote totals taken from The New York Red Book 1922