New York state election, 1912

The 1912 New York state election was held on November 5, 1912, to elect the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Secretary of State, the State Comptroller, the Attorney General, the State Treasurer, the State Engineer and two judges^[1] of the New York Court of Appeals, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate. Besides, the voters were asked if they approved a $50,000,000 bond issue for "good roads construction," which was answered in the affirmative, with 657,548 For and 281,265 Against.

History

The Socialist state convention met on June 30 at Auburn, New York. They nominated again, like in 1910, Charles Edward Russell for Governor; Gustave A. Strebel for Lieutenant Governor; and Henry L. Slobodin for Attorney General. They also nominated Carrie W. Allen, of Onondaga County, for Secretary of State; Olin Hoxie Smith, of Schenectady, for Comptroller; Frank Ehrenfried, of Erie County, for Treasurer; and Dr. Charles H. Furman, of Brooklyn, for State Engineer.^[2]

The Progressive state convention met on September 6 at Syracuse, New York. Oscar S. Straus was Chairman. The convention nominated Straus for Governor by acclamation amid great noise after the name of New York City Comptroller William A. Prendergast, the bosses' and Theodore Roosevelt's choice, was withdrawn by Timothy L. Woodruff.^[3]

The Republican state convention met on September 27 at Saratoga, New York.^[4]

The Democratic state convention met on October 2 at Syracuse, New York. Alton B. Parker was elected Permanent Chairman with 412 votes against 33 for John K. Sague, the Mayor of Poughkeepsie. Congressman William Sulzer was nominated for Governor after the third ballot (first ballot: John Alden Dix [incumbent] 147, Sulzer 136, Herman A. Metz 70, Martin H. Glynn 46, George H. Burd 28, Francis Burton Harrison 21, William Sohmer 1; second ballot: Sulzer 141, Dix 124, Metz 68, Glynn 48, Burd 28, Harrison 27, Sohmer 2, Robert F. Wagner 2, James Aloysius O'Gorman 1, Victor J. Dowling 1; third ballot: Sulzer 195, Dix 87, Metz 76, Glynn 41, Harrison 21, Burd 9, Dowling 4, Wagner 3, O'Gorman 1, Ellison 1, George W. Batten 1, James W. Gerard 1; then Dix and Metz withdrew, and Sulzer was chosen). Ex-Comptroller Martin H. Glynn (in office 1907-08) was nominated for Lieutenant Governor by acclamation, and the convention adjourned an hour after midnight.^[5] The convention met again on October 3, and nominated Mitchell May for Secretary of State; re-nominated the other incumbent state officers Sohmer, Carmody, Kennedy and Bensel; and nominated William H. Cuddeback and John W. Hogan for the Court of Appeals.^[6]

The Independence League state convention met on October 3 at Arlington Hall in New York City. James A. Allen was Temporary and Permanent Chairman. They nominated Progressive Oscar S. Straus for Governor with 89 votes against 79 for Democrat William Sulzer, and then adjourned^[7] The convention met again on October 4, and nominated a ticket made up by Democrats Glynn, Sohmer and Cuddeback; Progressives Call, Palmieri, Leland and Kirchwey; and the only Independence Leaguer John Davis for Treasurer.^[8] William Randolph Hearst himself endorsed Sulzer and Glynn.^[9]

Result

The whole Democratic ticket was elected in a three-cornered race.

The incumbents Sohmer, Carmody, Kennedy and Bensel were re-elected.

The Republican, Democratic, Independence League, Socialist and Prohibition parties maintained automatic ballot status (necessary 10,000 votes), the Progressive Party attained it, and the Socialist Labor Party dit not re-attain it.

1912 state election results

Office	Democratic ticket		Republican ticket		Progressive ticket		Socialist ticket		Prohibition ticket		Independence League ticket		Socialist Labor ticket
Governor	William Sulzer	649,559	Job E. Hedges	444,105	Oscar S. Straus	393,183	Charles Edward Russell	56,917	T. Alexander MacNicholl[10]	18,990	Oscar S. Straus		John Hall	3,792
Lieutenant Governor	Martin H. Glynn	665,762	James W. Wadsworth, Jr.	450,539	Frederick M. Davenport	351,427	Gustave A. Strebel		Clark Allis[11]		Martin H. Glynn		Jeremiah D. Crowley
Secretary of State	Mitchell May	649,073	Francis M. Hugo	460,651	Homer D. Call	353,170	Carrie W. Allen		Ben D. Wright		Homer D. Call		Edmund Moonelis
Comptroller	William Sohmer	658,392	William D. Cunningham[12]	463,901	Horatio C. King	341,706	Olin Hoxie Smith		Bernard Clauson		William Sohmer		Robert Downs
Attorney General	Thomas Carmody	651,875	Meier Steinbrink[13]	457,838	John Palmieri	354,450	Henry L. Slobodin		Ernest H. Woodruff		John Palmieri		John Joss
Treasurer	John J. Kennedy	650,530	William Archer[14]	458,174	Ernest Cawcroft	341,581	Frank Ehrenfried		Arthur A. Amidon		John Davis		Henry Kuhn
State Engineer	John A. Bensel	649,839	Frank M. Williams	461,822	Ora Miner Leland	357,226	Charles H. Furman		Van Cleve C. Mott		Ora Miner Leland		Thomas J. DeLee
Judge of the Court of Appeals	William H. Cuddeback	654,626	Frank H. Hiscock	470,895	Carlos C. Alden	336,918	Jessie Ashley		Erwin J. Baldwin		William H. Cuddeback		Edmund Seidel
Judge of the Court of Appeals	John W. Hogan	642,004	Emory A. Chase	467,743	George W. Kirchwey	348,887	Leon A. Malkiel[15]		Gilbert Elliott		George W. Kirchwey		Carl A. Luedecke

Obs.:

• Numbers are total votes on Progressive and Independence League tickets for Straus, Call, Palmieri, Leland and Kirchwey; and total votes on Democratic and Independence League tickets for Glynn, Sohmer and Cuddeback.
• Analyzing the totals, the average strength of the Independence League was about 12,000 votes.

Notes

1. ^ to fill the vacancies caused by the retirement of Albert Haight and Irving G. Vann who reached the constitutional age-limit
2. ^ SOCIALIST STATE TICKET OUT in NYT on July 1, 1912
3. ^ BULL MOOSERS CHOOSE STRAUS FOR GOVERNOR in NYT on September 7, 1912
4. ^ HEDGES NAMED FOR GOVERNOR in NYT on September 28, 1912
5. ^ SULZER WINS ON FOURTH PHASE, DIX WITHDRAWS in NYT on October 3, 1912
6. ^ DEMOCRATS FINISH TICKET IN HARMONY in NYT on October 4, 1912
7. ^ STRAUS INDORSED BY INDEPENDENTS in NYT on October 4, 1912
8. ^ THE INDEPENDENT SLATE in NYT on October 5, 1912
9. ^ HEARST INDORSES SULZER in NYT on October 7, 1912
10. ^ Dr. Thomas Alexander MacNicholl, of Pleasantville, co-founder of the New York Red Cross Hospital (1893), Vice President of the American Medical Society for the Study of Alcohol, ran also in 1910
11. ^ Clark Allis (b. Aug. 15, 1865 Clarendon), of Medina, President of the New York State Fruit Growers' Association
12. ^ William D. Cunningham, of Ulster County
13. ^ Meier Steinbrink, of Brooklyn
14. ^ William Archer, of Westchester County, ran also in February 1914 when the State Legislature elected a Treasurer to fill the unexpired term of John J. Kennedy, but lost to Homer D. Call
15. ^ Leon Andrew Malkiel (b. Aug. 1, 1866 Moscow), realtor, lawyer, of New York City, also ran for Attorney General in 1904, and for the Court of Appeals in 1920

Sources

• Result: WILSON'S STATE PLURALITY in NYT on December 20, 1912

See also

New York gubernatorial elections