The 1946 New York state election was held on November 5, 1946, 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 ...

, a

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

, the

chief judge Chief judge may refer to: In lower or circuit courts The highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. * Chief judge (Australia) * Chief judge (United States) In supreme courts Some of Chief ...

and an associate 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 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 ...

Background

On September 22, 1945, Chief Judge

Irving Lehman Irving Lehman (January 28, 1876 – September 22, 1945) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1940 until his death in 1945. Biography He was born on January 28, 1876, in New ...

died. On September 28, Judge John T. Loughran was appointed Chief Judge to fill the vacancy temporarily, and George Z. Medalie was appointed temporarily to the seat vacated by Loughran. On March 5, 1946, Medalie died too, and Stanley H. Fuld was appointed on April 25 to fill the vacancy temporarily.

Nominations

The

Socialist Labor The Socialist Labor Party (SLP)"The name of this organization shall be Socialist Labor Party". Art. I, Sec. 1 of thadopted at the Eleventh National Convention (New York, July 1904; amended at the National Conventions 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 192 ...

state convention met on April 7, and nominated Aaron M. Orange for Governor. They also nominated Nathan Karp for Lieutenant Governor; Bronko Papadopolos, 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 Comptroller; Walter Steinhilber, of

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, for Attorney General; 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 the U.S. Senate. The party filed a petition to nominate candidates under the name "Industrial Government Party." 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 April 14, and nominated Prof. Coleman B. Cheney for Governor; and Walter O'Hagan for Lieutenant Governor. The

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

gathered 51,015 signatures and filed a petition to nominate candidates with the Secretary of State on September 2. The Republican state convention met on September 4 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 re-nominated the five Republican incumbents Dewey, Hanley, Moore, Goldstein and Fuld; endorsed the Democratic Chief Judge Loughran to succeed himself; and completed the ticket with Assembly Majority Leader Irving M. Ives for the U.S. Senate. The Democratic state convention met on September 4 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 ...

, and nominated U.S. Senator James M. Mead for Governor;

Mayor of Albany In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

Erastus Corning 2nd for Lieutenant Governor; New York City Treasurer Spencer C. Young for Comptroller;

City Councilman A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counci ...

Anthony J. DiGiovanna for Attorney General; Ex-Governor Herbert H. Lehman (in office 1933-1942) for the U.S. Senate; Ex-State Solicitor General Henry Epstein for the Court of Appeals; and the incumbent Chief Judge John T. Loughran to succeed himself. The American Labor state convention met on September 3 and endorsed the Democratic nominee James M. Mead for Governor; and also endorsed the Democrats Lehman and Loughran. They completed the ticket with Benjamin F. Fielding, of

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 ...

, for Lieutenant Governor; Harry J. Chapman, of

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, for Comptroller; Joseph Lucchi, of

, for Attorney General; and

John Abt John Jacob Abt (May 1, 1904 – August 10, 1991) was an American lawyer and politician, who spent most of his career as chief counsel to the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) and was a member of the Communist Party and the Soviet spy network " Ware Gr ...

for the Court of Appeals. Fielding, Chapman and Abt were withdrawn from the ticket on September 5, and Democrats Corning, Young and Epstein substituted on the ticket. Lucchi declined to run on September 7, and Democrat DiGiovanna was substituted on the ticket. The Communist Party filed a petition to nominate candidates on September 2. They nominated Party State Chairman Robert Thompson for Governor;

Israel Amter Israel Amter (March 26, 1881 — November 24, 1954) was an American Marxist politician and founding member of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA). Amter is best remembered as one of the Communist Party leaders jailed in conjunction with the Internatio ...

for Lieutenant Governor; Benjamin J. Davis, Jr., of

, for the U.S. Senate; Dr. Bella V. Dodd for Attorney General; and Marie Guidoni for Comptroller. On September 9, Thompson announced that all candidates except himself for Comptroller would be withdrawn in an effort to strengthen the Democratic candidates in their quest to oust Governor Dewey, but Davis also remained on the ticket, running for Attorney General. On October 19, Supreme Court Justice William H. Murray denied an application by Spencer C. Young, the Democratic nominee for Comptroller, to bar the Communist ticket from the ballot. The Socialist Workers Party filed a petition to nominate candidates headed by

Farrell Dobbs Farrell Dobbs (July 25, 1907 – October 31, 1983) was an American Trotskyist, trade unionist, politician, and historian. Early years Dobbs was born in Queen City, Missouri, where his father was a worker in a coal company garage. The family ...

for Governor. The Industrial Government, Socialist and Socialist Workers tickets were not allowed on the ballot because of "defective nominating petitions." The Court of Appeals upheld the decisions of the lower courts.''MINOR PARTIES RULED OFF BALLOT IN STATE''
in NYT on October 26, 1946 (subscription required)

Result

The whole Republican ticket was elected in a landslide. The incumbents Dewey, Hanley, Moore, Goldstein, Loughran and Fuld were re-elected. The Liberal Party attained automatic

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 ...

(necessary 50,000 votes for governor). Obs.: *"Blank, void and scattering" votes: 178,694 (Senator) *The vote for Governor is used to define

, for automatic access are necessary 50,000 votes.

Notes

Sources

*Official Result
''RECORD FOR DEWEY IN OFFICIAL COUNT; His 687,151 Majority Topped Lehman's 627,388 in 1932; Won in 1942 by 173,254''
in NYT on December 14, 1946 (subscription required) New York State Red Book 1947 {{1946 United States elections

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

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

Background

Nominations

Result

See also

Notes

Sources