1908 New York state election

History

The Prohibition state convention met on September 2 at Syracuse, New York. Rev. Dr. George E. Stockwell, of Fort Plain, was nominated for governor on the first ballot (vote: Stockwell 232, Hudson 219). The defeated contender, Marshall A. Hudson, of Syracuse, was nominated for lieutenant governor. The convention also nominated Edgar T. Welch, of Westfield, for secretary of state; Harrison L. Hoyt, of Auburn, for comptroller; William T. Richardson, of Wellsville, for treasurer; W. F. L. Manierre, of New York City, for attorney general; and Albert W. Pierson, of Niagara Falls, for state engineer. Welch declined to run, and the Prohibition State Executive Committee met on September 23 at Syracuse and substituted James C. Crawford, of Mount Vernon, on the ticket. They also nominated Coleridge A. Hart for the Court of Appeals.

The Republican state convention met on September 14 and 15 at Convention Hall in Saratoga Springs, New York. U.S. Secretary of State Elihu Root was Temporary and Permanent Chairman. Governor Charles Evans Hughes was re-nominated on the first ballot (the other candidates were Speaker James W. Wadsworth, Jr. and John Knox Stewart). White, Gaus, O'Malley, Williams and Haight were nominated unopposed. Samuel S. Koenig defeated William O. Barnes, of Rensselaer County, for secretary of state; and Thomas B. Dunn defeated H. Homer Moore, of Queens, for treasurer.

The Democratic state convention met on September 15 and 16 at Rochester, New York. Denis O'Brien was Temporary Chairman until the choice of Alton B. Parker as Permanent Chairman. The incumbent Lt. Gov. Lewis S. Chanler was nominated for governor. The incumbents Whalen, Glynn, Hauser and Republican judge Haight were re-nominated. John Alden Dix was nominated for lieutenant governor, and George M. Palmer for attorney general; all these nominations were made by acclamation. The only contest happened at the nomination for state engineer. Philip P. Farley was nominated on the first ballot (vote: Farley 321, Leonard C. L. Smith 97).

The Independence League state convention met on September 24 at Cooper Union in New York City. James A. Allen was Temporary and Permanent Chairman. State Chairman William Randolph Hearst assailed in a speech Democrats, Republicans, and the big corporations. They nominated by acclamation Clarence J. Shearn for governor; Dr. Daniel W. Finnimore, of Potsdam, for lieutenant governor; Frank H. Stevens, a labor union man of Nassau County, for secretary of state; Willard H. Glen, a lawyer of Syracuse, for comptroller; William I. Sirovich for treasurer; Assistant Attorney General William A. De Ford for attorney general; M. J. Cafiero, of Brooklyn, for state engineer; Reuben Robie Lyon for the Court of Appeals.

Result

The Republican ticket was elected.

The incumbents Hughes and Haight were re-elected. The incumbents Whalen, Glynn and Hauser were defeated.

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

Notes

Sources

• The Dem. nominees: SKETCHES OF CANDIDATES in NYT on September 17, 1908
• Result: HUGHES'S PLURALITY 69,462 in NYT on December 16, 1908
• Court of Appeals-New York State Red Book 1909
• Result: The Tribune Almanac 1909

References

1. [https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/09/03/104753665.pdf ''STATE PROHIBITION TICKET''] in NYT on September 3, 1908
2. [https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/09/24/104758223.pdf ''Prohibitionists Fill Vacancies''] in NYT on September 24, 1908
3. [https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/09/16/104809808.pdf ''CONVENTION LIVELY AT FINAL SESSION''] in NYT on September 16, 1908
4. [https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/09/17/105011861.pdf ''CHANLER AND DIX FOR DEMOCRATS''] in NYT on September 17, 1908
5. [https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/09/25/104758594.pdf ''HEARST READS MORE LETTERS''] in NYT on September 25, 1908 (with sketches of the nominees)
6. Clarence J. Shearn, of [[New York City]], Hearst's personal attorney, former reporter for ''[[The New York Times]]'', ran with mayoral candidate Hearst on the Municipal Ownership ticket in 1905 for D.A.
7. Leander A. Armstrong, of [[Buffalo, New York. Buffalo]], ran also for lieutenant governor in 1898 and 1900
8. Gustave A. Strebel, tailor, of [[Syracuse, New York. Syracuse]], ran also for lieutenant governor in 1906, 1910 and 1912; and for governor in 1914
9. Frank E. Passanno, of [[Troy, New York. Troy]], ran also for attorney general in 1904; for lieutenant governor in 1906; and for governor in 1914
10. Matthew Lechner, ran also in 1906
11. Joel Moses, ran also for treasurer in 1902
12. George M. Palmer, of [[Schoharie County, New York. Schoharie County]], Minority Leader of the [[New York State Assembly]] 1902-08
13. William A. DeFord, Assistant Attorney General, of [[Albany, New York. Albany]], ran also in 1916
14. Henry L. Slobodin, of [[New York City]], ran also for attorney general in 1906, 1910 and 1912; and for chief judge in 1913
15. John Hall, ran also for governor in 1912; attorney general in 1914; and Secretary of State in 1916
16. Philip P. Farley (b. ca. 1870), of [[Brooklyn]], nephew of Archbishop [[John Murphy Farley]], Assistant Engineer of [[Atlantic City, New Jersey. Atlantic City]] 1896-99, Superintendent of Standard Oil plant in [[Bayonne, New Jersey. Bayonne]]
17. Albert W. Pierson, of [[Niagara Falls, New York. Niagara Falls]], ran also for state engineer in 1898 and 1910; and for treasurer in 1922
18. Reuben Robie Lyon, lawyer, of [[Bath, New York. Bath]], ran also in 1907 and 1910
19. S. John Block, ran also for attorney general in 1916 and 1917
20. Coleridge Allen Hart (b. July 11, 1852, [[Peekskill, New York. Peekskill]]), lawyer, of [[Brooklyn]], ran also for attorney general in 1889, and for the Court of Appeals in 1907, 1914, 1916, 1917 and 1920; and for U.S. Senator in 1922