1918 New York gubernatorial election

1918 New York gubernatorial election

←  1916 November 5, 1918 1920  →

Nominee Al Smith Charles S. Whitman Charles W. Ervin Party Democratic Republican Socialist Popular vote 1,009,936 995,094 121,705 Percentage 47.36% 46.66% 5.71%

County results Smith:     40-50%     50-60%     60-70%     70-80% Whitman:     50-60%     60-70%     70-80%

Governor before election Charles S. Whitman Republican Elected Governor Al Smith Democratic

The 1918 New York gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1918, to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of New York, concurrently with elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

Al Smith, president of the New York City aldermen, was elected to the first of his four two-year terms as governor.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Charles S. Whitman, incumbent governor
• Merton E. Lewis, incumbent attorney general

Results

New York gubernatorial Republican primary, 1918 ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Charles S. Whitman (incumbent)	295,471	71.31%
	Republican	Merton E. Lewis	118,879	28.69%
Total votes			414,350	100%

Democratic primary

Candidates

• William C. Osborn, former chair of the New York Democratic Party
• Al Smith, President of the New York City Board of Aldermen

Declined

• Franklin D. Roosevelt, Assistant Secretary of the Navy

Campaign

Following his failed candidacy for U.S. Senate in 1914, Franklin D. Roosevelt reconciled with Tammany Hall. He delivered the keynote address at the society's 1917 Fourth of July celebration, and Tammany stalwarts John M. Riehle, William Kelley, Thomas J. McManus, and up-and-comer Jimmy Walker endorsed him as a potential candidate for governor in 1918. President Woodrow Wilson also privately urged Roosevelt to consider a campaign. However, he refused, believing that the ongoing Great War would continue through the election and that 1918 would be a Republican year. ^[2]

Roosevelt instead endorsed William Church Osborn, ^[3] though he would later claim to have engineered Smith's nomination himself. ^[4]

Results

New York gubernatorial Democratic primary, 1918 ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Al Smith	199,752	85.91%
	Democratic	William C. Osborn	32,761	14.09%
Total votes			232,513	100%

General election

Candidates

• Charles W. Ervin (Socialist)
• Olive M. Johnson, newspaper editor and political activist (Socialist Labor)
• Al Smith, President of the New York City Board of Aldermen (Democratic)
• Charles S. Whitman, incumbent governor (Republican)

Results

1918 New York gubernatorial election ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Al Smith	1,009,936	47.36%
	Republican	Charles S. Whitman (incumbent)	995,094	46.66%
	Socialist	Charles W. Ervin	121,705	5.71%
	Socialist Labor	Olive M. Johnson	5,183	0.24%
	Write-in	All others	530	0.02%
Total votes			2,132,448	100.00%

References

1. "New York gubernatorial Republican primary, 1918".
2. Smith 2007, p. 146.
3. "WILLIAM C. OSBORN, CIVIC LEADER, DEAD; Ex-President of Metropolitan Museum of Art Also Headed Children's Aid Society LAWYER HERE FOR 61 YEARS Was a Founder of the Citizens Budget Commission in 1932 --Served With Railroads" (PDF). The New York Times . January 4, 1951. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
4. Smith 2007, p. 148.
5. "New York gubernatorial Democratic primary, 1918".
6. "1918 New York Gubernatorial Election Results".

Bibliography

• Smith, Jean Edward (2007). FDR . Random House. ISBN   978-1-4000-6121-1.