1945 New York City mayoral election

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1945 New York City mayoral election
Flag of New York City.svg
  1941 November 6, 1945 1949  
  William O'Dwyer (cropped).jpg 3x4.svg Mosholu cornerstone laying, Newbold Morris, Chairman, Circulation Committee(-), New York Public Library Trustees (NYPL b11524053-1252888) (cropped).tiff
Candidate William O'Dwyer Jonah J. Goldstein Newbold Morris
Party Democratic Republican No Deal
Alliance American Labor Liberal
City Fusion
Popular vote1,125,355431,601408,408
Percentage56.8%21.8%20.6%

NYC Mayoral Election 1945.svg
Borough results
O'Dwyer:     50–60%     60–70%

Mayor before election

Fiorello H. La Guardia
Republican

Elected mayor

William O'Dwyer
Democratic

The 1945 New York City mayoral election took place on November 6, 1945, in New York City. The candidates were King County District Attorney William O'Dwyer, a Democrat, and Jonah J. Goldstein, a Republican judge, as well as other, third-party candidates.

Contents

O'Dwyer won the contest with 56.77% of the vote. [1]

Democratic nomination

William O'Dwyer, who had built his reputation as Brooklyn's top prosecutor on his case against Murder, Inc., ran for mayor once again. [2] In 1941, William O'Dwyer lost to incumbent Fiorello LaGuardia by over 100,000 votes. In the following years, however, he enhanced his political image by enlisting in World War II. Behind the scenes, he also cultivated ties to powerful members of Tammany Hall, which had reluctantly backed his 1941 campaign, and allegedly sought common cause with organized crime figures such as Frank Costello. [3]

With both popular and party support, O'Dwyer had no trouble gaining the Democratic nomination for a second consecutive campaign, though he bowed to pressure from U.S. Representative Vito Marcantonio and gangster Thomas Luchese to nominate Vincent Impellitteri for president of the City Council. [3]

The American Labor Party, led by Marcantonio, also nominated O'Dwyer. [4]

Republican nomination

Candidates

Declined

Morris was meant to be on the Republican slate, but he refused the nomination and attacked Goldstein as a "discarded Tammany candidate for mayor". La Guardia asked Morris to run and he announced his candidacy as the nominee of the No Deal Party on August 5. [5]

Liberal nomination

Candidates

Withdrew

Declined

  • Wendell Willkie, Republican nominee for President of the United States in 1940

Campaign

The Liberal Party of New York wanted Wendell Willkie to run for mayor and met with him in May 1944. He was interested in the idea, but died in October. The Liberals attempted to negotiate with the Democrats, but O'Dwyer had ties to the ALP. Morris, while running as a Republican, sought the party's support and the Liberals were favorable to Joseph McGoldrick. McGoldrick withdrew from the race and suggested Goldstein, who was approved. [6]

General election

Candidates

Endorsements

Jonah J. Goldstein

Newspapers

Organizations

Newbold Morris
William O'Dwyer

Federal officials

Organizations

Notable individuals

Declined to endorse

Notable individuals

Results

1945 New York City mayoral election
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic William O'Dwyer 867,42643.76%
American Labor William O'Dwyer 257,92913.01%
Total William O'Dwyer 1,125,357 56.77%
Republican Jonah J. Goldstein 301,14415.19%
Liberal Jonah J. Goldstein 122,3166.17%
City Fusion Jonah J. Goldstein 8,1410.41%
Total Jonah J. Goldstein 431,60121.77%
No Deal Newbold Morris 408,34820.60%
Socialist Joseph G. Glass9,3040.47%
Trotskyist Anti-War Farrell Dobbs 3,6560.18%
Socialist Labor Eric Hass 3,4650.17%
Workers Max Schachtman 5850.03%
Write-in 450.00%
Total votes1,982,361 100.00%

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References

  1. "Our Campaigns – New York City Mayor Race – Nov 06, 1945". OurCampaigns.org. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
  2. Allen 1993, p. 263.
  3. 1 2 Allen 1993, p. 264.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Soyer 2021, p. 48.
  5. Soyer 2021, p. 47.
  6. Soyer 2021, p. 46.

Works cited