1946 United States Senate election in New York

1946 United States Senate election in New York

←  1940 November 5, 1946 1952  →

Nominee Irving Ives Herbert Lehman Party Republican Democratic Alliance Liberal American Labor Popular vote 2,559,365 2,308,112 Percentage 52.58% 47.42%

County results Ives:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Lehman:     50–60%     60–70%

U.S. senator before election James M. Mead Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Irving M. Ives Republican

The 1946 United States Senate election in New York was held on November 5, 1946.

Democratic nomination

Candidates

• Herbert H. Lehman, former governor of New York

Declined

• James M. Mead, incumbent senator (running for governor)

Convention

The Democratic state convention met on September 4 at Albany. Former Governor Herbert H. Lehman was the only candidate nominated. His name was placed into nomination by Jeremiah T. Mahoney and seconded by former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. ^[1]

Republican nomination

Candidates

• William J. Donovan, retired U.S. Army Major General, former Director of the Office of Strategic Services (1942–45) and nominee for Governor in 1932
• Irving M. Ives, Majority Leader of the New York State Assembly

Convention

The Republican state convention met on September 4 at Saratoga Springs, New York. Assembly Majority Leader Irving M. Ives was nominated unanimously after General Donovan, facing overwhelming defeat, withdrew that morning and pledged his support to the Republican ticket. ^[2]

General election

Candidates

• Irving M. Ives, Assemblyman from Chenango County and Assembly Majority Leader (Republican)
• Herbert H. Lehman, former Governor of New York (Democratic, American Labor, and Liberal)

The Liberal Party of New York nominated Lehmann by gathering 51,015 signatures and filed a petition to nominate candidates with the Secretary of State on September 2. ^[3] The American Labor state convention met on September 3 and endorsed Lehman. ^[4]

Disqualified

• Eric Hass (Industrial Government)

The Socialist Labor state convention met on April 7 and nominated Eric Hass for the U.S. Senate. ^[5] The party filed a petition to nominate its candidates under the name "Industrial Government Party." 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. ^[6]

Results

The whole Republican ticket was elected in a landslide.

General election results ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Irving M. Ives	2,559,365	52.58%	5.92
	Total	Herbert Lehman	2,308,112	47.42%
	Democratic	Herbert Lehman	1,688,887	34.70%
	American Labor	Herbert Lehman	435,846	8.95%
	Liberal	Herbert Lehman	183,379	3.77%
Total votes			4,867,477	100.00%
	Republican gain from Democratic

Obs.:

• "Blank, void and scattering" votes: 178,694

References

1. "Dewey is assailed; ...Mead spurns any red aid" . The New York Times . September 5, 1946.
2. "ALBANY 'TEAM' KEPT" . The New York Times . September 5, 1946.
3. "LIBERALS TO FILE PETITIONS TODAY" . The New York Times . September 2, 1946.
4. "DEMOCRATIC DEAL IRKS LABOR PARTY" . The New York Times . September 4, 1946.
5. "Socialist Labor Party Ticket" . The New York Times . April 8, 1946.
6. "MINOR PARTIES RULED OFF BALLOT IN STATE" . The New York Times . October 26, 1946.
7. "Our Campaigns - NY US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1946". OurCampaigns. Retrieved August 18, 2019.