1966 New York gubernatorial election

1966 New York gubernatorial election

←  1962 November 8, 1966 1970  →

Nominee Nelson Rockefeller Frank D. O'Connor Party Republican Democratic Running mate Malcolm Wilson Howard J. Samuels Popular vote 2,690,626 2,298,363 Percentage 44.6% 38.1%   Candidate Paul L. Adams Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr. Party Conservative Liberal Running mate Kieran O'Doherty Donald S. Harrington Popular vote 510,023 507,234 Percentage 8.5% 8.4%

County results Municipality results Rockefeller:     30-40%     40-50%     50-60%     60-70%     70-80%     80-90% O'Connor:     30-40%     40-50%     50-60%     60-70% Tie:     40-50%

Governor before election Nelson Rockefeller Republican Elected Governor Nelson Rockefeller Republican

The 1966 New York gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1966 to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of New York. Incumbent Republican Nelson Rockefeller won reelection. As of 2022, this is the last time Manhattan (New York County) voted for a Republican in a statewide election.

Nominations

The four candidates from left to right; Nelson Rockefeller (Republican), Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr. (Liberal), Paul L. Adams (Conservative), and Frank D. O'Connor (Democrat).

Republican

Governor Nelson Rockefeller angered conservatives by refusing to support Republican nominee Barry Goldwater during the 1964 presidential election. Polling showed Rockefeller behind Eugene Nickerson, Frank D. O'Connor, Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr., Howard J. Samuels, or Robert F. Wagner Jr. if they were the Democratic nominee. ^[1]

Liberal

Members of the party wanted to run an independent campaign and a canvass of party units showed they wanted an independent candidate. ^[2]

The Liberal Party of New York opposed Rockefeller. Chair Donald S. Harrington viewed him as "too conservative" and Rockefeller fought with Mayor John Lindsay and U.S. Senator Jacob Javits, who the Liberals supported. ^[3]

O'Connor courted the Liberals, with him appointing Eldon R. Clingan to his staff and promising to Alex Rose that the Liberals would be equals in his campaign. However, O'Connor voted to end cross-endorsements in the state legislature and was close to bosses Charles A. Buckley and Irwin Steingut, who the Liberals opposed. Roosevelt claimed that O'Connor was secretly promised the gubernatorial nomination in exchange for withdrawing from the 1965 New York City mayoral election. President Lyndon B. Johnson and Vice President Hubert Humphrey pressured the party to support O'Connor. Adolf A. Berle, the former chair of the party, supported O'Connor, but Rose criticized Berle as "not even a member of our organization". On August 9, the Liberal Policy Committee voted unanimously to not support him. ^[4]

Roosevelt lobbied the party's leadership for their nomination for months. David Dubinsky "broke out the 20-year-old scotch" during a meeting according Roosevelt's friends. Dubinsky argued for supporting Roosevelt using polls showing him receiving at least one-fourth of the vote. Louis Stulberg and other leaders of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union opposed Roosevelt due to him not staying with the party after the 1949 election. ^[5]

Leo Koch nominated James Farmer at the party's convention. Roosevelt won the party's nomination. Murray Kempton stated that the convention was under the thumb of "comrade secretary" Ben Davidson, who chaired the convention. Harrington was selected as the lieutenant gubernatorial nominee. ^[6]

1966 New York gubernatorial Liberal Party ballot ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr.	209	82.28%
	Liberal	James Farmer	33	12.99%
	Liberal	Abstain	12	4.72%
Total votes			254	100.00%
		Did not vote	67

Conservative

Paul L. Adams, the dean of Roberts Wesleyan University, was nominated by the Conservative Party of New York State. ^[8]

Conservative Party convention results ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Paul L. Adams	239	74.92
	Conservative	Donald H. Serrell	68	21.32
	Conservative	John J. O'Leary	12	3.76
Total votes			319	100.00

Campaign

This was the last gubernatorial election to have no parties utilize electoral fusion. ^[10]

Roosevelt received the highest number of votes for any Liberal gubernatorial nominee in history. However, the Liberals received fewer votes than the Conservatives and fell from Row C to Row D. ^[11]

Contested nominations

Democratic

Democratic Party Convention results ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Frank D. O'Connor	569	80.60
	Democratic	Howard J. Samuels	137	19.41
Total votes			706	100.00

Results

New York gubernatorial election, 1966

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Nelson Rockefeller (incumbent)	2,690,626	44.61%	−8.47%
	Democratic	Frank D. O'Connor	2,298,363	38.11%	−5.86%
	Conservative	Paul L. Adams	510,023	8.46%	+6.02%
	Liberal	Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr.	507,234	8.41%	+4.23%
	Socialist Labor	Milton Herder	12,730	0.21%	+0.04%
	Socialist Workers	Judith White	12,506	0.21%	−0.13%
Majority			392,263	6.50%	−2.62%
Turnout			6,031,482
	Republican hold

References

1. Soyer 2021, p. 198-199.
2. Soyer 2021, p. 201.
3. Soyer 2021, p. 200.
4. Soyer 2021, p. 199-201.
5. Soyer 2021, p. 201-202.
6. Soyer 2021, p. 202-204.
7. Soyer 2021, p. 203.
8. Soyer 2021, p. 204.
9. "Our Campaigns - NY Governor - C Convention Race - Sep 07, 1966". www.ourcampaigns.com.
10. Benjamin & Catalano 2020, p. 165.
11. Soyer 2021, p. 206.
12. "Our Campaigns - NY Governor - D Convention Race - Sep 07, 1966". www.ourcampaigns.com.

Works cited

• Benjamin, Gerald; Catalano, Michael (2020). Beyond Donkeys and Elephants: Minor Political Parties in Contemporary American Politics. University Press of Kansas. doi:10.2307/j.ctv15tt76n. ISBN   978-0-7006-2929-9.
• Soyer, Daniel (2021). Left in the Center: The Liberal Party of New York and the Rise and Fall of American Social Democracy. Cornell University Press. ISBN   9781501759888. JSTOR   10.7591/j.ctv1hw3x50.2.