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 County results Lehman: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Dulles: 50-60% 60-70% 70–80% >90% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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TheUnited States Senate special election of 1949 in New York was held on November 8, 1949. On June 28, 1949, incumbent senatorRobert F. Wagner resigned due to ill health. On July 7,John Foster Dulles was appointed by GovernorThomas Dewey to fill the vacancy temporarily.[1]
TheRepublican State Committee nominated Dulles to succeed himself. TheDemocratic State Committee nominated former GovernorHerbert H. Lehman. TheLiberal Party endorsed Lehman. TheAmerican Labor Party made no nominations and urged its members not to vote for any candidate. The Democratic/Liberal ticket was elected and Dulles was defeated.[2]
Longtime incumbent SenatorRobert F. Wagner resigned effective June 29, 1949, citing ill health. GovernorThomas E. Dewey appointedJohn Foster Dulles, his foreign policy advisor, to fill the vacant seat until a successor could be duly elected, and a special election to complete Wagner's term in office was scheduled for November 8, 1949, to coincide with the regularly scheduledstate election.
Alex Rose,David Dubinsky,Adolf A. Berle,Americans for Democratic Action, and theInternational Ladies Garment Workers Union pushed forHerbert H. Lehman to seek the Democratic nomination.[3]
Dulles accused Lehman of working with communists while leading theUnited Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration and for accepting the support of theAmerican Labor Party in previous elections. He also incorrectly claimed that the ALP also nominated Lehman.[4]
Vito Marcantonio sought to haveHenry A. Wallace run as theAmerican Labor Party's nominee, which would have aided Marcantonio in the concurrentNew York City mayoral election, but Wallace declined.[5]
The number of votes Lehman received on the Liberal line was greater than his margin of victory.[6]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Herbert H. Lehman | 2,155,763 | 43.40% | |
| Liberal | Herbert H. Lehman | 426,675 | 8.59% | |
| Total | Herbert H. Lehman | 2,582,438 | 51.99% | |
| Republican | John Foster Dulles (incumbent) | 2,384,381 | 48.01% | |
| Total votes | 4,966,819 | 100.00% | ||
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