The1895 New York state election was held on November 5, 1895, to elect theSecretary of State, theState Comptroller, theAttorney General, theState Treasurer, theState Engineer and a judge of theNew York Court of Appeals, as well as all members of theNew York State Assembly and theNew York State Senate. Besides, the voters were asked if they approved of the State's issuing bonds for $9,000,000.00 to spend on canal improvements, which the electorate answered in the affirmative.
TheSocialist Labor state convention met on July 6 atTroy, New York, and nominated Erasmus Pellenz, ofSyracuse, for Secretary of State; Patrick Murphy, ofNew York City, for Comptroller; William F. Steer, ofAlbany, for Treasurer; Morris Berman, ofMonroe County, for State Engineer; John H. Moore, ofStaten Island, for Attorney General; and Henry Gray, ofWestchester County, for the Court of Appeals.[1]
TheRepublican state convention met on September 17 atSaratoga Springs, New York. The incumbent state officers, elected in 1893, were re-nominated, and Celora E. Martin was nominated for the Court of Appeals.[2]
TheDemocratic state convention met on September 24 and 25 atSyracuse, New York.Perry Belmont was Tempoarary Chairman until the choice of Ex-GovernorRoswell P. Flower (in office 1892–1894) as Permanent Chairman.[3] John D. Teller for the Court of Appeals, and Horatio C. King for Secretary of State, were nominated by acclamation. John B. Judson was nominated for Comptroller on the first ballot (vote: Judson 311, John E. Ashe 99). Norton Chase for Attorney General, and De Witt C. Dow for Treasurer, were nominated by acclamation. Russell R. Stuart was nominated for State Engineer during the first ballot.[4]
Lawrence J. McParlin was nominated by thePeople's Party for Attorney General, but declined to run. He ran instead forSurrogate ofNiagara County.[5]
The whole Republican ticket was elected. This was one of the very rare occasions when all incumbent state cabinet officers were re-nominated and re-elected.
The incumbents Palmer, Roberts, Hancock, Colvin and Adams were re-elected.
| Office | Republican ticket | Democratic ticket | Prohibition ticket | Socialist Labor ticket | People's ticket | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Secretary of State | John Palmer | 601,205 | Horatio C. King | 511,060 | William W. Smith[6] | 25,239 | Erasmus Pellenz | 21,497 | Thaddeus B. Wakeman[7] | 6,916 |
| Comptroller | James A. Roberts | 603,125 | John B. Judson[8] | 508,832 | Frederick B. Devendorf | 24,857 | Patrick Murphy | 21,504 | David Rousseau | 6,740 |
| Attorney General | Theodore E. Hancock | 603,358 | Norton Chase | 508,600 | Elias Root[9] | 31,416 | John H. Moore | 21,212 | (none) | |
| Treasurer | Addison B. Colvin | 601,418 | De Witt C. Dow[10] | 510,165 | William R. Rathbun | 24,906 | William F. Steer[11] | 21,220 | Herbert L. Case | 6,666 |
| State Engineer | Campbell W. Adams | 598,676 | Russell R. Stuart[12] | 512,735 | Walter A. Miles | 24,862 | Morris Berman | 21,397 | Elias H. Borden | 6,747 |
| Judge of the Court of Appeals | Celora E. Martin | 600,925 | John D. Teller[13] | 510,005 | Edwin C. English[14] | 24,794 | Henry Gray | 21,346 | Charles Ward | 6,863 |
Obs.: "Defective, blank and scattering" votes: 19,618 (Comptroller); 19,536 (Secretary)
Due to the adoption of the new State Constitution in 1894, the state officers and state senators were elected for an exceptional three-year term to serve 1896 to 1898, so that from 1898 on the Governor, the state officers and the state senators would be elected at the same time and serve concurrently a two-year term. Thus, this was the last regular election of state officers in an odd-numbered year. Until 1938, in odd-numbered years only the members of theNew York State Assembly (which continued to serve a one-year term) were elected, and vacancies were filled, including the judgeships of theNew York Court of Appeals which did not occur regularly but depended on the birth year of the incumbents (if age-limited), the year when elected (if the term expired), deaths in office, or resignations.
