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 County results Roosevelt: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1898 New York state election was held on November 8, 1898, to elect thegovernor, thelieutenant governor, theSecretary of State, thestate comptroller, theattorney general, thestate treasurer and thestate engineer, as well as all members of theNew York State Assembly and theNew York State Senate.This election is the most recent election to feature a candidate for governor of New York who eventually became both Vice President of the United States and President of the United States after serving as Governor of New York.
TheProhibition state convention met on June 30 atSyracuse, New York, and nominated Prof John Kline, ofPenn Yan, for governor, Rev. John A. Sayles, ofEast Aurora, for lieutenant governor; Henry Wilbur, editor ofTrue Reform, ofNew York City, for secretary of state; Charles Mills, ofSodus, for comptroller; De Witt Hooker, ofSyracuse, for treasurer; Francis Stephen M. Wing, ofCanastota, for attorney general; and Albert W. Pierson, ofNiagara Falls, for state engineer.[1]
TheSocialist Labor state convention met on August 27 atRochester, New York, and nominated Benjamin Hanford for governor; Leander A. Armstrong, ofBuffalo, for lieutenant governor; Philip Jackson, ofRochester, for secretary of state; Charles H. Corregan, for attorney general; Max Forker, ofNew York City, for comptroller; Joseph Smith, ofYonkers, for treasurer; and John H. Morris ofYonkers, for state engineer.[2]
TheRepublican bossesThomas C. Platt andBenjamin B. Odell Jr., were still busy to compose a ticket on September 25, but had already agreed upon Theodore Roosevelt to head it, against the wish of GovernorFrank S. Black to be re-nominated.[3] The state convention met on September 27 atSaratoga Springs, New York.Sereno E. Payne was Temporary Chairman until the choice ofHorace White as Permanent Chairman. Theodore Roosevelt was nominated for governor on the first ballot (vote: Roosevelt 753, Black 218).[4] The other candidates were nominated by acclamation with exception of John C. Davies for Attorney General who was nominated on the first ballot (vote: Davies 741, John M. Kellogg 229).[5]
TheDemocratic state convention met on September 28 and 29 atSyracuse, New York. Frederick C. Schraub, the 1896 Lt. Gov. nominee, was Permanent Chairman. Augustus Van Wyck, the brother of the incumbent first Mayor of the consolidated City of New York, was nominated for governor on the first ballot (vote: Van Wyck 351,John B. Stanchfield 41, Robert C. Titus 39, James K. McGuire 19). The other candidates were nominated by acclamation.[6] The ticket was a compromise between the three biggest Democratic bosses:David B. Hill from upstate,Richard Croker ofTammany, andHugh McLaughlin ofBrooklyn.[7]
TheNational Democratic State Committee met on September 30 at 52, William Street, inNew York City. Chairman Robert A. Weidenmann - the only man to speak out loud against JudgeIsaac H. Maynard's nomination in 1893 - presided. They decided not to call a convention, and not to endorse any candidates.[8]
Returning fromCuba as a war hero, Theodore Roosevelt used theCitizens Union in an astute scheme to get the Republican nomination, in spite of not being a machine Republican and having in mind to uproot the Republican "spoilsmen". He approached the Citizens Union and suggested the nomination of a state ticket what was endorsed by the Citizens' Union Executive Committee with only three dissenting votes.[9] An "Independent Citizens Committee" was formed, and 6,000 signatures[10] for a petition to file a ticket were gathered, the signers believing that Roosevelt headed the ticket and that the Citizens Union backed it.
To avoid being ousted from power in an uncertain three-cornered election, the Republican bosses offered Roosevelt the nomination, and suddenly on September 24, he declined to allow his name to be used on the independent ticket. On September 30, a majority of the Citizens Union Executive Committee, led by Chairman R. Fulton Cutting, rejected the idea of a state ticket as "not only inconsistent with, but actually opposed to the fundamental principles and objects of the Citizens' Union,"[11] The Independent Citizens Committee answered next day and declared that nominations will be made.[12]
The petition to file the independent ticket was taken to the Secretary of State's office on October 12 purporting to represent nominations by the Citizens Union. The Secretary of State reserved his decision if the ticket would be filed or not. On this ticket were Theodore Roosevelt - already nominated by the Republicans state convention in September - for governor; Thomas M. Osborne for lieutenant governor; Oren E. Wilson,Mayor of Albany 1894–1895, for secretary of state; Thomas E. Kinney, Mayor ofUtica, for comptroller; Edmund H. Titchener, ofBinghamton, for treasurer; Frederick W. Hinrichs, the Gold Democrats nominee for lieutenant governor in 1896, for attorney general; and George E. Waring Jr., ofNew York City, for state engineer. Roosevelt immediately sent a letter of declination to the Secretary of State. Besides, Republican party officials protested against the petition.[13] The Independent Citizens' Committee on Vacancies substituted Theodore Bacon, a lawyer ofRochester, on the ticket,[14] and Citizens Union Chairman R. Fulton Cutting, despite his earlier rejection of the state ticket idea per se, campaigned for the ticket.[15]
The whole Republican ticket was elected in a tight race.
The incumbent Woodruff was re-elected.
The Republican, Democratic, Prohibition and Socialist Labor parties maintained automatic ballot status (necessary 10,000).
| Office | Republican ticket | Democratic ticket | Socialist Labor ticket | Prohibition ticket | Independent Citizens' ticket | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Theodore Roosevelt | 661,707 | Augustus Van Wyck | 643,921 | Benjamin Hanford | 23,860 | John Kline | 18,383 | Theodore Bacon | 2,103 |
| Lieutenant Governor | Timothy L. Woodruff | 653,879 | Elliott Danforth | 644,218 | Leander A. Armstrong[16] | 24,601 | John A. Sayles | 19,879 | Thomas M. Osborne | 3,800 |
| Secretary of State | John T. McDonough | 656,000 | George W. Batten | 640,161 | Philip Jackson[17] | 20,091 | Henry Wilbur | 20,538 | Oren E. Wilson | 2,932 |
| Comptroller | William J. Morgan | 653,862 | Edward S. Atwater[18] | 642,898 | Max Forker | 24,912 | Charles Mills | 20,189 | Thomas E. Kinney | 2,900 |
| Attorney General | John C. Davies | 654,167 | Thomas F. Conway | 641,691 | Charles H. Corregan | 25,346 | Stephen Mead Wing | 20,116 | Frederick W. Hinrichs[19] | 3,112 |
| Treasurer | John P. Jaeckel | 652,851 | Elliott B. Norris[20] | 644,193 | Joseph Smith | 24,875 | De Witt Hooker | 20,261 | Edmund H. Titchener | 2,621 |
| State Engineer | Edward A. Bond | 653,114 | Martin Schenck | 643,432 | John H. Morris | 25,858 | Albert W. Pierson | 20,227 | George E. Waring Jr. | 2,231 |
New York gubernatorial elections
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