1949 United States Senate special election in New York
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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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| Elections in New York State |
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TheUnited States Senate special election of 1949 in New Yorkwas held on November 8, 1949. On June 28, 1949, incumbent senatorRobert F. Wagnerresigned due to ill health. On July 7,John Foster Dulleswas appointed by GovernorThomas Deweyto fill the vacancy temporarily.[1]
TheRepublicanState Committee nominated Dulles to succeed himself. TheDemocraticState Committee nominated former GovernorHerbert H. Lehman.TheLiberal Partyendorsed Lehman. TheAmerican Labor Partymade no nominations and urged its members not to vote for any candidate. The Democratic/Liberal ticket was elected and Dulles was defeated.[2]
Background[edit]
Longtime incumbent SenatorRobert F. Wagnerresigned effective June 29, 1949, citing ill health. GovernorThomas E. DeweyappointedJohn 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.
Democratic[edit]
Alex Rose,David Dubinsky,Adolf A. Berle,Americans for Democratic Action,and theInternational Ladies Garment Workers Unionpushed forHerbert H. Lehmanto seek the Democratic nomination.[3]
General election[edit]
- Herbert H. Lehman,former Governor of New York (Democratic and Liberal)
- John Foster Dulles,incumbent Senator (appointed by Governor Dewey) and diplomat (Republican)
Dulles accused Lehman of working with communists while leading theUnited Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administrationand for accepting the support of theAmerican Labor Partyin previous elections. He also incorrectly claimed that the ALP also nominated Lehman.[4]
Results[edit]
The number of votes Lehman received on the Liberal line was greater than his margin of victory.[5]
| 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% | ||
References[edit]
- ^"Dulles Appointed Senator".The New York Times.July 8, 1949.
- ^"THE OFFICIAL COUNT: LEHMAN BY 198,057".The New York Times.December 15, 1949.
- ^Soyer 2012,p. 174.
- ^Soyer 2012,p. 175.
- ^Soyer 2012,p. 176.
- ^"NY US Senate Special".Our Campaigns.RetrievedMarch 11,2020.
Works cited[edit]
- Soyer, Daniel (2012)."'Support the Fair Deal in the Nation; Abolish the Raw Deal in the City': The Liberal Party in 1949 ".New York History.93(2).Cornell University Press:147–81.doi:10.2307/23645398.JSTOR23645398.