The 1877 New York state election was held on November 6, 1877, to elect the Secretary of State

Secretary of State of New York

The Secretary of State of New York is a cabinet officer in the government of the U.S. state of New York.The current Secretary of State of New York is Cesar A...

, the State Comptroller

New York State Comptroller

The New York State Comptroller is a state cabinet officer of the U.S. state of New York. The duties of the comptroller include auditing government operations and operating the state's retirement system.-History:...

, the Attorney General, the State Treasurer

New York State Treasurer

The New York State Treasurer was a state cabinet officer in the State of New York between 1776 and 1926. During the re-organization of the state government under Governor Al Smith, the office was abolished and its responsibilities transferred to the new Department of Audit and Control headed by the...

 and the State Engineer

New York State Engineer and Surveyor

The New York State Engineer and Surveyor was a state cabinet officer in the State of New York between 1848 and 1926. During the re-organization of the state government under Governor Al Smith, the office was abolished and its responsibilities transferred to the Department of Public Works which was...

, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly

New York State Assembly

The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...

 and the New York State Senate

New York State Senate

The New York State Senate is one of two houses in the New York State Legislature and has members each elected to two-year terms. There are no limits on the number of terms one may serve...

.

History

The Republican state convention met on September 26 and 27 at Rochester, New York

Rochester, New York

Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...

. John C. Churchill for Secretary of State, Francis Sylvester for Comptroller, William L. Bostwick for Treasurer, Grenville Tremain for Attorney General, and Howard Soule, Jr., for State Engineer, were nominated unanimously without much debate. Sylvester declined to run, and on October 19, the State Committee substituted Clinton V. R. Ludington for Comptroller on the ticket.

The Working Men's state convention met at Troy, New York

Troy, New York

Troy is a city in the US State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital...

, and nominated John J. Junio, of Auburn

Auburn, New York

Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States of America. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 27,687...

, for Secretary of State; George Blair for Comptroller; Warren T. Worden for Attorney General; Samuel G. Rice for Treasurer; and Walter T. Griswold for State Engineer.

The Democratic state convention met on October 3 and 4 at Albany, New York

Albany, New York

Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...

. Clarkson N. Potter was President. Allen C. Beach was nominated for Secretary of State on the first ballot (vote: Beach 227, John Bigelow

John Bigelow

John Bigelow was an American lawyer and statesman.-Life:Born in Malden-on-Hudson, New York, John Bigelow, Sr.graduated from Union College in 1835 where he was a member of the Sigma Phi Society and the Philomathean Society, and was admitted to the bar in 1838...

 [incumbent] 144, A. B. Weaver 12). The incumbent Comptroller Frederic P. Olcott was re-nominated by acclamation. James Mackin for Treasurer and Augustus Schoonmaker, Jr., for Attorney General, And Horatio Seymour, Jr., for State Engineer were nominated after some haggling and without much voting. Summing up, John Kelly

John Kelly (U.S. politician)

John Kelly of New York City, known as "Honest John", was a boss of Tammany Hall and a U.S. Representative from New York from 1855 to 1858-Career:...

 had managed to wrest the power in the Democratic Party from the Tilden

Samuel J. Tilden

Samuel Jones Tilden was the Democratic candidate for the U.S. presidency in the disputed election of 1876, one of the most controversial American elections of the 19th century. He was the 25th Governor of New York...

-Robinson

Lucius Robinson

Lucius Robinson was an American lawyer and politician. He was the 26th Governor of New York from 1877 to 1879.-Life:...

 faction.

The Bread-Winners League's state convention met on October 10 at Albany, New York

Albany, New York

Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...

. Charles H. Truax was President. The convention nominated John J. Junio for Secretary of State, Frederic P. Olcott (Dem.) for Comptroller, Elmore Sharpe for Attorney General, Julius Kern for Treasurer and Horatio Seymour, Jr. (Dem.), for State Engineer.

The German-American Independendent Citizens' Committee met on October 12 at Beethoven Hall in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. Oswald Ottendorfer

Oswald Ottendorfer

Valentin Oswald Ottendorfer was a United States journalist associated with the development of the German-language New Yorker Staats-Zeitung into a major newspaper.-Education:...

 presided. The Committee cross-endorsed the following state ticket: Churchill (Rep.) for Secretary of State, Olcott (Dem.) for Comptroller, Bostwick (Rep.) for Treasurer, Tremain (Rep.) for Attorney General and Seymour (Dem.) for State Engineer.

Results

The whole Democratic ticket was elected.

The incumbent Olcott was re-elected.

1877 state election results

Ticket / Office	Secretary of State Secretary of State of New York The Secretary of State of New York is a cabinet officer in the government of the U.S. state of New York.The current Secretary of State of New York is Cesar A...	Comptroller New York State Comptroller The New York State Comptroller is a state cabinet officer of the U.S. state of New York. The duties of the comptroller include auditing government operations and operating the state's retirement system.-History:...	Attorney General New York State Attorney General The New York State Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of New York. The office has been in existence in some form since 1626, under the Dutch colonial government of New York.The current Attorney General is Eric Schneiderman...	Treasurer New York State Treasurer The New York State Treasurer was a state cabinet officer in the State of New York between 1776 and 1926. During the re-organization of the state government under Governor Al Smith, the office was abolished and its responsibilities transferred to the new Department of Audit and Control headed by the...	State Engineer New York State Engineer and Surveyor The New York State Engineer and Surveyor was a state cabinet officer in the State of New York between 1848 and 1926. During the re-organization of the state government under Governor Al Smith, the office was abolished and its responsibilities transferred to the Department of Public Works which was...
Democratic	Allen C. Beach Allen C. Beach Allen Carpenter Beach was an American lawyer and politician.-Life:... 383,062	Frederic P. Olcott Frederic P. Olcott Frederic Pepoon Olcott was an American banker and politician.-Life:...	Augustus Schoonmaker, Jr. Augustus Schoonmaker, Jr. Augustus Schoonmaker, Jr. was an American lawyer and Democratic politician.-Life:...	James Mackin James Mackin James Mackin was an American merchant, banker and politician.-Life:He lived at Fishkill Landing where he was a merchant and real estate agent. He was appointed Postmaster of Fishkill during the presidency of Zachary Taylor and kept the post for about four years. In July 1858, he married Sarah E....	Horatio Seymour, Jr. Horatio Seymour, Jr. Horatio Seymour, Jr. was an American civil engineer, surveyor and politician from New York.-Life:...
Republican	John C. Churchill John C. Churchill John Charles Churchill was an American lawyer and politician from New York.-Life:...   371,798	Clinton V. R. Ludington	Grenville Tremain	William L. Bostwick	Howard Soule
Working Men	John J. Junio 20,282	George Blair	Warren T. Worden	Samuel G. Rice	Walter T. Griswold
Prohibition Prohibition Party The Prohibition Party is a political party in the United States best known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages. It is the oldest existing third party in the US. The party was an integral part of the temperance movement...	Henry Hagner 7,230	Elias T. Talbot	G. Havens Gleason	Joseph W. Grosvenor	Henry D. Myers
Social Democratic	John McIntosh 1,799
Greenback United States Greenback Party The Greenback Party was an American political party with an anti-monopoly ideology that was active between 1874 and 1884. Its name referred to paper money, or "greenbacks," that had been issued during the American Civil War and afterward...	Francis E. Spinner Francis E. Spinner Francis Elias Spinner was an American politician from New York. He was Treasurer of the United States from 1861 to 1875...   997	Thomas B. Edwards	William S. Jaynes	William Doyle	Rushton Smith
German Independent	John C. Churchill John C. Churchill John Charles Churchill was an American lawyer and politician from New York.-Life:...	Frederic P. Olcott Frederic P. Olcott Frederic Pepoon Olcott was an American banker and politician.-Life:...	Grenville Tremain	William L. Bostwick	Horatio Seymour, Jr. Horatio Seymour, Jr. Horatio Seymour, Jr. was an American civil engineer, surveyor and politician from New York.-Life:...
Bread-Winners	John J. Junio	Frederic P. Olcott Frederic P. Olcott Frederic Pepoon Olcott was an American banker and politician.-Life:...	Elmore Sharpe	Julius Kern	Horatio Seymour, Jr. Horatio Seymour, Jr. Horatio Seymour, Jr. was an American civil engineer, surveyor and politician from New York.-Life:...

The numbers are the total votes on all tickets.

Sources

• The Tickets: FOR STATE OFFICERS in NYT on October 29, 1877 [has Michael F. McKiernan, William S Jaynes, and Rushton Smith on Workingmen's ticket]
• THE VOTE OF ALBANY in NYT on November 12, 1877