The 1943 New York state election was held on November 2, 1943, to elect the Lieutenant Governor

Lieutenant Governor of New York

The Lieutenant Governor of New York is a constitutional office in the executive branch of the government of New York State. It is the second highest ranking official in state government. The lieutenant governor is elected on a ticket with the governor for a four year term...

 and a judge of the New York Court of Appeals

New York Court of Appeals

The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the U.S. state of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six associate judges who are appointed by the Governor to 14-year terms...

.

Background

On April 30, 1943, Edward R. Finch

Edward R. Finch

Edward Ridley Finch was an American lawyer and politician.-Life:He graduated from Yale College in 1895, and from Columbia University School of Law in 1898....

 resigned from the Court of Appeals. On May 12, Governor Thomas E. Dewey appointed Thomas D. Thacher to fill the vacancy temporarily.

On July 17, 1943, Lieutenant Governor Thomas W. Wallace

Thomas W. Wallace

Thomas W. Wallace was an American lawyer and Republican politician. Running on the ticket with Governor Thomas E. Dewey, he was elected Lieutenant Governor of New York in November 1942, but died less than seven months into his only term.-Life:Wallace was corporation counsel of Schenectady, New York...

 died, and Temporary President of the State Senate

Majority Leader of the New York State Senate

The Majority Leader of the New York State Senate is elected by the majority of the members of the New York State Senate. The position usually coincides with the title of Temporary President of the State Senate, who presides over the session of the State Senate if the Lieutenant Governor of New York...

 Joe R. Hanley became Acting Lieutenant Governor. The question arose if the vacancy should be filled and how to proceed. The wording of the 1937

New York state election, 1937

The 1937 New York state election was held on November 2, 1937, to elect a judge of the New York Court of Appeals, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly...

 amendment to the State Constitution, which had increased the terms in office of the assemblymen to two years, and of the statewide elected officers (Governor, Lt. Gov., Comptroller and Attorney General) to four years, apparently left the question in doubt. The New York Supreme Court

New York Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in thestate court system of New York, United States. There is a supreme court in each of New York State's 62 counties, although some smaller counties share judges with neighboring counties...

 at Albany

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...

 ruled on August 14 that a special election is necessary to be held. This was upheld by the Court of Appeals unanimously on August 19.

Nominations

The Republican State Committee met on August 24 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...

. They nominated Joe R. Hanley for Lieutenant Governor; and the incumbent Judge Thomas D. Thacher to succeed himself.

The Democratic State Committee met on August 24. They nominated Lt. Gen.

Lieutenant General

Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....

 William N. Haskell for Lieutenant Governor; and endorsed the incumbent Republican Judge Thomas D. Thacher for the Court of Appeals.

The American Labor

American Labor Party

The American Labor Party was a political party in the United States established in 1936 which was active almost exclusively in the state of New York. The organization was founded by labor leaders and former members of the Socialist Party who had established themselves as the Social Democratic...

 State Committee met on August 21 at the Hotel Claridge 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...

 and tentatively nominated Ex-State Comptroller Joseph V. O'Leary

Joseph V. O'Leary

Joseph V. O'Leary was an American politician.-Life:In 1938, he ran on the American Labor ticket for New York State Attorney General, but was defeated....

 (in office 1941-42) for Lieutenant Governor, and Leo J. Rosett for the Court of Appeals. The committee met again on August 25 and endorsed the Democratic nominee Haskell and the Republican and Democratic nominee Thacher.

Result

The Republican ticket was elected.

This was the last special election for Lieutenant Governor.

1943 state election result

Ticket / Office	Lieutenant Governor Lieutenant Governor of New York The Lieutenant Governor of New York is a constitutional office in the executive branch of the government of New York State. It is the second highest ranking official in state government. The lieutenant governor is elected on a ticket with the governor for a four year term...		Judge of the Court of Appeals New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the U.S. state of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six associate judges who are appointed by the Governor to 14-year terms...
Republican	Joe R. Hanley Joe R. Hanley Joseph Rhodes Hanley was an American lawyer and Republican politician who served as Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1943 to 1950.-Life:He served in the U.S. Army during the Spanish-American War...		Thomas D. Thacher Thomas D. Thacher Thomas Day Thacher was a lawyer and judge in New York City.Thacher was born in Tenafly, New Jersey and was the oldest of four children of Thomas Thacher, a prominent New York lawyer, and Sarah McCulloh Thacher...
Democratic	William N. Haskell		Thomas D. Thacher Thomas D. Thacher Thomas Day Thacher was a lawyer and judge in New York City.Thacher was born in Tenafly, New Jersey and was the oldest of four children of Thomas Thacher, a prominent New York lawyer, and Sarah McCulloh Thacher...
American Labor American Labor Party The American Labor Party was a political party in the United States established in 1936 which was active almost exclusively in the state of New York. The organization was founded by labor leaders and former members of the Socialist Party who had established themselves as the Social Democratic...	William N. Haskell		Thomas D. Thacher Thomas D. Thacher Thomas Day Thacher was a lawyer and judge in New York City.Thacher was born in Tenafly, New Jersey and was the oldest of four children of Thomas Thacher, a prominent New York lawyer, and Sarah McCulloh Thacher...

Aftermath

Governor Dewey criticized the ruling of the Court of Appeals, saying that the special election of a lieutenant governor was incompatible with the 1937 amendment. To press his view, he recommended to the New York State Legislature to amend the State Constitution again. In November 1945, an amendment was adopted which prohibited special elections for lieutenant governor saying that "no election of a lieutenant governor shall be had in any event, except at the time of electing a governor," and that "the temporary president of the senate then in office or his successor as such temporary president shall perform all the duties of lieutenant-governor...during such vacancy..."