1949 United States Senate special election in New York

1949 United States Senate special election in New York

← 1944 November 8, 1949 1950 →

Nominee Herbert H. Lehman John Foster Dulles Party Democratic Republican Alliance Liberal Popular vote 2,582,438 2,384,381 Percentage 51.99% 48.01%

County results Lehman:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Dulles:      50-60%      60-70%      70–80%      >90%

Senator before election John Foster Dulles Republican Elected Senator Herbert H. Lehman Democratic

Elections in New York State
Federal government Presidential elections 1792 1796 1800 1804 1808 1812 1816 1820 1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 Dem 2004 Dem 2008 Dem GOP 2012 2016 Dem GOP 2020 Dem 2024 Dem GOP U.S. Senate 1789 1791 1795 1796 sp 1797 Jan 1798 sp Aug 1798 sp Apr 1800 sp Nov 1800 sp 1801 1802 sp 1803 Feb 1804 sp Nov 1804 sp 1807 1809 1813 1815 1819–20 1821 1825–26 1827 1829 sp 1831 1833 1833 sp 1837 1839–40 1843 1845 sp 1849 1851 1855 1857 1861 1863 1867 1869 1873 1875 1879 1881 1881 sp 1885 1887 1891 1893 1897 1899 1903 1905 1909 1911 1914 1916 1920 1922 1926 1928 1932 1934 1938 1938 sp 1940 1944 1946 1949 sp 1950 1952 1956 1958 1962 1964 1968 1970 1974 1976 1980 1982 1986 1988 1992 1994 1998 2000 2004 2006 2010 2010 sp 2012 2016 2018 2022 2024 U.S. House 1789 1790 1791 1st sp 1793 1794 1796 1798 1799 1st sp 1800 1801 5th sp 1801 6th sp 1802 1803 6th sp 1803 7th sp 1804 1st sp 2nd and 3rd sp 1805 2nd and 3rd sp 1806 1808 12th sp 1810 2nd sp 1812 6th sp 1813 15th sp 1813 2nd sp 1814 1815 6th sp 1815 12th sp 1816 20th sp 21st sp 1817 4th sp 1818 1821 6th sp 1821 9th sp 1822 1823 28th sp 1824 1826 1827 29th sp 1828 5th sp 1830 6th sp 20th sp 1832 1834 1836 17th sp 30th sp 1838 1840 1841 26th May sp 26th Nov sp 1842 1844 1846 12th sp 1848 1850 1852 1854 12th sp 1856 1858 1859 4th sp 1860 31st sp 1862 1863 14th sp 1864 1866 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1879 12th sp 1880 32nd sp 1881 9th sp 11th sp 22nd sp 1881 27th sp 1882 1884 1885 8th sp 1886 15th sp 1888 1889 6th sp 9th sp 27th sp 1890 1891 2nd sp 10th sp 1891 12th sp 22nd sp 1892 1894 14th sp 15th sp 1895 10th sp 1896 1897 3rd sp 1898 1899 34th sp 1900 1902 26th sp 1904 12th sp 1906 8th sp 1908 3rd sp 1910 1912 26th sp 1913 13th sp 20th sp 1914 1915 31st sp 1916 1917 15th sp 1918 7th sp 8th sp 21st sp 22nd sp 1920 14th sp 26th sp 1922 1923 11th sp 16th sp 19th sp 24th sp 32nd sp 1924 1926 1927 35th sp 1928 32nd sp 1929 21st sp 1930 18th sp 1931 7th sp 9th sp 1932 1933 34th sp 1934 1935 2nd sp 22nd sp 1936 1937 27th sp 17th sp 25th sp 1938 1939 34th sp 1940 14th sp 22nd sp 31st sp 1941 14th sp 17th sp 1942 1944 4th sp 11th sp 21st sp 1946 19th sp 1947 14th sp 1948 24th sp 1949 7th sp 10th sp 20th sp 1950 1952 5th sp 32nd sp 1954 1956 22nd sp 1958 1959 43rd sp 1960 23rd sp 1962 6th sp 1964 1966 17th sp 1968 13th sp 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 18th sp 21st sp 1980 1982 1983 7th sp 1984 1986 6th sp 1988 1990 14th sp 18th sp 1992 17th sp 1994 1996 1997 13th sp 1998 6th sp 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2009 20th sp 23rd sp 2010 29th sp 2011 9th sp 26th sp 2012 2014 2015 11th sp 2016 2018 14th 25th sp 2020 22nd 27th sp 2022 19th sp 23rd sp 2024 3rd sp 26th sp 2025 21st sp
State government New York gubernatorial elections 1777 1780 1783 1786 1789 1792 1795 1798 1801 1804 1807 1810 1813 1816 1817 1820 1822 1824 1826 1828 1830 1832 1834 1836 1838 1840 1842 1844 1846 1848 1850 1852 1854 1856 1858 1860 1862 1864 1866 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1879 1882 1885 1888 1891 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1942 1946 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 Attorney General elections 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 State Comptroller elections 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 State Senate elections 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 State Assembly elections 99th district, 2006 2008 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 State elections by year 1811-LtGSE 1844 1846 1847-JSE 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1870–JSE 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1900 1902 1903 1904 1906 1907 1908 1910 1912 1913 1914 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1926 1927 1928 1930 1932 1933 1934 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1942 1943 1944 1946 1949 1950 1952 1953 1954 1956 1958 1959 1960 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1972 1973 1974 2002 2006 2008 2009 2010 2012 2016 2018 2020 2021 2022 2024
New York City Mayoral elections Pre-consolidation: 1886 Post-consolidation: 1917 1921 1925 1929 1932 1933 1937 1941 1945 1950 1953 1957 1961 1965 1969 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 2021 2025 City Council elections Pre-consolidation: 1808 Post-consolidation: 1897 1899 1901 1903 1905 1907 1909 1911 1913 1915 1917 1919 1921 1923 1925 1927 1929 1931 1933 1935 1937 1939 1941 1943 1945 1949 1953 1957 1961 1965 1969 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 2021 2023 Public Advocate elections 1897 1901 1905 1909 1913 1917 1921 1925 1929 1933 1937 1941 1945 1949 1953 1957 1961 1965 1969 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 2019 (special) 2019 2021 Comptroller elections 1897 1901 1905 1909 1913 1917 1921 1925 1929 1933 1937 1941 1945 1949 1953 1957 1961 1965 1969 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 2021 2025 Borough president elections 1897 1901 1905 1909 1913 1917 1921 1925 1929 1933 1937 1941 1945 1949 1953 1957 1961 1965 1969 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 2021 2025 The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Staten Island
Albany Mayoral elections 2005 2009 2013 2017 2021
Buffalo Mayoral elections 1881 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 2021
Rochester Mayoral elections 1997 2001 2005 2009 2011 sp 2013 2017 2021
Syracuse Mayoral elections 2009 2013 2017 2021
v t e

The United States Senate special election of 1949 in New York was held on November 8, 1949. On June 28, 1949, incumbent senator Robert F. Wagner resigned due to ill health. On July 7, John Foster Dulles was appointed by Governor Thomas Dewey to fill the vacancy temporarily.^[1]

The Republican State Committee nominated Dulles to succeed himself. The Democratic State Committee nominated former Governor Herbert H. Lehman. The Liberal Party endorsed Lehman. The American Labor Party made no nominations and urged its members not to vote for any candidate. The Democratic/Liberal ticket was elected and Dulles was defeated.^[2]

Longtime incumbent Senator Robert F. Wagner resigned effective June 29, 1949, citing ill health. Governor Thomas E. Dewey appointed John 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 scheduled state election.

Alex Rose, David Dubinsky, Adolf A. Berle, Americans for Democratic Action, and the International Ladies Garment Workers Union pushed for Herbert H. Lehman to seek the Democratic nomination.^[3]

• 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 the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration and for accepting the support of the American Labor Party in previous elections. He also incorrectly claimed that the ALP also nominated Lehman.^[4]

Vito Marcantonio sought to have Henry A. Wallace run as the American Labor Party's nominee, which would have aided Marcantonio in the concurrent New York City mayoral election, but Wallace declined.^[5]

The number of votes Lehman received on the Liberal line was greater than his margin of victory.^[6]

• Schmidt, Karl (1960). Henry A. Wallace: Quixotic Crusade 1948. Syracuse University Press.
• 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. JSTOR 23645398.