1929 New York City mayoral election explained

Election Name:1929 New York City mayoral election
Country:New York City
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:1925 New York City mayoral election
Previous Year:1925
Next Election:1932 New York City special mayoral election
Next Year:1932
Election Date:November 5, 1929
Image1:James Walker NYWTS crop.jpg
Nominee1:Jimmy Walker
Party1:Democratic Party (US)
Popular Vote1:867,522
Percentage1:60.70%
Nominee2:Fiorello H. La Guardia
Party2:Republican Party (US)
Popular Vote2:367,675
Percentage2:25.73%
Image3:Norman Thomas 1937.jpg
Nominee3:Norman Thomas
Party3:Socialist Party of America
Popular Vote3:175,697
Percentage3:12.29%
Mayor
Before Election:Jimmy Walker
Before Party:Democratic Party (US)
After Election:Jimmy Walker
After Party:Democratic Party (US)
Map Alt:A map of Assembly districts by their vote in the 1929 New York City mayoral election. All voted for Walker to varying degrees.

The 1929 New York City mayoral election was held on November 5 in concert with other municipal elections.[1] Democratic incumbent Jimmy Walker defeated Republican challenger Fiorello H. La Guardia in what was considered "a Crushing Defeat to [the] City G.O.P. [delivered]" by Tammany Hall.[2] Socialist candidate Norman Thomas also ran, as did Socialist Labor candidate Olive M. Johnson and former Police Commissioner Richard Edward Enright for the Square Deal Party.

Republican primary

Candidates

La Guardia gave his acceptance speech at the Mecca Temple.[3]

Results

General election

Results

Walker won with a plurality of 497,165 votes, which had been the largest ever recorded for a mayoral candidate up to that time,[2] and won the absolute majority of votes in all five boroughs. The results were part of a larger Democratic landslide in which Democrats won the position of President of the Board of Aldermen, Comptroller, all positions in Brooklyn, and all Borough Presidencies except Queens, and gained 2 seats in the Assembly and 3 in the Board of Aldermen from Republicans.[2] Thomas's results were the highest recorded by the Socialist party to that date.[2]

Aftermath

Despite his success, Walker would be embroiled in scandal in 1932 and forced to resign.[4]

Works cited

Notes and References

  1. McGoldrick. Joseph. 1930. The New York City Election of 1929. American Political Science Review. en. 24. 3. 688–690. 10.2307/1946937. 1946937 . 146912519 . 0003-0554.
  2. News: 497,165 plurality hailed by Walker as a vindication . subscription. January 24, 2020 . The Brooklyn Daily Eagle . 89 . 308 . 1 . November 6, 1929 . Newspapers.com.
  3. Book: Mann, Arthur . 1965 . La Guardia Comes To Power 1933 . J. B. Lippincott & Co..
  4. News: Emery . Frank . Rose to Power On Chessboard of Tiger Chiefs . 24 January 2020 . The Brooklyn Daily Eagle . 91 . 244 . 6 . September 2, 1932 . Newspapers.com.