PoD: 1910 New Jersey Gubernatorial Elections

1910 New Jersey Democratic Gubernatorial Nomination ​

With the Republican party suffering from internal fractures between its progressive, reformist, and conservative wings, and the controversy of the Ballinger-Pinchot affair still lingering, the Democrats saw an opportunity to further solidify their control of the house and begin cutting into the GOP’s dominant super-majority the Senate. In New Jersey, a state that last voted for a Republican in 1892, the Democrats aimed to win both the open Senate Seat and the Governor’s mansion.

The Gubernatorial nomination process would reveal that the party was plagued by many of the same internal divisions as the Republicans. The railway magnate George Mclellan Harvey and Essex party boss James Smith Jr led a successful effort to draft Princeton University President Woodrow Wilson into the race, convincing him that with their support, the nomination was being all but handed to him on a “silver platter”. Wilson’s true political beliefs at the time were somewhat unclear, but Harvey and Smith Jr seemed to believe that his previous statements critical of Roosevelt and Bryan indicated that he was sufficiently pro-business.

Almost immediately, opposition crystallized to his campaign. Labor Unions, an important constituency for Democrats in the Northeast, were opposed to Wilson on the basis of critical comments that he had made about the Labor movement. More progressive elements of the Democratic Party, particularly the Jersey City clique of George L Record, Joseph Tumulty, and Mark Fagan, reacted to his campaign with ambivalence, suspecting he might be bought out by the party bosses. The Anti-Wilson Democrats found their champion in Frank Katzenbach, a member of the party’s progressive wing who had nearly won the general election in 1907.

Nonetheless, the Katzenbach campaign was widely seen as something of a long-shot, with most of the party’s power-brokers backing Wilson. His candidacy received a crucial late surge in support after the publication in the Trenton Times of a report detailing meetings between Wilson, George Harvey, and Smith. Now the anti-Wilson coalition had something more tangible: proof that the election was being stolen by the machine. Soon, the Jersey City progressive clique decided to offer Katzenbach more formal support, and a few regional party bosses subsequently defected from the Wilson camp. As the day of the convention approached, nobody was quite sure what might happen…

The first round saw a number of protests on behalf of Katzenbach. Smith and Harvey did their best to corral the delegates under their control, which were quite a few. However, many of them had little familiarity with Wilson and a significant number of them, moved by protests, speeches at the convention, and the disclosures in the Trenton Times, opted to vote for Katzenbach, who had run an able campaign with the assistance of the Jersey City clique.

1910 New Jersey Democratic Convention, Gubernatorial Candidate, 1st Ballot

Party	Votes	Votes	%
Democratic	Woodrow Wilson	621.5	43.92%
Democratic	Frank Katzenbach	472	33.36%
Democratic	George Sebastion Silzer	233	16.47%
Democratic	H Otto Wittpenn	81.5	5.76%
Democratic	William Harrigan	6	0.42%
Democratic	John Hinchliffe	1	0.07%
Total votes	100.00%	1,415	100.00%

The first round vote was received with great relief by the Katzenbach campaign, which feared that Wilson might win on the first ballot. It was now clear that the nomination was in the hands of Silzer, who was from the same wing of the party as Katzenbach. After some furious politicking, a deal in the dark was made which saw Silzer endorse Katzenbach in return for the inclusion of many of his delegates in his administration. Smith and Harvey were able to secure the delegates of most of the more minor candidates for Wilson with similar compromises.

1910 New Jersey Democratic Convention, Gubernatorial Candidate, 2nd Ballot

Party	Votes	Votes	%
Democratic	Frank Katzenbach	710	50.8%
Democratic	Woodrow Wilson	705	49.2%
Democratic	George Sebastion Silzer (Withdrawn)
Democratic	H Otto Wittpenn (Withdrawn)
Democratic	William Harrigan (Withdrawn)
Democratic	John Hinchliffe (Withdrawn)
Total votes	100.00%	1,415	100.00%

The second ballot saw Katzenbach narrowly secure the nomination after a small number of Wilson delegates defected. In what was seen as an unusual move, Wilson filed a motion to address the convention thereafter, both to offer a formal endorsement of Katzenbach and to address some of the “allegations” that had arisen during the campaign. Somewhat reluctantly, the party agreed.

Several hours later, Wilson, in a speech that many credited with saving his political career, came forward about the scheming he had engaged in with the party machine, but vowed that he had intended after winning the Gubernatorial race to backstab those who had funded him. Although the speech was controversial at the time, and was viewed by many as cynical and opportunistic, a wide segment of the Democratic electorate found Wilson’s candor to be refreshing. Wilson would go on to become one of Katzenbach’s most effective surrogates during the campaign, and the Democrats would win a resounding victory in the state that November.

Excerpt from Wilson’s Address to the New Jersey Democratic Party, 1912 ​

…Let me now take a moment to briefly discuss some of those allegations which have arisen in the course of this campaign, concerning the power of moneyed interests and the conspiracy to elect me to this office. I believe that addressing these charges forthrightly will be of benefit to this party as well as the people of New Jersey.

While a sense of personal honor compels me to acknowledge that there are slanders which go beyond the reach of the actual conspiracy, it is true that I had spoken with several gentlemen who had arranged to secure this candidacy for me, believing that it would suit their own interests. If I am to speak more precisely: I was told that this candidacy was being handed to me on a “silver platter”. You can only imagine my surprise today, as my campaign for this nomination has been soundly defeated. Yet surprised as I might be, I am not crestfallen: for you have shown us all that the practice of democracy is alive and well.

Let me speak candidly with you: I should not have engaged in this corrupt bargain. Though I had every intention upon entering the Governor’s Office to serve solely the people of this state, and to do my utmost to combat the interests and factions which have little interest in securing the well-being of our citizens, the poisoned chalice I had accepted has likely made it difficult for many of you to trust the veracity of my words. My hope is that in speaking freely and without pretension from my own conscience, you will recognize my sincerity and offer me the opportunity to correct the mistake I have made and contribute in some small measure to this party and to the election of Frank Katzenbach this November.