Governor of New York
In 1938, Edwin Jaeckle, the New York Republican Party Chairman, selected Dewey to run, unsuccessfully, for Governor of New York against the popular Democratic incumbent, Herbert H. Lehman. Dewey was only 36 years old at the time. He based his campaign on his record as a famous prosecutor of organized-crime figures in New York City. Although he was defeated, Dewey's surprisingly strong showing against Lehman (he lost by only 1.4%) brought him national political attention and made him a frontrunner for the 1940 Republican presidential nomination. Jaeckle was one of Dewey's top advisors and mentors for the remainder of his political career.
In 1942, Dewey ran for governor again, and won with a large plurality over Democrat John J. Bennett, Jr. Bennett was not endorsed by the American Labor Party, whose candidate drew almost 10%. The ALP did endorse incumbent Lieutenant Governor Charles Poletti who lost narrowly to Dewey's running mate Thomas W. Wallace. In 1946, Dewey was re-elected by the greatest margin in state history to that point, almost 700,000 votes. Four years later, he was elected to a third term.
Usually regarded as an honest and highly effective governor, Dewey doubled state aid to education; increased salaries for state employees; and still reduced the state's debt by over $100 million. Additionally, he put through the first state law in the country that prohibited racial discrimination in employment. As governor, Dewey also signed legislation that created the State University of New York. He played a major role in the creation of the New York State Thruway, which was eventually named in his honor. Dewey also streamlined and consolidated many state agencies to make them more efficient. With Jaeckle's help, Dewey also created a powerful political organization that allowed him to dominate New York state politics and influence national politics.
He also strongly supported the death penalty. During his 12 years as Governor, over 90 people were electrocuted under New York authority. Among these were several of the mob-affiliated hitmen belonging to the murder-for-hire group Murder, Inc., which was headed up by major mob leaders Louis "Lepke" Buchalter and Albert Anastasia. Lepke himself went to the chair in 1944.
Read more about this topic: Thomas E. Dewey
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