1937 New York City mayoral election
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The 1937 New York City mayoral election took place on November 2, 1937, in New York City. Incumbent Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, the Republican candidate, was reelected with 60.09% of the vote, defeating the Democratic candidate Jeremiah T. Mahoney, a lawyer and former New York Supreme Court justice, as well as other, third-party candidates.[1] La Guardia was also the nominee of the American Labor Party, and additionally ran on the City Fusion and Independent Progressive ballot lines, while Mahoney ran on the Trade Union and Anti-Communist party lines.[2]
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November 2, 1937
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 Borough results LaGuardia: 50â60% 60â70% | |||||||||||||||||||
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Primaries were held on Thursday, September 16. U.S. Senator Royal S. Copeland ran in both the Republican and Democratic primaries as a critic of the New Deal with the support of Tammany Hall, but lost both to New Deal supporters La Guardia and Mahoney, respectively.
This is to date the last time a Republican mayoral candidate carried all five city boroughs.
Republican primary
Candidates
- Royal S. Copeland, United States Senator from New York since 1923 (also running as Democrat)
- Fiorello La Guardia, incumbent mayor since 1934
Withdrew
- Thomas J. Curran, Minorty Leader of the Board of Aldermen[3]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Fiorello La Guardia (incumbent) | 81,667 | 63.54% | |
| Democratic | Royal S. Copeland | 46,853 | 36.46% | |
| Total votes | 128,520 | 100.00% | ||
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Royal S. Copeland, United States Senator from New York since 1923 (also running as Republican)
- Jeremiah T. Mahoney, president of the Amateur Athletic Union and former New York Supreme Court judge
- Fiorello La Guardia, incumbent Republican mayor since 1934 (write-in)
Withdrew
- Samuel Levy, Manhattan Borough President[5] (endorsed Copeland, ran for City Council President)
- Grover A. Whalen, president of the New York World's Fair Corporation and former New York City Police Commissioner[5] (endorsed Mahoney[6])
Declined
- John P. O'Brien, former mayor[3]
- Jimmy Walker, former mayor[3]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jeremiah T. Mahoney | 417,980 | 58.14% | |
| Democratic | Royal S. Copeland | 243,880 | 33.92% | |
| Republican | Fiorello La Guardia (inc., write-in) | 57,092 | 7.94% | |
| Total votes | 718,952 | 100.00% | ||
General election
Candidates
- Fiorello La Guardia, incumbent mayor since 1934 (Republican, City Fusion, American Labor and Independent Progressive)
- Jeremiah T. Mahoney, president of the Amateur Athletic Union and former New York Supreme Court judge (Democratic, Anti-Communist and Trade Union)
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Fiorello La Guardia (incumbent) | 672,823 | 30.12% |  9.45 | |
| American Labor | Fiorello La Guardia (incumbent) | 482,459 | 21.60% | N/A | |
| City Fusion | Fiorello La Guardia (incumbent) | 159,895 | 7.16% |  12.44 | |
| Ind. Progressive | Fiorello La Guardia (incumbent) | 28,839 | 1.27% | N/A | |
| Total | Fiorello La Guardia (incumbent) | 1,344,016 | 60.17% | 19.79 | |
| Democratic | Jeremiah T. Mahoney | 875,942 | 39.22% | 12.95 | |
| Trades Union | Jeremiah T. Mahoney | 7,163 | 0.32% | N/A | |
| Anti-Communist | Jeremiah T. Mahoney | 6,486 | 0.29% | N/A | |
| Total | Jeremiah T. Mahoney | 889,591 | 39.83% | N/A | |
| Total votes | 2,233,607 | 100.00% | |||