The 1970 United States Senate election in New York was held on November 3, 1970. U.S. representative Charles Goodell, who had been appointed to serve the remainder of Robert F. Kennedy's term following Kennedy's assassination, ran for re-election. Although he was endorsed by the Republican and Liberal parties, Goodell finished third behind James L. Buckley and Richard Ottinger. Buckley, the Conservative Party nominee, won with less than 39 percent of the vote as left-of-center vote was split between Ottinger and Goodell.
Goodwell was appointed by Governor Nelson Rockefeller in September 1968. Rockefeller scheduled the special election to complete Kennedy's term for 1970 concurrent with his own re-election campaign, despite legal efforts to force him to hold it concurrent with the 1968 presidential election. In early April 1970, Goodell was nominated for a full term by the Republican Party, and Buckley was nominated by the Conservative Party. In May, the Liberal Party nomination was given to Goodell over the four Democratic candidates in the race: U.S. representatives Richard Ottinger and Richard D. McCarthy, New York City Council president Paul O'Dwyer, and former White House counsel Ted Sorensen. Ottinger rounded out the general election field by defeating O'Dwyer in the Democratic primary on June 23.
In the general election, Goodell's opposition to President Richard Nixon and American involvement in the Vietnam War led many conservative New Yorkers to support Buckley. Buckley would serve in the Senate until his re-election bid was defeated by Daniel Patrick Moynihan in 1976.
Interim appointment In 1964, Robert F. Kennedy was elected United States senator after establishing residence in Glen Cove. He won the Democratic and Liberal nominations. In the general election, he defeated Republican incumbent Kenneth Keating. In 1968, Kennedy ran for the Democratic Party presidential nomination. After winning four primaries, Kennedy was assassinated on June 6 by Sirhan Sirhan.
As a result of the vacancy, Governor Nelson Rockefeller was entitled to appoint a replacement to fill the seat until a successor could be duly elected. John W. Gardner, John Lindsay, Burke Marshall, C. Douglas Dillon, Charles Goodell, Ogden Reid, and Whitney Young were considered candidates for the appointment. On August 11, a Rockefeller spokesman stated that the main choices for the appointment were Gardner, Goodell, and Reid. On September 10, Rockefeller appointed Goodell to fill the vacancy.
Appointment Charles Goodell, U.S. representative from Jamestown
Potential candidates not appointed C. Douglas Dillon, former U.S. secretary of the treasury John W. Gardner, former U.S. secretary of health, education and welfare John Lindsay, mayor of New York City and former U.S. representative from the Upper East Side Burke Marshall, IBM general counsel and former assistant U.S. attorney general Ogden Reid, U.S. representative from Purchase Whitney Young, executive director of the National Urban League
Scheduling On July 16, 1968, Joseph A. Valenti filed a lawsuit in the Western District Court against Governor Rockefeller, attempting to have a special election held during the 1968 election cycle, rather than the 1970 election cycle. Randolph Phillips and George Backer filed similar lawsuits in the Southern District Court on July 17, and July 19. On January 20, 1969, the Southern District Court dismissed their cases, allowing for Goodell to serve the remainder of Kennedy's term until a regular election was held in 1970.
Conservative and Independent Alliance nominations
Candidates James L. Buckley, 1968 nominee for Senate and brother of William F. Buckley Jr. Kevin P. McGovern, lawyer
Declined William F. Buckley Jr., conservative author and 1965 nominee for New York City mayor John J. Marchi, state senator from Staten Island and 1969 Republican nominee for mayor On January 28, 1970, Kevin P. McGovern announced that he would seek the Conservative Party's senatorial nomination and criticized the party's leadership for allegedly favoring state senator John J. Marchi. On April 6, James L. Buckley, the brother of conservative author William F. Buckley Jr. and the party's former senatorial nominee in 1968, announced that he would seek the nomination.
Results The Conservative State Committee convened inside Hotel McAlpin in Manhattan, New York City, on April 7, to select the party's nominees in the general election. McGovern attempted to force a primary campaign between him and Buckley, but failed to receive the 25% of delegate votes to force a primary. Buckley received nearly ninety percent of the delegate votes and the remainder was split between McGovern and abstaining delegates.
Independent Alliance Party
On June 20, 1970, F. Clifton White, James L. Buckley's campaign manager, announced that Buckley's campaign would circulate petitions in an attempt to gain another ballot line named the Independent Alliance Party. Enough valid signatures were collected to gain the additional ballot line, but Secretary of State John P. Lomenzo ruled that the Independent Alliance's emblem, an outline of New York with Buckley's name inside, was illegal as New York's election law limited the number of times that a candidate's name could appear on a ballot line to one. Lomenzo later allowed the party onto the ballot after the emblem was changed to a shield with the letter "I" inside.
Rockefeller, who was running for reelection in the gubernatorial election, and Buckley appeared in the same voting column in New York City due to the ballot design in which Rockefeller's Civil Service Independents ballot line was combined with Buckley's Independent Alliance. Although the Independent Alliance Party received over 100,000 votes in the general election, more than the 50,000 votes required to become an official party and automatic ballot access, it did not become an official party as its only candidate was Buckley, who ran in the Senate election and not in the gubernatorial election where the 50,000 votes were required to come from.
Republican nomination Candidates Charles Goodell, incumbent United States Senator and former member of United States House of Representatives from New York's 38th congressional district
Disqualified James L. Buckley, Conservative nominee in the 1968 Senate election and brother of William F. Buckley Jr.
Campaign On March 24, Charles Goodell announced his campaign for a full term in office in front of 250 people at the Park Central Hotel. Goodell criticized Richard Nixon's record on civil rights, military spending, and the Vietnam War, as well as Nixon's nomination of G. Harrold Carswell to the Supreme Court.
James L. Buckley attempted to enter the Republican senatorial primary, but was rejected by the Republican State Committee.
On April 8, the day after Buckley's nomination by the Conservatives, the Republican state committee met to select Republican nominees for multiple offices. Goodell faced no opposition, but 49 committee members, from Nassau, Suffolk, and Queens counties, chose to abstain rather than to vote for him. The entire 28-member Nassau County delegation abstained due to Goodell's lack of support for Nixon, but chose to not nominate another candidate as that could lead to primary challenges in the state legislator and accusations of not being “real Republicans”. Joseph Margiotta, the Nassau County Chairman, also stated that abstaining would not anger Governor Nelson Rockefeller, who supported Goodell.
Results
Liberal nomination Candidates Charles Goodell, interim U.S. senator since 1968 and former U.S. representatives from Jamestown (also running as Republican) Richard D. McCarthy, U.S. representative from Buffalo (also running as Democratic) Paul O'Dwyer, former New York City Council member and 1968 nominee for Senate (also running as Democratic) Richard Ottinger, U.S. representative from Pleasantville (also running as Democratic) Ted Sorensen, former White House counsel (also running as Democratic)
Campaign The Liberal Party's nomination was electorally important as due to New York's electoral fusion law the party could give its nomination, and a large percentage of the popular vote, to any other party nominee. In the 1968 Senate election incumbent Republican Senator Jacob Javits had defeated Paul O'Dwyer by over one million votes, with half of that total coming from the Liberal Party's ballot line.
On April 4, 1970, the state committee selected Timothy W. Costello to serve as the party's placeholder senatorial candidate. The committee selected placeholder candidates for multiple positions as New York law allowed for parties to replace their nominees within five weeks of selecting them. Due to the selection of Costello, who was serving as Deputy Mayor of New York City, Leon A. Katz, a member of the New York City Council, called for Mayor John Lindsay to fire Costello.
Goodell was favored by officials in the Liberal Party due to criticism levied against him by members of the Republican and Conservative state committees and his opposition to the Vietnam War. Costello also endorsed Goodell before the nomination ballot. On May 11, Goodell received the party's nomination.
Prior to the ballot voting O'Dwyer accused the party of rigging the ballot in favor of Goodell and stated that his nomination would be a betrayal to liberal voters.
Democratic nomination
Candidates Richard D. McCarthy, U.S. representative from Buffalo (withdrew April 2; re-entered race April 19) (also running as Liberal) Paul O'Dwyer, former New York City Council member and 1968 nominee for Senate (also running as Liberal) Richard Ottinger, U.S. representative from Pleasantville (also running as Liberal) Ted Sorensen, former White House counsel (also running as Liberal)
Withdrew Morris B. Abram, lawyer and former president of Brandeis University (endorsed Sorensen) Benjamin Rosenthal, U.S. representative from Queens (ran for re-election)
Declined Jonathan B. Bingham, U.S. representative from the Bronx Bill Moyers, former White House press secretary Otis G. Pike, U.S. representative from Riverhead Howard J. Samuels, administrator of the Small Business Administration and 1966 nominee for lieutenant governor Samuel S. Stratton, U.S. representative from Schenectady and 1964 candidate for Senate Adam Walinsky, former advisor to John F. Kennedy On May 12, 1969, Ted Sorensen claimed that he had been asked to run for the seat prior to Kennedy's assassination. Sorensen started to actively campaign for the nomination in October 1969. On July 12, 1969, Paul O'Dwyer, the party's 1968 nominee for Senate, announced that he would seek the nomination. O'Dwyer formally announced his campaign in New York City on December 11, and in Albany on December 12.
In 1969, state party chair John J. Burns met with congressmen Richard Ottinger, Benjamin Rosenthal, Jonathan B. Bingham, and Otis G. Pike in Washington to discuss plans to avoid a divisive primary. Richard D. McCarthy of Buffalo, who had not attended the Burns meeting, stated on January 12 that he was interested in running. On January 19, 1970, Ottinger announced that he would seek the nomination as a "unity candidate." On January 29, Rosenthal announced an exploratory bid, pledging not to enter the race if it would threaten Democratic unity. Ottinger formally announced his candidacy on February 24, and Rosenthal withdrew his exploratory efforts on March 4 to seek re-election. On February 27, McCarthy announced that he would seek the Democratic nomination.