In 1880, there was only one state officer to be elected statewide: a judge of the Court of Appeals, to succeed Theodore Miller who had reached the constitutional age limit of 70 years.
The Democratic State Committee met on September 29 at Hoffman House in New York City. Charles C. B. Walker was Chairman. Rufus W. Peckham was nominated for the Court of Appeals by acclamation.[2]
Result
The Democratic judge was elected in a tight race, with a plurality of less than 8,000 votes. Only in New York City, Peckham had a majority of over 53,000 votes, thus swamping the solid Republican upstate majority.