Conservative Party of New York State

Historical note: The Conservative Party of New York State (commonly called the New York State Conservative Party) was established in 1962 as the Freedom Party.

A year earlier, disaffected Republicans led by New York City attorneys J. Daniel Mahoney and Kiernan O'Doherty formed an organizing committee for the New York State Conservative Political Associaltion, with the goal of creating a fourth party opposed to the domination of the New York State Republican Party by its liberal wing, then headed by Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller and Sen. Jacob K. Javits. The Conservative Party's intent was to "exercise leverage upon the major political parties by endorsing and working for candidates from either party whose views paralelled its own, and running its own candidates where acceptable major party candidates were not put forth."