Incumbent Republican governor Nelson Rockefeller won re-election to a second term in office over U.S. Attorney Robert Morgenthau.

With only two weeks before the convention, Morgenthau publicly acknowledged his candidacy and resigned as United States Attorney to actively campaign.

[2][1] The convention opened with a keynote speech from mayor Wagner, who attacked Governor Rockefeller as a reactionary and compared him to Barry Goldwater.

[1] At the opening of the convention, Morgenthau appeared likely to win a first-ballot majority with the support of both the Bronx, where party boss Charles A. Buckley announced he would lead at least 106 of the 110 delegates to support Morgenthau, and Brooklyn, which abandoned favorite son Abraham Beame on the first ballot.

[1] However, when the roll was called, Morgenthau's base of support in Manhattan and Westchester County was less solid than expected, and the first ballot left him seven votes short.