Lewis Lehrman, R.I.P

I met Lewis Lehrman when he was pursuing his second career, running for public office. It was the 1982 race for governor of New York. The Democratic front-runner, ebullient NYC mayor Ed Koch, was beaten in the primary by Mario Cuomo, the gloomy but somehow romantic Queens liberal.

Both men were lifelong pols. Lew, on the Republican side, was parachuting in from outside, willing to spend what it took to get on the ballot, and win. He ended up spending — what was it, $10 million? — which was written about as if it was the End of Days. (Nowadays ten million is what rolls out of a campaign’s pockets into the sofa cushions.)

About the Author

Richard Brookhiser

Historian Richard Brookhiser is a senior editor of National Review and a senior fellow at the National Review Institute.

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I met Lewis Lehrman when he was pursuing his second career, running for public office. It was the 1982 race for governor of New York. The Democratic front-runner, ebullient NYC mayor Ed Koch, was beaten in the primary by Mario Cuomo, the gloomy but somehow romantic Queens liberal.

Both men were lifelong pols. Lew, on the Republican side, was parachuting in from outside, willing to spend what it took to get on the ballot, and win. He ended up spending — what was it, $10 million? — which was written about as if it was the End of Days. (Nowadays ten million is what rolls out of a campaign’s pockets into the sofa cushions.)