 Levitt was New York State Comptroller from 1955 to 1978, elected on the Democratic and Liberal tickets in 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970 and 1974, the longest-serving person in this office.He was a delegate to the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Democratic National Conventions.In 1961, he was the Tammany Hall regular candidate for the Democratic nomination for Mayor of New York City, but was defeated in the primary by incumbent Mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr. who had broken with Tammany's leader, Carmine DeSapio.