1981 New Jersey gubernatorial election

The 1981 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1981. Republican Assembly Speaker Thomas Kean narrowly defeated Democratic U.S. Representative James Florio with 49.46% of the vote following a recount of the ballots. The difference between the two was less than 2,000 votes out of more than 2 million cast.[1] As of 2022, this remains the closest gubernatorial contest in New Jersey history and the last time a non-incumbent Republican defeated a non-incumbent Democrat to become Governor.

For related races, see 1981 United States gubernatorial elections.
1981 New Jersey gubernatorial election
November 3, 1981
 
Nominee Thomas Kean James Florio
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 1,145,999 1,144,202
Percentage 49.46% 49.38%
County results
Kean:      50–60%      60–70%
Florio:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
Governor before election

Brendan Byrne
Democratic

 Elected Governor

Thomas Kean
Republican

Elections in New Jersey
Federal government
U.S. President
U.S. Senate
U.S. House of Representatives
State government
General elections
Gubernatorial elections
Senate elections
General Assembly elections
Newark
Mayoral elections
Jersey City
Mayoral elections
Hoboken
Mayoral elections
Atlantic City
Mayoral elections

Primary elections were held on June 2, 1981.[2] Speaker of the Assembly Thomas Kean and U.S. Representative James Florio won narrow plurality margins over crowded fields in the Republican and Democratic primaries, respectively.

Background

After narrowly surviving a primary challenge in 1977, Governor Brendan Byrne was re-elected to a second term in a come-from-behind victory over State Senator Raymond Bateman. However, Byrne was ineligible to run for a third term due to term limits.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results
Democratic Party primary results[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic James Florio 164,179 25.92
Democratic Robert A. Roe 98,660 15.58
Democratic Kenneth A. Gibson 95,212 15.03
Democratic Joseph P. Merlino 70,910 11.20
Democratic John J. Degnan 65,844 10.40
Democratic Thomas F. X. Smith 57,479 9.08
Democratic Frank J. Dodd 23,866 3.77
Democratic William J. Hamilton 17,395 2.75
Democratic Barbara McConnell 16,123 2.55
Democratic Ann Klein 14,844 2.35
Democratic Herbert J. Buehler 4,266 0.67
Democratic Stella E. Mann 2,375 0.38
Democratic Rose Zeidwerg Monyek 2,129 0.34
Total votes 633,282 100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

Results
Republican primary results[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Thomas Kean 122,512 30.75
Republican Lawrence Francis Kramer 83,565 20.98
Republican Bo Sullivan 67,651 16.98
Republican James Wallwork 61,816 15.52
Republican Barry T. Parker 26,040 6.54
Republican Anthony Imperiale 18,452 4.63
Republican John K. Rafferty 12,837 3.22
Republican Richard McGlynn 5,486 1.38
Total votes 398,359 100.00

General election

Candidates
  • James Florio, U.S. Representative from Camden (Democratic)
  • Bill Gahres (Down With Lawyers)
  • Harry J. Gaynor (Leadership By Example)
  • Jasper C. Gould (Contempt of Court)
  • Chester Grabowski (The Suffering Majority)
  • James E. Harris (Socialist Workers)
  • Thomas Kean, former Speaker of the New Jersey Assembly (Republican)
  • James A. Kolyer III (Middle Class Candidate)
  • Jules Levin (Socialist Labor)
  • Jack Moyers (Libertarian)
  • Ernest D. Pellerino (Law & Order)
  • Paul B. Rizzo (Independent-Honest-Available)
  • Charles C. Stone Jr. (Federalist)

Voter intimidation
Main article: Ballot Security Task Force

State Democrats accused the Republican National Committee of intimidating minority voters in Newark, Camden, and Trenton by setting up the Ballot Security Task Force which sent out mailers to voters in these cities and posted armed off-duty police officers and large signs at certain precincts.[3][4]

Polling
Poll source Date(s)
administered		 Sample
size		 Margin of
error		 Jim
Florio (D)		 Tom
Kean (R)		 Undecided
Rutgers/Eagleton September 15–27, 1981 840 RV ±3.5% 44% 36% 18%
The New York Times October 13–18, 1981 1,118 RV ±4.0% 48% 40% 12%
Rutgers/Eagleton October 20–27, 1981 1,205 RV ±3.0% 43% 37% 19%
680 RV ±4.0% 46% 40% 14%

Results

The results of the initial ballot counting was close with Kean leading Florio by 1,677 votes. Two television networks had actually called the race for Florio at the time.[1] A recount took place over the next month and Kean was certified the winner besting Florio by 1,797 votes out of over 2.3 million votes cast.[1]

New Jersey gubernatorial election, 1981[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Thomas Kean 1,145,999 49.46% 7.65
Democratic James Florio 1,144,202 49.38% 6.33
Independent Bill Gahres 4,525 0.20% 0.14
Independent Chester Grabowski 4,496 0.19% 0.21
Libertarian Jack Moyers 2,377 0.10% 0.17
Independent Paul B. Rizzo 2,336 0.10% 0.07
Independent Harry J. Gaynor 2,209 0.10% N/A
Independent James A. Kolyer, III 2,144 0.09% N/A
Socialist Labor Julius Levin 2,073 0.09% 0.02
Independent Charles C. Stone, Jr. 1,948 0.08% N/A
Socialist Workers James E. Harris 1,681 0.07% N/A
Independent Ernest D. Pellerino 1,647 0.07% N/A
Independent Jasper C. Gould 1,602 0.07% 0.04
Plurality
Turnout 2,317,239 100.00%
Republican gain from Democratic Swing

References
  1. "Election night 1981, when the N.J. governor's race was too close to call". NJ.com. 2009-11-03. Retrieved 2015-08-18.
  2. "Candidates for the Office of Governor - State of New Jersey" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. 1981. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  3. Joffee, Robert (November 8, 1981). "Democrats Accuse GOP of Intimidating Minorities in N.J. Voting". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
  4. Pilkington, Ed (August 24, 2020). "In 1981 a 'task force' intimidated voters at the polls. Will Republicans revert to their old tactics?". The Guardian. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  5. "Votes Cast for the Office of Governor of the State of New Jersey" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. 1981. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.