1981 New Jersey gubernatorial election

1981 New Jersey gubernatorial election
	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

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]

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[]

Herbert J. Buehler, former State Senator from Point Pleasant Beach
John J. Degnan, New Jersey Attorney General
Frank J. Dodd, State Senator from West Orange
James Florio, U.S. Representative from Camden
Kenneth A. Gibson, Mayor of Newark
William J. Hamilton, State Senator from New Brunswick
Ann Klein, Human Services Commissioner and former Assemblywoman from Morristown
Stella E. Mann
Barbara McConnell, State Assemblywoman from Flemington
Joseph P. Merlino, President of the New Jersey Senate from Trenton
Rose Zeidwerg Monyek
Robert A. Roe, U.S. Representative from Wayne and candidate for Governor in 1977
Thomas F. X. Smith, Mayor of Jersey City

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[]

Thomas Kean, former Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly
Lawrence Francis Kramer, former Mayor of Paterson
Bo Sullivan, businessman
James Wallwork, State Senator from Short Hills
Barry T. Parker, State Senator from Mount Holly
Anthony Imperiale, State Assemblyman from Newark
John K. Rafferty, Mayor of Hamilton
Richard McGlynn, former Superior Court Judge

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[]

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%
Rutgers/Eagleton	October 20–27, 1981	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[]

^ ^a ^b ^c "Election night 1981, when the N.J. governor's race was too close to call". NJ.com. 2009-11-03. Retrieved 2015-08-18.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Candidates for the Office of Governor - State of New Jersey" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. 1981. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
^ Joffee, Robert (November 8, 1981). "Democrats Accuse GOP of Intimidating Minorities in N.J. Voting". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
^ 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.
^ "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.

[NJ.com2009-1] "Election night 1981, when the N.J. governor's race was too close to call". NJ.com. 2009-11-03. Retrieved 2015-08-18.

[state1981-2] "Candidates for the Office of Governor - State of New Jersey" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. 1981. Retrieved August 17, 2015.

[BSTF1-3] 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.

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