The 1993 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1993.
Incumbent
The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...
Democratic governor
James Florio
James Joseph Florio (August 29, 1937 – September 25, 2022) was an American politician who served as the 49th governor of New Jersey from 1990 to 1994. He was previously the U.S. Representative for New Jersey's 1st congressional district from 19 ...
was narrowly defeated by
Republican former
Freeholder and 1990 U.S. Senate nominee
Christine Todd Whitman
Christine Temple Whitman (née Todd; born September 26, 1946) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001 and as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in the administration o ...
following backlash from voters regarding tax increases that had occurred during Florio's tenure. Whitman became the first, and as of 2022, only female
governor of New Jersey
The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official res ...
.
Primary election
Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...
s were held on June 8. In the Democratic primary, Governor Florio's only challenger, anti-tax activist John Budzash, was disqualified from the ballot after his signatures were alleged to be invalid. In the Republican primary, Whitman defeated
W. Cary Edwards
William Cary Edwards (July 20, 1944 – October 20, 2010) was a New Jersey politician who served as the Attorney General of New Jersey from 1986 to 1989.
Early life
He was born on July 20, 1944, in Paterson, New Jersey or Ridgewood, New Je ...
and
James Wallwork in a three-way race. This was the first gubernatorial election in the state's history where an incumbent governor lost re-election.
As of , this is the last gubernatorial election in which
Passaic
Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 70,537, ranking as the 16th largest municipality in New Jersey and an increase of 656 from the 69,7 ...
and
Mercer
Mercer may refer to:
Business
* Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925)
* Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City
* Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader ...
counties voted more Republican than the state overall. This is also the most recent occasion that
Cape May County
Cape May County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Much of the county is located on Cape May bound by Delaware Bay to its west and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and east. Adjacent to the Atlantic coastline are fiv ...
voted Democratic in a gubernatorial election.
Background
1989 election
In 1989, Jim Florio defeated Jim Courter in a landslide. It was Florio's third campaign for Governor; he lost the Democratic nomination to incumbent Governor
Brendan Byrne
Brendan Thomas Byrne (April 1, 1924 – January 4, 2018) was an American politician, statesman, and prosecutor, serving as the 47th governor of New Jersey from 1974 to 1982.
A member of the Democratic Party, Byrne started his career as a privat ...
in 1977 and lost the general election to Thomas Kean in 1981.
During the 1989 campaign, Florio said that a tax increase was highly unlikely.
Florio administration
The centerpiece of the Florio administration's legislative agenda was a $2.8 billion increase in tax revenues, which one consultant identified "the largest single tax increase in the history of the finances of the 50 states" and "a national test case on both political and economic grounds."
The tax increase was highly unpopular, leading to non-partisan protests throughout the state. The Florio administration adopted a wait-and-see approach, hoping that protests would desist once the legislative package delivered benefits in the form of rebate checks, lower auto insurance rates, and increased funding for education.
A similar dynamic had been seen in
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
, when Governor Byrne recovered from the passage of an unpopular state income tax to win re-election.
Two other major legislative achievements were a popular gun control measure targeted at "assault-style weapons"
and the Quality Education Act, which set new standards for public schools and set strict spending caps on local school boards.
1990 United States Senate election
By fall 1990, Florio's approval rating sank to 18 percent; it would not exceed the low twenties until 1992.
The political impact of the anti-Florio "tax revolt" manifested in November 1990, when incumbent United States Senator
Bill Bradley
William Warren Bradley (born July 28, 1943) is an American politician and former professional basketball player. He served three terms as a Democratic U.S. senator from New Jersey (1979–1997). He ran for the Democratic Party's nomination f ...
was nearly unseated by
Christine Todd Whitman
Christine Temple Whitman (née Todd; born September 26, 1946) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001 and as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in the administration o ...
. During her campaign, Whitman repeatedly asked Bradley for his position on the increase, but he demurred, calling it a state issue.
Whitman's underdog near-victory endeared her to the Republican voter base and made her a symbol of opposition to Florio.
1991 midterm elections
Republicans centered their 1991 legislative campaign on opposition to the Florio tax increase, as did even some incumbent Democrats, such as Senator
Paul Contillo.
Florio also faced backlash from the
National Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...
, which spent nearly $250,000 targeting candidates in both parties who had voted in favor of the bill and supporting those who pledged to repeal it,
and the New Jersey Education Association, which had supported Florio in 1989 but endorsed almost exclusively Republican candidates in response to the education spending caps.
The result was a resounding Republican victory; the party gained ten seats in the Senate (controlling the chamber for the first time since 1978) and 21 seats in the General Assembly. Both houses had a veto-proof Republican majority, which may have drawn political pressure off Florio for the remainder of his term. His approval ratings began to rebound as the Republican legislature was given a share of blame for the state's budgetary dysfunction.
Democratic primary
Candidates
* Jim Florio, incumbent Governor
Disqualified
* John Budzash, anti-tax protestor
Florio was unopposed in the June primary election. Former
Howell Township postal worker A postal worker is one who works for a post office, such as a mail carrier. In the U.S., postal workers are represented by the National Association of Letter Carriers, AFL–CIO, National Postal Mail Handlers Union – NPMHU, the National Associatio ...
, John Budzash, originally filed to run against Florio in the primary. Budzash, who switched his party registration from Republican to Democratic one day before the filing deadline, led Hands Across New Jersey, a citizens group that protested the state tax increases.
He was removed following a complaint from then-
state party chair Raymond Lesniak
Raymond J. "Ray" Lesniak (born May 7, 1946) is an American Democratic Party politician, who served in the New Jersey State Senate from 1983 to 2018, where he represented the 20th Legislative District. Before entering New Jersey's upper house, th ...
alleging that many of his petition signatures were invalid.
Results
Republican primary
Background
Following
W. Cary Edwards
William Cary Edwards (July 20, 1944 – October 20, 2010) was a New Jersey politician who served as the Attorney General of New Jersey from 1986 to 1989.
Early life
He was born on July 20, 1944, in Paterson, New Jersey or Ridgewood, New Je ...
's loss to
Jim Courter
James Andrew Courter (born October 14, 1941) is an American Republican Party politician, lawyer, and businessman. He represented parts of northwestern New Jersey in the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1991. In 1989, he uns ...
in the 1989 primary, Edwards was seen as the natural favorite for the 1993 nomination. He was a key member of the popular
Thomas Kean administration, first as general counsel and then as state Attorney General. However, his path to the nomination became complicated by
Christine Todd Whitman
Christine Temple Whitman (née Todd; born September 26, 1946) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001 and as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in the administration o ...
's 1990 campaign for United States Senate. Her underdog two-point loss endeared her to the party base and made her the leading public advocate of the anti-tax cause.
Whitman continued to build her profile by founding a
political action committee, the Committee for an Affordable New Jersey, through which she campaigned for Republican candidates in the 1991 midterm elections. Whitman took on a full campaign speaking schedule through October 1992 and worked to distance herself from veteran consultant
Roger Stone after Stone facilitated a primary challenge to State Senator William Gormley, a potential 1993 opponent.
Candidates
*
W. Cary Edwards
William Cary Edwards (July 20, 1944 – October 20, 2010) was a New Jersey politician who served as the Attorney General of New Jersey from 1986 to 1989.
Early life
He was born on July 20, 1944, in Paterson, New Jersey or Ridgewood, New Je ...
, candidate for Governor in 1989 and former
New Jersey Attorney General
The attorney general of New Jersey is a member of the executive cabinet of the state and oversees the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, Department of Law and Public Safety. The office is appointed by the governor of New Jersey, confir ...
and
State Assemblyman from
Oakland
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
*J. Patrick Gilligan,
American Stock Exchange
NYSE American, formerly known as the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), and more recently as NYSE MKT, is an American stock exchange situated in New York City. AMEX was previously a mutual organization, owned by its members. Until 1953, it was known ...
consultant and former
Morris Township board of education member
*
James Wallwork, former
State Senator
A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature.
Description
A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...
from
Short Hills and candidate for Governor in 1981
*
Christine Todd Whitman
Christine Temple Whitman (née Todd; born September 26, 1946) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001 and as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in the administration o ...
, former
Somerset County Freeholder and
Board of Public Utilities president, and nominee for the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
in
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
Withdrew
*Charles P. Hoffman, business consultant
[ (withdrew May 6, endorsed Wallwork)][
]
Declined
* William Gormley, State Senator from Mays Landing and candidate for Governor in 1989
* Thomas Kean, former Governor of New Jersey
Campaign
The primary campaign was marked by negative exchanges between the three strongest candidates and Whitman's clear status as the front-runner throughout.[
]
Illegal alien hiring controversy
The campaign began as a two-candidate race between Christine Whitman and Cary Edwards. Polling suggested that either would beat Governor Florio but that Whitman was generally the stronger of the two. In February, responding to national controversy over nominee for U.S. Attorney General Zoë Baird
Zoë Eliot Baird (born June 20, 1952) is an American lawyer and president of the Markle Foundation. She is known for her role in the Nannygate matter of 1993, which arose when she was nominated by President Bill Clinton as the first woman to be ...
's hiring of illegal aliens
Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwar ...
in violation of federal law, both candidates voluntarily disclosed that they had done so too and failed to required taxes or fines. The revelation dramatically weakened both campaigns; seventy percent of voters said the admission was very or somewhat serious.
Soon after, former State Senator James Wallwork declared his candidacy as a conservative alternative to Whitman and Edwards, tapping into populist unrest. Like H. Ross Perot
Henry Ross Perot (; June 27, 1930 – July 9, 2019) was an American business magnate, billionaire, politician and philanthropist. He was the founder and chief executive officer of Electronic Data Systems and Perot Systems. He ran an inde ...
and Jerry Brown
Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of S ...
had during the 1992 presidential campaign, Wallwork offered voters a toll-free number they could call to directly propose positions. Wallwork, who had last cut a political figure in a 1981 campaign for governor, said his campaign would be about "people taking back their government."
In the final weeks of the campaign, Whitman ran advertisements presenting herself as a candidate for change but not mentioning her opponents or Governor Florio by name.[ Edwards attacked both Whitman in Florio in his advertisements, while Wallwork focused on painting Whitman as "liberal" and ran an ad stating that she had voted to raise taxes 17 times as Somerset Freeholder.][ In the final week of the campaign, Whitman began running negative advertisements as well.]
A large portion of the campaign was focused on winning over the 522,000 New Jerseyans who had voted for H. Ross Perot
Henry Ross Perot (; June 27, 1930 – July 9, 2019) was an American business magnate, billionaire, politician and philanthropist. He was the founder and chief executive officer of Electronic Data Systems and Perot Systems. He ran an inde ...
in the 1992 presidential campaign. Perot remained popular in the state; on the final weekend of the campaign, he hosted a get-out-the-vote rally which all three candidates attended.
Debates
The three major candidates participated in at least six debates[ and two mandatory televised debates.][
By May 11, Whitman was the heavy favorite entering the first televised debate in Whippany; her campaign claimed no less than a double-digit lead over both opponents.] At the debate, all three candidates agreed in their opposition to the Florio tax increase but disagreed over how to repeal it. Edwards called for a new popularly elected office of Auditor to evaluate potential budget cuts, while Wallwork and Whitman argued that the powerful line-item veto allowed the Governor to do so immediately.[ Whitman also attacked Edwards for a nine percent increase in crime during his tenure as Attorney General, a preemptive rebuttal to Edwards's accusation that she was soft on crime.][
The second televised debate on May 26 was focused on business issues and was less contentious; the candidates mostly agreed on automobile insurance reform, managed health care, unemployment, pollution legislation and sports betting.] At one point, during an exchange on unemployment, Edwards accused Whitman of not understanding the plight of the unemployed, saying "At least I have had a job in my life." Whitman demanded an apology for this and an earlier comment in which Edwards, during a two-person debate with Wallwork, said he "resented" running against a woman.[ Edwards declined to apologize and later accused Whitman of "setting him up."][ Another disagreement came over private school vouchers; Whitman supported them while Edwards was opposed and Wallwork deferred to a public referendum.][
Two non-televised debates were hosted by Perot supporters under the banner of "United We Stand." All three candidates attended the first but only Edwards and Wallwork attended the second.][
]
Endorsements
Polling
Results
Results by county
The following partial results by county were reported in the Morristown Daily Record for June 10, 1993. The overall totals differ only slightly from the certified primary results, by about one hundred votes per candidate throughout the state.
General election
Candidates
*Alene S. Ammond
Alene S. Ammond (April 6, 1933 – June 4, 2019) was an American politician who served in the New Jersey Senate from the 6th Legislative District from 1974 to 1978. Known as the "Terror of Trenton," she campaigned on and remained committed to th ...
, public-relations executive and former State Senator (Hands-On Government)
*Marilyn Arons, public advocate
An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...
for disabled children (Maximum Citizen Involvement)[
*Tom Blomquist, head of the ]New Jersey Conservative Party
The New Jersey Conservative Party, formerly abbreviated as the NJCP, now the CP-NJ, is a conservative political party in New Jersey, United States.
Ideology
The NJCP advocates for low taxes, a balanced budget and job growth, the right to own pri ...
(Conservative)[
*Pat Daly, (Abortion is Murder)][
*Pete DiLauro, retired ]New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
officer (Common Sense Government)[
*Tim Feeney, ]dentist
A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the mouth, oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofaci ...
(Independent Choice)[
*]James Florio
James Joseph Florio (August 29, 1937 – September 25, 2022) was an American politician who served as the 49th governor of New Jersey from 1990 to 1994. He was previously the U.S. Representative for New Jersey's 1st congressional district from 19 ...
, incumbent Governor of New Jersey (Democratic)
*Tom Fuscaldo, former factory maintenance worker (Zero Sales Tax)[
*Jerry T. Grant, car salesman (You and I)][
*Kenneth R. Kaplan, industrial/commercial real estate broker (Libertarian)][
*John L. Kucek, ]certified public accountant
Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Sta ...
( Populist)[
*Andrea Lippi, poet (People Purpose Progress)][
*Richary J. Lynch, ]Camden
Camden may refer to:
People
* Camden (surname), a surname of English origin
* Camden Joy (born 1964), American writer
* Camden Toy (born 1957), American actor
Places Australia
* Camden, New South Wales
* Camden, Rosehill, a heritage res ...
businessman (Independents 4 Change)[
*Joseph Marion, trade association manager (Independent)][
*Mark J. Rahn, warehouse worker ( Socialist Workers)][
*Michael R. Scully, ]attorney
Attorney may refer to:
* Lawyer
** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions
* Attorney, one who has power of attorney
* ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film
See also
* Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gove ...
(Fresh Start)[
*]Christine Todd Whitman
Christine Temple Whitman (née Todd; born September 26, 1946) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001 and as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in the administration o ...
, former Somerset County Freeholder and Board of Public Utilities president (Republican)
*Andrew J. Zemel, quality control consultant (Integrity-Common Sense)[
*Michael "Mike" Ziruolo, trucking consultant (Better Affordable Government)][
]
Campaign
Florio had become unpopular following a 1990 $2.8-billion tax increase though he promised not to raise taxes in his successful 1989 campaign. As a result of the tax increase, Republicans were swept into both houses of the Legislature
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...
in 1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
. A 1990 bill that was signed into law banning assault weapons was used against Florio in advertisements by the National Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...
.[ A proposal by Whitman to cut income taxes by 30% over three years were met with skepticism from voters.]
Polling
Polling for the election mostly showed that Florio would be reelected. Polls conducted within a few weeks of the election by ''The Star-Ledger
''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to ''The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of wh ...
'', ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', the '' Record of Hackensack'', and Rutgers-Eagleton showed Florio besting Whitman by at least eight points.[ The final poll released before the election, however was conducted by the ]Asbury Park Press
The ''Asbury Park Press'' is a daily newspaper in Monmouth and Ocean counties of New Jersey and has the third largest circulation in the state. It has been owned by Gannett since 1997.
Its reporting staff has been awarded numerous national hon ...
and showed a 38-38 tie with 22% undecided, and undecided and independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
voters tended towards Whitman at the time of the election.[
;with Edwards
;with Wallwork
]
Results
References
External links
U.S. Election Atlas
{{1993 United States elections
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
Gubernatorial
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
November 1993 events in the United States