The 1997 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1997. In the Democratic primary, state senator and Woodbridge Township mayor James McGreevey defeated U.S. Representative Rob Andrews by 9,993 votes. In the general election, Republican Governor Christine Todd Whitman defeated McGreevey by 26,953 votes. Whitman won 46.87% of the vote, with Democratic nominee James McGreevey receiving 45.82% and Libertarian Murray Sabrin receiving 4.7%.

Republican primary

Candidates

* Christine Todd Whitman, incumbent

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

* Jim McGreevey, mayor of Woodbridge and

state senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

* Rob Andrews, U.S. Representative from Haddon Heights * Michael Murphy, Morris County Prosecutor and stepson of former governor Richard J. Hughes * Frank C. Marmo,

perennial candidate A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates are most common where there is no limit on the number of times that a person can run for office and little cost ...

Results

General election

Candidates

* James McGreevey (D), State Senator and Mayor of Woodbridge * Murray Sabrin (L), Ramapo College professor * Christine Todd Whitman (R), incumbent Governor

Campaign

In June, a 60-second radio ad paid for by the New Jersey Republican Party focused on the 30% income tax cut and 180,000 new jobs. Whitman's ads blamed McGreevey for the state's auto insurance rates. The Whitman campaign emphasized the drops in unemployment, violent crime and welfare rolls during her term. Other ads took aim at McGreevey's record on taxes, particularly his support for former Gov. Jim Florio's (D) tax increase. The RNC criticized former Gov. Jim Florio (D) in an ad October, calling his 1990 tax increase a result of electing "liberal Democrats". In September, McGreevey unveiled two TV ads criticizing Whitman and focusing on property taxes, auto insurance rates, pension bond debts, and education standards. The

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...

also spent $1 million during the home stretch of the campaign on television ads for Democratic candidates statewide. In October, a poll found that voters of NJ called auto insurance the most important issue in the campaign, and

property taxes A property tax (whose rate is expressed as a percentage or per mille, also called ''millage'') is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or net we ...

second.

Polling

Results

This was the first gubernatorial election in the state since

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

where a Republican won without Passaic County.

Results by county

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

Cape May Cape May consists of a peninsula and barrier island system in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is roughly coterminous with Cape May County and runs southwards from the New Jersey mainland, separating Delaware Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. Th ...

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

* Burlington * Mercer * Passaic

Notes

References

{{United States elections, 1997

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

Gubernatorial

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

November 1997 in the United States