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1997 New Jersey gubernatorial election

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1997 New Jersey gubernatorial election
← 1993
November 4, 1997
2001 →
Turnout56%[1] (Decrease 9pp)
 
Nominee Christine Todd Whitman Jim McGreevey
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 1,133,394 1,107,968
Percentage 46.87% 45.82%
Whitman:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
McGreevey:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Governor before election

Christine Todd Whitman
Republican

 Elected Governor

Christine Todd Whitman
Republican

The 1997 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1997. In the Democratic primary, state senator and Woodbridge Township mayor Jim McGreevey defeated U.S. Representative Rob Andrews[2] 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 McGreevey receiving 45.82% and Libertarian Murray Sabrin receiving 4.7%.

Republican primary

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Candidates

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Results

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Republican Party primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Christine Todd Whitman (incumbent) 147,731 100.00
Total votes 147,731 100.00

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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Results

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Democratic primary results by county
  McGreevey
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  Andrews
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  •   80–90%
  Murphy
  •   40–50%
  •   60–70%
Democratic Party primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jim McGreevey 148,153 39.86
Democratic Rob Andrews 138,160 37.17
Democratic Michael Murphy 79,172 21.30
Democratic Frank C. Marmo 6,189 1.67
Total votes 371,674 100

General election

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Candidates

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Campaign

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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 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 second.

Polling

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Poll source Date(s)
administered		 Sample
size		 Margin of
error		 Jim
McGreevey (D)		 Christine Todd
Whitman (R)		 Murray
Sabrin (L)		 Other Undecided
Rutgers-Eagleton[5][not specific enough to verify] June 6–8, 1997 602 RV ±3.5% 38% 44% — 18%
Rutgers-Eagleton[5][not specific enough to verify] June 11–16, 1997 613 RV ±3.5% 33% 49% — 18%
Rutgers-Eagleton[5][not specific enough to verify] September 2–7, 1997 673 RV ±3.5% 35% 47% — 18%
32% 47% 3% 18%
Quinnipiac College[6] September 8–13, 1997 865 ±3.3% 37% 49% — 4% 10%
Rutgers-Eagleton[5][not specific enough to verify] October 12–15, 1997 631 RV ±3.5% 40% 45% — 15%
38% 42% 6% 14%
Quinnipiac College[7] October 14–20, 1997 1,120 ±2.9% 37% 45% 8% 1% 9%
New York Times/CBS News[8] October 25–29, 1997 1,082 ±3.0% 33% 44% 8% 3% 12%
Rutgers-Eagleton[5][not specific enough to verify] October 28–31, 1997 613 LV ±3.0% 36% 45% 9% 18%

Results

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This was the first gubernatorial election in the state since 1949 where a Republican won without Passaic County.

New Jersey gubernatorial election, 1997[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Christine Todd Whitman (incumbent) 1,133,394 46.87% Decrease2.46
Democratic Jim McGreevey 1,107,968 45.82% Decrease2.47
Libertarian Murray Sabrin 114,172 4.72% Increase4.40
Conservative Richard J. Pezzullo 34,906 1.44% Increase1.24
Green Madelyn R. Hoffman 10,703 0.44% N/A
Independent Michael Perrone, Jr. 6,805 0.28% N/A
Socialist Workers Robert B. Miller 2,816 0.12% Increase0.07
Socialist Greg Pason 2,800 0.12% N/A
Natural Law Lincoln Norton 2,540 0.11% N/A
Independent Nuncie A. Ripa, Jr. 2,240 0.09% N/A
Plurality 25,426 1.05% Increase0.01
Turnout 2,418,344
Republican hold Swing

Results by county

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Source:[9]

County Whitman votes Whitman % McGreevey votes McGreevey % Other votes Other %
Atlantic31,36447.3%29,09143.9%5,7918.7%
Bergen148,93453.3%118,83442.5%11,9034.3%
Burlington55,52343.5%60,69047.5%11,4859.0%
Camden51,64335.7%82,02856.7%10,9337.6%
Cape May18,22749.6%15,39541.9%3,1598.6%
Cumberland13,65136.5%19,97753.5%3,72910.0%
Essex69,47035.3%120,42961.2%6,7783.4%
Gloucester30,31438.4%41,08252.1%7,5199.5%
Hudson47,46835.6%80,52660.4%5,3944.0%
Hunterdon24,46559.5%10,98326.7%5,69813.8%
Mercer44,05640.8%54,97750.9%8,9058.3%
Middlesex83,14939.3%110,35452.2%17,9115.5%
Monmouth105,53553.9%74,09837.8%16,1898.3%
Morris97,41465.4%41,29627.7%10,2526.9%
Ocean84,89753.8%57,94436.7%15,0769.5%
Passaic55,54145.2%60,25649.1%6,9665.7%
Salem10,68649.9%8,79041.0%1,9509.1%
Somerset51,46557.4%29,08932.4%9,15410.2%
Sussex25,45860.4%11,33126.9%5,33212.7%
Union68,72146.6%69,67347.2%9,0656.1%
Warren15,41350.8%11,12536.7%3,79312.5%

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

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Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

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Notes

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  1. ↑ Only top two candidates

References

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  1. ↑ "General Election Data - 1924 to 2022" (PDF). NJ.gov.
  2. ↑ Pulley, Brett (June 4, 1997). "McGreevey Wins Democratic Nod for Governor". The New York Times.
  3. 1 2 "Official List Gubernatorial Primary Election Returns by County for Election held June 3, 1997" (PDF). New Jersey Division of Elections.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "After Months of Running, Marathon Ends Tuesday; The Governor's Race, Issue by Issue (Published 1997)". November 2, 1997. Retrieved September 26, 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Rutgers-Eagleton
  6. ↑ "New Jersey (NJ) Poll - September 16, 1997 - Whitman Holds 12-Point Lead An". Quinnipiac University Connecticut. May 19, 2014. Archived from the original on May 19, 2014.
  7. ↑ "New Jersey (NJ) Poll - October 22, 1997 - McGreevey Trails Whitman By 8". Quinnipiac University Connecticut. May 19, 2014. Archived from the original on May 19, 2014.
  8. ↑ Preston, Jennifer (October 31, 1997). "THE 1997 ELECTIONS: THE VOTERS; New Jersey Poll Finds Volatility Among Voters". The New York Times.
  9. 1 2 "Official Results Gubernatorial General Election Returns by County for Election held November 4, 1997" (PDF). New Jersey Division of Elections.
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