1989 New Jersey gubernatorial election
The 1989 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1989. Incumbent Republican Governor Thomas Kean was term-limited after two consecutive terms. Democrat James Florio, a U.S. Representative from Camden County and a twice-unsuccessful candidate for Governor, defeated Republican U.S. Representative Jim Courter by the lopsided margin of 61.2%-37.2%.
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Florio: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Courter: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in New Jersey |
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Primary elections were held on Tuesday, June 6. Courter won the Republican nomination over a large field that included state Attorney General W. Cary Edwards, Speaker of the Assembly Chuck Hardwick, and State Senators Bill Gormley and Gerald Cardinale. Florio, who had run in 1977 and 1981, won the Democratic nomination with little trouble over Princeton mayor Barbara Boggs Sigmund and former Speaker Alan Karcher.
The Washington Post called the election "one of the most negative gubernatorial campaigns in the state's history". Democrats also won back the New Jersey General Assembly on Florio's coattails.