1,236,124 1,210,031 Start date November 2, 1993 | 49.33% 48.29% | |
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Winner Christine Todd Whi | ||
The New Jersey gubernatorial election of 1993 was a race for Governor of New Jersey held on November 2, 1993. Incumbent Democratic governor James Florio was narrowly defeated by Republican Christine Todd Whitman following backlash from voters regarding tax increases that had occurred during Florio's tenure.
Contents
Primary elections
Primary elections for the Democratic and Republican parties were held on Tuesday June 8, 1993.
Democratic primary
Florio was unopposed in the June primary election. Former Howell Township postal worker, 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 alleging that many of his petition signatures were invalid.
Candidates
Candidates
Major party candidates
Other independent candidates
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 in 1991. A 1990 bill that was signed into law banning assault weapons was used against Florio in advertisements by the National Rifle Association. A proposal by Whitman to cut income taxes by 30% over three years were met with skepticism from voters.
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 New York Times, the Record of Hackensack, and Rutgers-Eagleton showed Florio besting Whitman by at least eight points. The closest poll near the election was conducted by the Asbury Park Press showing a 38-38 tie with 22% undecided. Undecided and independents tended towards Whitman at the time of the election.