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| Turnout | 56%[1] ( 9pp) | ||||||||||||||||
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 County results Congressional district results[a]Whitman: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% McGreevey: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1997 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1997. In the Democratic primary, state senator andWoodbridge Township mayorJames McGreevey defeated U.S. RepresentativeRob 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, withDemocratic nomineeJames McGreevey receiving 45.82% andLibertarianMurray Sabrin receiving 4.7%.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Christine Todd Whitman (incumbent) | 147,731 | 100.00 | |
| Total votes | 147,731 | 100.00 | ||
| 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 | ||
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In June, a 60-second radio ad paid for by theNew 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. TheDemocratic 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 calledauto insurance the most important issue in the campaign, andproperty taxes second.
| 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% | |
This was the first gubernatorial election in the state since1949 where a Republican won withoutPassaic County.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Christine Todd Whitman (incumbent) | 1,133,394 | 46.87% | 2.46 | |
| Democratic | Jim McGreevey | 1,107,968 | 45.82% | 2.47 | |
| Libertarian | Murray Sabrin | 114,172 | 4.72% |  4.40 | |
| Conservative | Richard J. Pezzullo | 34,906 | 1.44% | 1.24 | |
| 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% | 0.07 | |
| 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% | 0.01 | ||
| Turnout | 2,418,344 | ||||
| Republicanhold | Swing | ||||
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| County | Whitman votes | Whitman % | McGreevey votes | McGreevey % | Other votes | Other % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic | 31,364 | 47.3% | 29,091 | 43.9% | 5,791 | 8.7% |
| Bergen | 148,934 | 53.3% | 118,834 | 42.5% | 11,903 | 4.3% |
| Burlington | 55,523 | 43.5% | 60,690 | 47.5% | 11,485 | 9.0% |
| Camden | 51,643 | 35.7% | 82,028 | 56.7% | 10,933 | 7.6% |
| Cape May | 18,227 | 49.6% | 15,395 | 41.9% | 3,159 | 8.6% |
| Cumberland | 13,651 | 36.5% | 19,977 | 53.5% | 3,729 | 10.0% |
| Essex | 69,470 | 35.3% | 120,429 | 61.2% | 6,778 | 3.4% |
| Gloucester | 30,314 | 38.4% | 41,082 | 52.1% | 7,519 | 9.5% |
| Hudson | 47,468 | 35.6% | 80,526 | 60.4% | 5,394 | 4.0% |
| Hunterdon | 24,465 | 59.5% | 10,983 | 26.7% | 5,698 | 13.8% |
| Mercer | 44,056 | 40.8% | 54,977 | 50.9% | 8,905 | 8.3% |
| Middlesex | 83,149 | 39.3% | 110,354 | 52.2% | 17,911 | 5.5% |
| Monmouth | 105,535 | 53.9% | 74,098 | 37.8% | 16,189 | 8.3% |
| Morris | 97,414 | 65.4% | 41,296 | 27.7% | 10,252 | 6.9% |
| Ocean | 84,897 | 53.8% | 57,944 | 36.7% | 15,076 | 9.5% |
| Passaic | 55,541 | 45.2% | 60,256 | 49.1% | 6,966 | 5.7% |
| Salem | 10,686 | 49.9% | 8,790 | 41.0% | 1,950 | 9.1% |
| Somerset | 51,465 | 57.4% | 29,089 | 32.4% | 9,154 | 10.2% |
| Sussex | 25,458 | 60.4% | 11,331 | 26.9% | 5,332 | 12.7% |
| Union | 68,721 | 46.6% | 69,673 | 47.2% | 9,065 | 6.1% |
| Warren | 15,413 | 50.8% | 11,125 | 36.7% | 3,793 | 12.5% |
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