The 2013 New Jersey gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2013, to elect the

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

. Incumbent

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Governor

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Christie, who was born in N ...

ran for reelection to a second term in office. He faced Democratic nominee

Barbara Buono Barbara A. Buono (born July 28, 1953) is an American politician who served in the New Jersey Senate from 2002 to 2014, where she represented the 18th Legislative District. She served from 2010 to 2012 as the Majority Leader in the Senate, succ ...

and six others in the general election. Christie was reelected with over 60 percent of the vote and carried 19 of the state's 21 counties, with Buono only winning heavily Democratic Hudson and

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

. Christie became the first Republican gubernatorial candidate to win a majority of the vote since

Thomas Kean Thomas Howard Kean ( ; born April 21, 1935) is an American businessman, academic administrator and politician. A member of the Republican Party, Kean served as the 48th governor of New Jersey from 1982 to 1990. Following his tenure as governor, ...

's landslide victory in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

. This is the only statewide election held in New Jersey since the 1988 presidential election in which a Republican earned more than 48% of the vote. Christie won 21% of Black voters and 51% of Latinos. , this was the last time a Republican won the governorship of New Jersey or won any statewide election. This is also the last time the counties of

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, secon ...

, Burlington, Camden,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

, Mercer,

Passaic Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 70,537, ranking as the 16th largest municipality in New Jersey and an increase of 656 from the 69, ...

, and Union voted for the Republican candidate in a statewide election, as well as the last time that

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

did so in a gubernatorial election. Christie was criticized for spending an additional $12–25 million of state money to hold a special election for United States Senator for New Jersey three weeks earlier on October 16, instead of simply holding the special election on November 5, concurrent with the already scheduled gubernatorial election. The Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate was Newark mayor

Cory Booker Cory Anthony Booker (born April 27, 1969) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the junior United States senator from New Jersey since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Booker is the first African-American U.S. se ...

. Buono said it was hypocritical, speculating that Booker's presence on the ballot would attract more black and other minority voters who would be likely to vote for Buono. This is the only gubernatorial election since 1989, in which anyone won over 60% of the vote, and Christie was the first Republican to do so since 1985.

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

, incumbent governor * Seth Grossman, former

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

Councilman

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

state senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of ...

and former state senate majority leader * Troy Webster, aide to East Orange mayor Robert Bowser

Removed from primary ballot

* William Araujo, former mayoral candidate in Edison * Carl Bergmanson, former mayor of Glen Ridge and candidate for governor in 2009 *

Jeff Boss Jeffrey Harlan Boss (born May 20, 1963) is an American conspiracy theorist.Ginsberg, Johanna (May 28, 2009)"Conspiracy theorist eyes governorship" ''New Jersey Jewish News''. Retrieved August 9, 2012. He was an independent candidate for President ...

, conspiracy theorist and perennial candidate Araujo, Bergmanson, Boss, and Webster had their nominating petitions challenged by the

New Jersey Democratic State Committee The New Jersey Democratic State Committee (NJDSC) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of New Jersey. LeRoy J. Jones Jr. is the chair and Peg Schaffer is the vice chair. Structure The NJDSC has a 13-member executive commi ...

; only Webster's petitions were found to be valid therefore allowing his name to remain on the primary ballot with Buono. Araujo and Boss subsequently filed new petitions to run in the general election as independents.

Declined

Rob Andrews Robert Ernest Andrews (born August 4, 1957) is an American politician who served as a U.S. representative for from 1990 to 2014. The district included most of Camden County and parts of Burlington County and Gloucester County. Early life, ...

, U.S. Representative * Chris Bollwage, Mayor of

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

, Mayor of Newark (ran for and won a U.S. Senate seat three weeks earlier on October 16) *

Richard Codey Richard James Codey (born November 27, 1946) is an American Democratic Party politician who served as the 53rd governor of New Jersey from 2004 to 2006. He has served in the New Jersey Senate since 1982 and served as the President of the Senat ...

, state senator, former state senate president and former governor *

Joseph Cryan Joseph P. Cryan (born September 1, 1961 in East Orange, New Jersey) is an American Democratic Party politician who has served in the New Jersey Senate since 2018, representing the 20th Legislative District. He previously served in the New ...

, former assembly majority leader * Brendan Gill, Essex County Freeholder * Louis Greenwald, Assembly Majority Leader * Lisa P. Jackson, former Administrator of the

United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it ...

Phil Murphy Philip Dunton Murphy (born August 16, 1957) is an American financier, diplomat, and politician serving as the 56th governor of New Jersey since January 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the United States ambassador to Germa ...

, U.S. Ambassador to Germany, former

Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, Ho ...

executive, and future

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

Sheila Oliver Sheila Y. Oliver (born July 14, 1952) is an American politician serving as the second lieutenant governor of New Jersey since 2018. She previously served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2004 to 2018, where she represented the 34th legi ...

, Speaker of the

State Assembly State Assembly is the name given to various legislatures, especially lower houses or full legislatures in states in federal systems of government. Channel Islands States Assembly is the name of the legislature of the Bailiwick of Jersey. The Bail ...

Frank Pallone Frank Joseph Pallone Jr. (; born October 30, 1951) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for , serving since 1988. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 3rd district from 1988 to ...

, U.S. Representative *

Bill Pascrell William James Pascrell Jr. (born January 25, 1937) is an American politician who is the U.S. representative for , having served in this position since January 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and a native of Paterson, New Jersey, Pascr ...

, U.S. Representative *

Stephen Sweeney Stephen M. Sweeney (born June 11, 1959) is an American politician and labor leader who served in the New Jersey Senate from 2002 to 2022, representing the 3rd legislative district. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 114th President o ...

State Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

President *

John Wisniewski John Scott Wisniewski ( ; born June 28, 1962) is an American Democratic Party politician, who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1996 to 2018, where he represented the 19th Legislative District. He was a Democratic candidate for Gove ...

, chair of the

New Jersey Democratic Party The New Jersey Democratic State Committee (NJDSC) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of New Jersey. LeRoy J. Jones Jr. is the chair and Peg Schaffer is the vice chair. Structure The NJDSC has a 13-member executive committ ...

and State Assemblyman

Polling

Results

General election

Major party candidates

(Republican), incumbent governor :*Running mate:

Kim Guadagno Kimberly Ann Guadagno (; ''née'' McFadden; born April 13, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the first lieutenant governor and 33rd secretary of state of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Guadagno was the Republican nomine ...

, incumbent

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

(Democratic), former majority leader of the New Jersey Senate :*Running mate: Milly Silva, New Jersey executive vice president for 1199 SEIU

Minor candidates

* William Araujo, Peace and Freedom ** Running mate: Maria Salamanca *

, NSA ** Running mate: Robert B. Thorne * Kenneth R. Kaplan,

New Jersey Libertarian Party The New Jersey Libertarian Party (NJLP) is the affiliate of the Libertarian Party in New Jersey. Its chairman is Dan Krause. As of July 1, 2020, there were 17,298 registered Libertarians in the state. ** Running mate: Brenda Bell * Diane W. Sare, Glass-Steagall Now ** Running mate: Bruce Todd * Hank Schroeder, Independent ** Running mate: Patricia Moschella * Steve Welzer,

Green Party of New Jersey The Green Party of New Jersey is the state party organization for New Jersey of the Green Party of the United States. It was founded in January 1997 by Nick Mellis (chair from 2008 to 2009) and Steve Welzer. Activity The Green Party of New Jer ...

** Running mate: Patricia Alessandrini

Endorsements

Debates

Complete video of debate
October 8, 2013 -

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

Complete video of debate
October 15, 2013 -

Predictions

Polling

;with Booker ;with Byrne ;with Codey ;with Greenwald ;with Pallone ;with

Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

;with Sweeney ;with Wisniewski

Results

County results

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

(largest municipality: Hackensack) *

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic counties of England, historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th c ...

(largest municipality: Vineland) * Camden (largest municipality: Cherry Hill) * Mercer (largest municipality: Hamilton Township) *

(largest municipality: Paterson) * Union (largest municipality:

)

References

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

Gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of politica ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

Chris Christie

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

Removed from primary ballot

Declined

Polling

Results

General election

Major party candidates

Minor candidates

Endorsements

Debates

Predictions

Polling

Results

County results

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

See also

References

External links