1985 New Jersey gubernatorial election

See also: 1985 United States gubernatorial elections

1985 New Jersey gubernatorial election
← 1981 November 5, 1985 1989 →
 
Nominee Thomas Kean Peter Shapiro
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 1,372,631 578,402
Percentage 69.6% 29.3%
Kean:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Governor before election

Thomas Kean
Republican

Elected Governor

Thomas Kean
Republican

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The 1985 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1985. Incumbent Republican Governor Thomas Kean won a landslide re-election against the Democratic candidate, Essex County Executive Peter Shapiro. As of 2025, Kean's is the largest margin in terms of percentage and raw votes in all New Jersey gubernatorial elections.[1] Kean was the first Republican to be re-elected governor since 1949, and the first Republican to ever win two four-year terms.

Primary elections were held on June 4. Kean was unopposed for the Republican nomination. In the Democratic primary, Shapiro prevailed over strong competition from Senate President John F. Russo and Newark mayor Kenneth A. Gibson. Stephen B. Wiley and Robert Del Tufo ran competitive campaigns but finished well behind the top three.

The general election was a foregone conclusion in favor of the popular incumbent. Kean won 564 out of 567 municipalities (all except Audubon Park, Chesilhurst, and Roosevelt)[2] and a 62% majority among African-American voters,[3] a remarkable margin for a modern Republican candidate. Kean's coattails led the Republicans to win the General Assembly for the first time since the 1971 elections.[4] To date, Kean is the last Republican to win Essex and Hudson counties in a statewide election and the last candidate of any party to carry every county. Until 2021, this was the last election where the winning candidate was of the same party as the sitting president.

Republican primary

Results

Incumbent Governor Thomas Kean was unopposed in the Republican primary election.

Republican primary results[5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Thomas Kean (incumbent) 151,259 100.00
Total votes 151,259 100.00

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declined

Results

Democratic Party primary results[5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Peter Shapiro 101,243 31.02
Democratic John F. Russo 86,827 26.60
Democratic Kenneth A. Gibson 85,293 26.13
Democratic Stephen B. Wiley 27,914 8.55
Democratic Robert Del Tufo 19,742 6.05
Democratic Elliot Greenspan 5,834 1.65
Total votes 326,403 100.00

General election

Candidates

Campaign

Kean was riding on high popularity ratings from voters on account of the good economic situation of the state in the 1980s including a surplus in the state budget.[8]

His efforts to aid depressed cities through Urban Enterprise Zones and reaching out to groups not typically associated with the Republicans including African Americans and labor unions led to endorsements from black ministers, Coretta Scott King,[9] the AFL–CIO, and The New York Times.[10][11]

Shapiro ran on a platform of reducing car insurance rates, the state's high property taxes, and improvement of the environment but his struggles of fundraising due to New Jersey being located in two expensive media markets (New York City and Philadelphia) and Kean's momentum left his campaign little-received.[10]

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size 		Margin of
error 		Peter
Shapiro (D) 		Tom
Kean (R) 		Undecided
Star-Ledger/Eagleton[12] August 15–25, 1985 586 RV ±4.1% 13% 68% 19%
Star-Ledger/Eagleton[12] Sept. 29–Oct. 8, 1985 982 LV ±3.2% 16% 67% 17%

Results

New Jersey Gubernatorial Election, 1985[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Thomas Kean (incumbent) 1,372,631 69.58% Increase20.12
Democratic Peter Shapiro 578,402 29.32% Decrease20.06
Independent Rodger Headrick 8,537 0.43% N/A
Libertarian Virginia Flynn 4,710 0.24% Increase 0.14
Socialist Workers Mark Satinoff 3,703 0.19% Increase 0.12
Socialist Labor Julius Levin 2,740 0.14% Increase 0.05
Communist George M. Fishman 1,901 0.10% N/A
Majority 794,402 40.26%
Turnout 1,972,624
Republican hold Swing

Notes

  1. ^ Only top two candidates

References

  1. ^ O'Neill, Erin (November 29, 2012). "Raymond Bateman says Tom Kean won the 1985 gubernatorial election by largest margin in state's history". PolitiFact New Jersey. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  2. ^ Hanley, Robert (November 15, 1999). "Reality Catches Up to a Utopian Legacy; A New Jersey Oasis Debates High Taxes and Suburban Growth". The New York Times. Retrieved June 16, 2015. When Gov. Thomas H. Kean, a Republican, ran for re-election in 1985, he won by a landslide, with 564 of the state's 567 towns. Roosevelt was one of the three that voted against him. (The others were two tiny boroughs in Camden County: Audubon Park and Chesilhurst.)
  3. ^ Stone, Roger (September 30, 1989). "How the G.O.P. Can Nail Down the Black Vote". The New York Times. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  4. ^ Reilly, Matthew (November 5, 1985). "Republican Gov. Thomas Kean, winner four years ago of..." United Press International. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Candidates for the Office of Governor - State of New Jersey" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. 1989. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  6. ^ "5th Democrat in Race For Governor in Jersey". The New York Times. Associated Press. March 16, 1985. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  7. ^ a b c d e Staff (November 3, 1985). "Other candidates in the race to be the Governor of Jersey". The New York Times. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  8. ^ Sullivan, Joseph F. (June 5, 1985). "Democrats in Jersey select Shapiro to face Kean in fall". The New York Times. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  9. ^ Norman, Michael (October 26, 1985). "CORETTA KING, IN JERSEY, BACKS KEAN AS HE SEEKS THE SUPPORT OF BLACKS". The New York Times. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  10. ^ a b "1985 Elections: New Directions for Parties?". CQ Almanac (41st ed.). 1986. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  11. ^ NYT Editorial Board (October 29, 1985). "Governor Kean for New Jersey". The New York Times. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  12. ^ a b Star-Ledger/Eagleton
  13. ^ "Votes Cast for the Office of Governor of the State of New Jersey" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. 1985. Retrieved June 16, 2015.