1981 United States gubernatorial elections
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3 governorships 2 states; 1 territory | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Republican gain
Democratic gain | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 3, 1981, in two states and one territory. Both state seats were open due to term limits, and both also switched parties, resulting in zero net change for both parties. As of 2025, this is the last time where Virginia and New Jersey's governorships switched to opposite parties.
Election results
[edit]States
[edit]| State | Incumbent | Party | First elected |
Result | Candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey[1] | Brendan Byrne | Democratic | 1973 | Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican gain. |
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| Virginia[2] | John N. Dalton | Republican | 1977 | Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic gain. |
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Territories
[edit]| State | Incumbent | Party | First elected |
Result | Candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Mariana Islands[3][4] | Carlos Camacho | Democratic | 1977 | Incumbent lost re-election. New governor elected. Republican gain. |
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Close states
[edit]States where the margin of victory was under 1%:
- New Jersey, 0.1%
States where the margin of victory was under 10%:
- Virginia, 7.2%
New Jersey
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  Kean: 50–60% 60–70% Florio: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | ||||||||||||||||
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The 1981 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held November 3, 1981. Republican Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly Thomas Kean narrowly defeated Democratic U.S. Representative James Florio, 49.46%-49.38, following a recount.[5] Kean's margin of victory was 1,797 votes out of more than two million votes cast. As of 2025, the 1981 gubernatorial election remains the closest gubernatorial contest in New Jersey history.[6]
Virginia
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| Turnout | 64.8% (voting eligible)[7] | ||||||||||||||||
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 County and independent city results Robb: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Coleman: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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In the 1981 Virginia gubernatorial election, Republican incumbent Governor John N. Dalton was unable to seek re-election due to term limits. Chuck Robb, the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, was nominated by the Democratic Party to run against the Republican nominee, state Attorney General J. Marshall Coleman.
Robb's victory ended 12 consecutive years of Republican control of the Governor's Mansion. Fairfax County voted Democratic for Governor for the first time since 1949.
Territories
[edit]Northern Mariana Islands
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Pedro Tenorio | {{{votes}}} | 56.68% | |
| Independent | Carlos Camacho | {{{votes}}} | 23.07% | |
| Democratic | Herman R. Guerrero | {{{votes}}} | 20.26% | |
| Total votes | {{{votes}}} | 100.00 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
References
[edit]- ^ "Votes Cast for the Office of Governor of the State of New Jersey" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. 1981. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
- ^ "Official Election Results 1981" (PDF). Virginia State Board of Elections. 1981. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
- ^ "Outcome Unchanged By Ballot Count". Marianas Variety. Vol. 10, no. 35. November 13, 1981. p. 3. Retrieved June 12, 2024 – via eVols.
With all the absentee votes counted and challenges disposed of, the results of the Nov. 1 election remain the same.
- ^ "Incomplete Semi-Official Election Results". Marianas Variety. Vol. 10, no. 34. November 6, 1981. p. 2. Retrieved December 17, 2021 – via eVols.
- ^ "Election night 1981, when the N.J. governor's race was too close to call". NJ.com. November 3, 2009. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
- ^ Brindle, Jeffrey (October 3, 2022). "Former Governor Jim Florio – A Public Servant Right to the End". insidernj.com.
- ^ Virginia Department of Elections (2016). "Registration/Turnout Statistics". The Commonwealth of Virginia. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
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