1961 New Jersey gubernatorial election

1961 New Jersey gubernatorial election

November 7, 1961

Nominee Richard J. Hughes James P. Mitchell Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,084,194 1,049,274 Percentage 50.4% 48.7%

County results Hughes:      50–60%      60–70% Mitchell:      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election Robert B. Meyner Democratic Elected Governor Richard J. Hughes Democratic

The 1961 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1961. Democratic nominee Richard J. Hughes defeated Republican nominee James P. Mitchell with 50.37% of the vote.

Primary elections

Primary elections were held on April 18, 1961.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Richard J. Hughes, former Superior Court judge
• Weldon R. Sheets
• Eugene E. Demarest

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Richard J. Hughes	222,789	84.21
	Democratic	Weldon R. Sheets	21,285	8.05
	Democratic	Eugene E. Demarest	20,487	7.74
Total votes			264,561	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

• James P. Mitchell, former United States Secretary of Labor
• Walter H. Jones, State Senator from Bergen County
• Wayne Dumont, State Senator from Warren County
• Louis Berns

Results

Republican Party primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	James P. Mitchell	202,188	43.68
	Republican	Walter H. Jones	160,553	34.69
	Republican	Wayne Dumont	95,761	20.69
	Republican	Louis Berns	4,376	0.95
Total votes			462,878	100.00

General election

Candidates

• G. George Addonizio (Independent)
• Richard J. Hughes, former Mercer County Superior Court judge (Democratic)
• Henry B. Krajewski, perennial candidate (Veterans Bonus Now)
• Edward J. Lueddeke (Prosperity with Liberty)
• Reinhardt V. Metzger, former Assemblyman from Essex County (Conservative)
• James P. Mitchell, former United States Secretary of Labor (Republican)
• Daniel Petrino (State Soldiers Bonus)
• Albert Ronis (Socialist Labor)
• Ruth F. Shiminsky (Socialist Workers)

Results

New Jersey gubernatorial election, 1961

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Richard J. Hughes	1,084,194	50.37%	4.18
	Republican	James P. Mitchell	1,049,274	48.74%	4.28
	Conservative	Reinhardt V. Metzger	5,820	0.27%	0.03
	Independent	Henry B. Krajewski	3,904	0.18%	0.13
	Independent	Edward J. Lueddeke	2,541	0.12%	N/A
	Independent	G. George Addonizio	2,462	0.11%	N/A
	Socialist Labor	Albert Ronis	2,103	0.10%	0.21
	Independent	Daniel Petrino	1,393	0.07%	N/A
	Socialist Workers	Ruth F. Shiminsky	971	0.05%	N/A
Majority
Turnout
	Democratic hold		Swing

Results by county

By county

County Richard J. Hughes Democratic James P. Mitchell Republican Various candidates Other parties Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # % Atlantic 27,254 42.9% 34,766 54.7% 1,510 2.4% 7,512 11.8% 63,530 Bergen 123,421 41.4% 171,180 57.5% 3,236 1.4% 47,759 16.1% 297,837 Burlington 30,756 52.6% 27,331 46.8% 359 0.6% 3,425 5.8% 58,446 Camden 74,030 54.9% 59,984 44.5% 768 0.6% 14,046 10.4% 134,782 Cape May 8,725 43.9% 11,008 55.4% 133 0.6% 2,283 11.5% 19,866 Cumberland 19,266 54.7% 15,769 44.8% 169 0.5% 3,497 9.9% 35,204 Essex 156,033 53.1% 135,342 46.1% 2,418 0.8% 20,691 7.0% 293,793 Gloucester 25,289 51.0% 24,183 48.8% 109 0.2% 1,106 1.2% 49,581 Hudson 136,145 57.9% 95,886 40.8% 2,937 1.2% 40,259 17.1% 234,968 Hunterdon 8,725 42.7% 11,555 56.5% 168 0.8% 2,830 13.8% 20,448 Mercer 61,550 61.9% 37,444 37.6% 473 0.5% 24,106 24.3% 99,467 Middlesex 98,359 59.5% 65,577 39.7% 1,262 0.7% 32,782 19.8% 165,198 Monmouth 49,227 43.8% 61,513 54.8% 1,584 1.5% 12,286 11.0% 112,324 Morris 29,216 34.7% 54,564 64.7% 531 0.6% 25,348 30.0% 84,311 Ocean 18,154 41.9% 24,753 57.1% 416 1.0% 6,599 15.2% 43,323 Passaic 72,175 53.6% 61,176 45.5% 1,221 0.9% 10,999 8.1% 134,572 Salem 12,237 56.2% 9,532 43.8% 11 0.01% 2,705 12.4% 21,780 Somerset 22,784 43.9% 28,596 55.1% 477 0.9% 5,812 11.2% 51,857 Sussex 7,674 39.7% 11,611 60.1% 44 0.3% 3,937 20.4% 19,329 Union 90,912 48.0% 97,205 51.3% 1,313 0.7% 6,293 3.3% 189,430 Warren 12,262 54.2% 10,299 45.5% 55 0.2% 1,963 8.7% 22,616 Totals 1,084,194 50.37% 1,049,274 48.74% 19,194 0.91% 34,920 1.63% 2,207,931 Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Monmouth Somerset Union