1985 New Jersey gubernatorial election


The New Jersey gubernatorial election of 1985 was a race for Governor of New Jersey held on November 5, 1985. Incumbent Republican Governor Thomas Kean sought reelection for a second term following his 1797-vote win in the 1981 election. Kean's 40-point landslide victory against the Democratic candidate, Essex County Executive Peter Shapiro, is the largest plurality in terms of percentage and raw votes in all modern New Jersey gubernatorial elections. Kean won 564 out of 567 municipalities and his coattails led the Republicans to win the General Assembly with a 50-seat majority. To date, Kean is the most recent Republican to win Essex and Hudson counties in a statewide election.
Kean also won a 62% majority among African-American voters. As of 2020 this is the last New Jersey gubernatorial election won by someone of the same party as the incumbent president.

Primary elections

s were held on Tuesday June 4, 1985.

Republican primary

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

Democratic primary

Candidates

General election

Candidates

Major party candidates
Other candidates
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.
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, the AFL–CIO, and The New York Times.
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 and Kean's momentum left his campaign little-received.

Results