1961 New Jersey gubernatorial election

* * *

| <- 1957 | November 7, 1961 | 1965 ->

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|  |  |

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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

|

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* v
* t
* e

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

[edit]

Primary elections were held on April 18, 1961.[1]

### Democratic primary

[edit]

#### Candidates

[edit]

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

#### Results

[edit]

Democratic primary results[1] 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

[edit]

#### Candidates

[edit]

* 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

[edit]

Republican Party primary results[1] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

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|
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| 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

[edit]

### Candidates

[edit]

* 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

[edit]

New Jersey gubernatorial election, 1961[2] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

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|
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| 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

[edit]

By county

| County  | Richard J. Hughes
Democratic  | James P. Mitchell
Republican  | Various candidates
Other parties  | Margin  | Total votes cast

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#  | %  | #  | %  | #  | %  | #  | %
Atlantic | 27,254  |  | 34,766  |  | 1,510  |  | 7,512  |  | 64,643
Bergen | 123,421  |  | 171,180  |  | 3,236  |  | 47,759  |  | 306,714
Burlington | 30,756  |  | 27,331  |  | 359  |  | 3,425  |  | 64,195
Camden |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 141,026
Cape May |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 21,154
Cumberland |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 36,022
Essex |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 295,946
Gloucester |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 50,568
Hudson |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 236,153
Hunterdon |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 20,940
Mercer |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 101,628
Middlesex |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 166,279
Monmouth |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 117,681
Morris |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 89,453
Ocean |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 43,354
Passaic |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 139,174
Salem |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 22,236
Somerset |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 53,532
Sussex |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 19,412
Union |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 194,471
Warren |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 23,350
Totals | 1,084,194 | 50.37% | 1,049,274 | 48.74% | 19,194 | 0.91% | 34,920 | 1.63% | 2,207,931

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Candidates for the Office of Governor - State of New Jersey" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. 1961. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
2. ^ "Votes Cast for the Office of Governor of the State of New Jersey" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. 1961. Retrieved August 25, 2015.

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