1961 New Jersey gubernatorial election
November 7, 1961
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| Turnout | 73.3% of eligible voters (0.7 pp) | ||||||||||||||||
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County results Hughes: 50–60% 60–70% Mitchell: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in New Jersey |
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The 1961 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1961. Democratic incumbent Robert B. Meyner was term-limited and eligible to run for re-election. Democratic nominee Richard J. Hughes defeated Republican nominee James P. Mitchell with 50 percent of the vote. This was the last election until 2025 where the term-limited governor was succeeded by a member of their own party via election.
Primary elections were held on April 18, 1961. Richard J. Hughes won the Democratic nomination with nominal opposition after consolidating party organization support in February. In the Republican primary, U.S. labor secretary James P. Mitchell won the nomination over state senators Walter H. Jones and Wayne Dumont in a demonstration of the strength of U.S. senator Clifford P. Case over the party.