1993 New Jersey gubernatorial election
November 2, 1993
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| Turnout | 65% ( 5pp) | ||||||||||||||||
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Whitman: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% Florio: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in New Jersey |
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The 1993 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1993. Incumbent Democratic governor James Florio was narrowly defeated by Republican former Somerset County freeholder and 1990 U.S. Senate nominee Christine Todd Whitman. Florio's defeat followed backlash from voters against his administration's tax increases. Upon winning the election, Whitman became the first woman to serve as governor of New Jersey.
Primary elections were held on June 8, 1993. In the Democratic primary, Governor Florio's only challenger, anti-tax activist John Budzash, was disqualified from the ballot due to invalid petition signatures. In the Republican primary, Whitman defeated former state attorney general W. Cary Edwards and former state senator James Wallwork.