The 2017 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2017, to elect a new governor of New Jersey. Incumbent Republican Governor Chris Christie was term-limited and could not seek a third consecutive term. Former U.S. Ambassador to Germany, Phil Murphy and former Speaker of the Assembly Sheila Oliver won the gubernatorial election in a landslide, defeating incumbent lieutenant governor Kim Guadagno and the incumbent Mayor of Woodcliff Lake Carlos Rendo by a wide margin of 14.14%. This election was one of the first major races that took place during Donald Trump's first presidency.
Primary elections took place on June 6, 2017. Kim Guadagno, the incumbent lieutenant governor of New Jersey, won the Republican primary for governor and chose Woodcliff Lake Mayor Carlos Rendo as her running mate. Phil Murphy, a banker and former U.S. Ambassador to Germany, won the Democratic primary, and chose former State Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver as his running mate. Seth Kaper-Dale ran as the Green Party candidate with Lisa Durden, while Pete Rohrman ran as the Libertarian Party candidate with Karrese Laguerre. Matt Riccardi ran as the Constitution Party candidate. There were two other independent candidates on the ballot.
Murphy led throughout the general election, with many analysts expecting a Democratic pickup. When polls closed on Election Day, Murphy was immediately declared the winner, based on exit polling alone. Murphy received 56.0% of the vote to Guadagno's 41.9%. Murphy slightly outperformed Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential run in the state, and won one county (Gloucester) that Clinton lost in 2016, while Guadagno didn't win any county that Clinton won in 2016. With the election of Sheila Oliver as lieutenant governor, she became the first woman of color elected to statewide office in New Jersey. 38.5% of registered voters cast ballots, marking the lowest turnout on record for any gubernatorial election in New Jersey. Guadagno later left the Republican Party in July 2021.
2017 was the first New Jersey gubernatorial election since 1989 in which the Democratic candidate won Somerset County, as well as the first since 2005 in which the Democratic candidate won Burlington County, Middlesex County, Atlantic County, or Gloucester County. Murphy became the first New Jersey governor since Brendan Byrne in 1973 to win without any prior elected experience, and the first since Charles Edison in 1940 to win without having held any prior public office in the state. This is the first gubernatorial election since 1937 in which the Democratic nominee won without winning Salem County, and the first since 1981 that it voted for the losing candidate.
Primary elections took place on June 6, 2017. New Jersey utilizes a semi-closed primary system, meaning that only registered party members may vote in primary elections. However, unaffiliated voters can change their party registration and vote in either party primary on election day.
The deadline to file petitions to qualify for primary elections was April 3; eleven contenders submitted petitions satisfying the requirement of 1,000 signatures. On April 18, as is required by the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, the candidates' financial disclosures, showing sources of earned income (e.g. salaries) and unearned income (e.g. investments), were made public.
Gubernatorial primary candidates utilized what is known as the "matching funds" program. Those who raised at least $430,000 qualified to receive two dollars in public money for every dollar raised privately. State law mandates that any primary candidates who qualify for matching funds must participate in at least two primary debates. Candidates who choose not to seek matching funds but commit to raising and spending at least $430,000 can also participate. As of May 8, primary candidates had received donations from ten states other than New Jersey.
The first debates were held on May 9, hosted by Stockton University. The Republicans debated first followed by the Democrats. The debates were live-streamed on Facebook, the university's website via Livestream, and on News 12 New Jersey. The live stream was simulcast in Spanish. The second Democratic debate was held on May 11, the second Republican debate on May 18. They were co-hosted by PBS Member network NJTV and NJ Spotlight.
The Republican debates included two of the five candidates: Jack Ciattarelli and Kim Guadagno, who both qualified for matching funds. Hirsh Singh filed a lawsuit to enter the debates, claiming to have raised over $900,000 despite missing a deadline to file; his challenge was rejected by the state courts.
The Democratic debates included four of the six candidates: Jim Johnson, John Wisniewski (who both qualified for matching funds), Phil Murphy (who opted out of matching funds but had spent enough to qualify), and Raymond Lesniak (who did not raise enough to qualify for matching funds but loaned his campaign enough money to qualify for the debates).
Seven candidates were on the ballot in the November general election, the lowest number in a New Jersey gubernatorial contest since six ran in 1989.
The following candidates have qualified to appear in the state-sponsored debates:
The following third-party or independent candidates qualified for the ballot but did not raise enough money to qualify for state-sponsored debates:
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
Murphy won nine of 12 congressional districts, including two held by Republicans.
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