The 1985 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1985. Incumbent Republican Governor Thomas Kean won a landslide re-election against the Democratic candidate, Essex County Executive Peter Shapiro. Until 2025, Kean had the largest margin in raw votes, but still holds the record for the largest percentage margin and largest vote share in all New Jersey gubernatorial elections to date. Kean was the first Republican to be re-elected governor since 1949, and the first Republican to ever win two four-year terms.

Primary elections were held on June 4. Kean was unopposed for the Republican nomination. In the Democratic primary, Shapiro prevailed over strong competition from Senate President John F. Russo and Newark mayor Kenneth A. Gibson. Stephen B. Wiley and Robert Del Tufo ran competitive campaigns but finished well behind the top three.

The general election was a foregone conclusion in favor of the popular incumbent. Kean won 564 out of 567 municipalities (all except Audubon Park, Chesilhurst, and Roosevelt) and a 62% majority among African-American voters, a remarkable margin for a modern Republican candidate. Kean's coattails led the Republicans to win the General Assembly for the first time since the 1971 elections. To date, Kean is the last Republican to win Essex and Hudson counties in a statewide election and the last candidate of any party to carry every county. Until 2021, this was the last election where the winning candidate was of the same party as the sitting president.

Republican primary Candidates Thomas Kean, incumbent governor since 1982 Campaign finance Primary campaign finance activityCandidateSpentTom Kean$1,144,244Source: New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission

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

Democratic primary Candidates Robert Del Tufo, former U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey Kenneth A. Gibson, mayor of Newark Elliot Greenspan, president of the New Jersey chapter of the National Democratic Policy Committee John F. Russo, state senator from Toms River and Senate majority leader Peter Shapiro, Essex County executive and former assemblyman Stephen B. Wiley, former state senator from Morris Township

Declined James Florio, U.S. Representative from Camden and nominee for Governor in 1981

Campaign finance Primary campaign finance activityCandidateSpentPeter Shapiro$1,161,161John Russo$1,134,504Stephen B. Wiley$1,058,851Kenneth Gibson$987,835Robert Del Tufo$737,094Elliot Greenspan$600Source: New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission

Results

General election Candidates George M. Fishman, retired social studies teacher (Communist) Virginia Flynn, word processor and Universal Life Church minister (Libertarian) Rodger Headrick, real estate salesman (The True Light) Julius Levin, apartment manager (Socialist Labor) Thomas Kean, incumbent Governor since 1982 (Republican) Mark Satinoff, sheet metal worker (Socialist Workers) Peter Shapiro, Essex County Executive and former Assemblyman (Democratic)

Campaign 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 (New York City and Philadelphia) and Kean's momentum left his campaign little-received.

Polling Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Margin oferror PeterShapiro (D) TomKean (R) UndecidedStar-Ledger/EagletonStar-Ledger/EagletonAugust 15–25, 1985586 RV±4.1% 13% 68% 19%Star-Ledger/EagletonSept. 29–Oct. 8, 1985982 LV±3.2% 16% 67% 17%

Campaign finance General election campaign finance activityCandidateSpentTom Kean$2,254,971Peter Shapiro$1,980,213Source: New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission

Results

By county County Kean % Kean # Shapiro % Shapiro vo## Other % Other # Atlantic 69.1% 38,477 29.8% 16,611 1.1% 608 Bergen 71.5% 181,238 27.8% 70,525 0.6% 1,554 Burlington 68.7% 56,573 30.5% 25,078 0.9% 696 Camden 60.9% 70,374 38.1% 43,960 0.9% 1,173 Cape May 74.7% 23,331 24.5% 7,665 0.8% 239 Cumberland 66.4% 21,017 31.8% 10,065 1.8% 570 Essex 66.9% 121,685 31.2% 56,694 1.8% 3,383 Gloucester 63.6% 35,424 35.3% 19,662 1.2% 640 Hudson 65.1% 88,165 34.1% 46,195 0.8% 1,160 Hunterdon 75.4% 17,875 22.7% 5,388 1.9% 453 Mercer 63.2% 53,562 35.6% 30,212 1.2% 994 Middlesex 65.8% 113,020 33.1% 56,815 1.0% 1,804 Monmouth 72.9% 109,238 26.4% 39,529 0.7% 1,084 Morris 78.4% 85,189 21.0% 22,847 0.4% 566 Ocean 73.7% 90,670 25.1% 30,948 1.2% 1,455Passaic 69.8% 70,896 28.8% 29,263 1.4% 1,429 Salem 64.9% 12,376 33.7% 6,417 1.4% 270 Somerset 75.6% 44,502 23.1% 13,601 1.3% 761 Sussex 77.7% 22,109 21.1% 5,998 1.2% 346 Union 73.3% 102,411 25.1% 35,060 1.5% 2,187 Warren 70.4% 14,499 28.5% 5,869 1.0% 219

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Burlington Camden Cumberland Essex Gloucester Hudson Mercer Middlesex Salem

Notes

References

External links U.S. Election Atlas October 28 analysis of the race by Prof. Cliff Zukin of the Eagleton Institute of Politics