# 2001 New Jersey gubernatorial election

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vte :
The 2001 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2001. Primaries took place on June 25. Democratic nominee Jim McGreevey won the general election with 56% of the vote against Republican Bret Schundler, becoming New Jersey's first majority-elected governor since James Florio in 1989.
McGreevey, who was sworn in on January 15, 2002, resigned in November 2004 after disclosing both his homosexuality and an alleged extramarital relationship with a man whom he had appointed as one of his advisors. He was succeeded by Senate President Richard Codey, who filled the remainder of McGreevey's term.

## Democratic primary
### Candidates

* Jim McGreevey, Mayor of Woodbridge, former state senator and nominee for governor in 1997
* Elliot Greenspan, LaRouche activist

#### Withdrew

* Robert Torricelli, U.S. Senator since 1997 (withdrew August 1, 2000)

### Results

Democratic Primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Jim McGreevey | 250,404 | 95.54% |
| | Democratic | Elliot Greenspan | 11,682 | 4.46% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 262,086 | 100.00% |

## Republican primary
### Candidates

* Bob Franks, former U.S. Representative from Summit and nominee for U.S. Senate in 2000
* Bret Schundler, Mayor of Jersey City

#### Withdrew

* Donald DiFrancesco, President of the New Jersey Senate and acting Governor

#### Declined

* Jack Collins, Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly since 1996

### Results

Republican Primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Bret Schundler | 193,342 | 57.38% |
| | Republican | Bob Franks | 143,606 | 42.62% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 336,948 | 100.00% |

## General election
### Candidates

* Jerry Coleman (Green)
* Mark Edgerton (Libertarian)
* Michael Koontz (Conservative)
* James McGreevey, former mayor of Woodbridge, State Senator, and nominee for Governor in 1997 (Democratic)
* Costantino Rozzo (Socialist)
* Kari Sachs (Socialist Workers)
* William E. Schluter, State Senator from Pennington (Independent)
* Bret Schundler, Mayor of Jersey City (Republican)

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Jim McGreevey (D) | Bret Schundler (R) | Bill Schluter (I) | Other/ Undecided |
| Rutgers-Eagleton | January 24–30, 2001 | 649 RV | ±4.0% | 43% | 19% | — | 37% |
| Rutgers-Eagleton | April 11–17, 2001 | 632 RV | ±4.0% | 46% | 22% | — | 32% |
| Rutgers-Eagleton | August 15–21, 2001 | 395 LV | ±5.0% | 54% | 33% | — | 14% |
| Rutgers-Eagleton | August 15–21, 2001 | 395 LV | ±5.0% | 48% | 29% | 4% | 20% |
| Rutgers-Eagleton | September 22–26, 2001 | 424 LV | ±4.0% | 46% | 31% | — | 24% |
| Rutgers-Eagleton | October 13–17, 2001 | 449 LV | ±4.7% | 45% | 33% | — | 22% |
| Rutgers-Eagleton | Oct. 30–Nov. 2, 2001 | 746 LV | ±3.7% | 53% | 36% | — | 11% |
* ↑ In 2006, DiFrancesco was retroactively named the 51st Governor of New Jersey by an act of the legislature, but at the time of this election, his title was Acting Governor.
* ↑ Key: A – all adults RV – registered voters LV – likely voters PV – "probable" voters
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Jim McGreevey (D) | Donald DiFrancesco (R) | Other/ Undecided |
| Rutgers-Eagleton | January 24–30, 2001 | 649 LV | ±4.0% | 39% | 26% | 35% |
| Rutgers-Eagleton | April 11–17, 2001 | 632 LV | ±4.0% | 44% | 26% | 30% |

### Results

New Jersey Gubernatorial Election, 2001 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Jim McGreevey | 1,256,853 | 56.43% | 10.6 |
| | Republican | Bret Schundler | 928,174 | 41.68% | 5.2 |
| | Independent | Bill Schluter | 24,084 | 1.08% | N/A |
| | Green | Jerry L. Coleman | 6,238 | 0.28% | 0.16 |
| | Libertarian | Mark Edgerton | 4,684 | 0.21% | 4.51 |
| | Independent | George Watson, Jr. | 2,568 | 0.12% | N/A |
| | Conservative | Michael W. Koontz | 1,949 | 0.09% | 1.36 |
| | Socialist | Costantino Rozzo | 1,537 | 0.07% | 0.05 |
| | Socialist Workers | Kari Sachs | 1,078 | 0.05% | 0.07 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 328,679 | 14.76% | +13.71% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,227,165 | | |
| | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Swing | | |
Results by county
| County | McGreevey votes | McGreevey % | Schundler votes | Schundler % | Other votes | Other % |
| Atlantic | 38,623 | 57.5% | 27,547 | 41.0% | 995 | 1.5% |
| Bergen | 140,215 | 55.1% | 111,221 | 43.7% | 3,106 | 1.2% |
| Burlington | 62,697 | 55.4% | 48,098 | 42.5% | 2,437 | 2.2% |
| Camden | 78,169 | 64.6% | 40,063 | 33.1% | 2,728 | 2.3% |
| Cape May | 17,118 | 48.5% | 17,471 | 49.5% | 735 | 2.1% |
| Cumberland | 19,445 | 57.7% | 13,583 | 40.3% | 668 | 2.0% |
| Essex | 129,406 | 71.9% | 48,540 | 27.0% | 2,083 | 1.2% |
| Gloucester | 41,083 | 58.1% | 28,210 | 39.9% | 1,392 | 2.0% |
| Hudson | 85,074 | 68.8% | 37,440 | 30.3% | 1,224 | 1.0% |
| Hunterdon | 13,911 | 35.3% | 23,059 | 58.4% | 2,484 | 6.3% |
| Mercer | 57,513 | 60.9% | 31,705 | 33.6% | 5,148 | 5.5% |
| Middlesex | 117,061 | 62.7% | 66,749 | 35.7% | 2,999 | 1.6% |
| Monmouth | 91,838 | 49.5% | 89,987 | 48.5% | 3,647 | 2.0% |
| Morris | 60,948 | 42.8% | 79,350 | 55.8% | 1,942 | 1.4% |
| Ocean | 84,538 | 51.2% | 77,726 | 47.1% | 2,690 | 1.6% |
| Passaic | 62,390 | 58.1% | 43,806 | 40.8% | 1,238 | 1.2% |
| Salem | 10,837 | 53.5% | 8,878 | 43.8% | 540 | 2.7% |
| Somerset | 39,110 | 45.6% | 44,815 | 52.2% | 1,903 | 2.2% |
| Sussex | 14,641 | 37.5% | 23,478 | 60.1% | 957 | 2.4% |
| Union | 79,682 | 60.3% | 50,780 | 38.4% | 1,790 | 1.4% |
| Warren | 12,554 | 42.3% | 15,668 | 52.8% | 1,432 | 4.8% |

#### Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

* Atlantic (largest municipality: Egg Harbor Township)
* Bergen (largest municipality: Hackensack)
* Monmouth (largest municipality: Middletown Township)
* Ocean (largest municipality: Lakewood)
* Salem (largest municipality: Pennsville Township)