Complex sentence: While in Congress, he would make three attempts to be elected Governor of New Jersey in 1977,1981 and 1989, winning the Democratic nomination in 1981 and finally winning both the nomination and the governorship in 1989.
Split into simpler sentences: While in Congress, he would make three attempts to be elected Governor of New Jersey, in 1977,1981 and 1989. He got as far as winning the Democratic nomination in 1981 and finally won both the nomination and the governorship in 1989.