NJ-GOV 1993 & 1997: Why did Christie Whitman barely win?

[Suburbia]

Christie Whitman barely won in 1993 against a Gov. Jim Florio, who was very unpopular due to a $2.8 billion tax hike he proposed and signed, and in 1997 against a young upstart State Sen. Jim McGreevey?

How?

Sexism?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Republicans really damaged themselves with secular suburbanites during the 1990s on both issues like abortion and guns. Furthermore, with the Democrats triangulating on crime, Republicans no longer had a successful wedge issue that would ensure victory in a state like New Jersey.

Whitman was thus running against the national grain by this point while Kean had been running with it in the 1980s if that makes sense.

[Suburbia]

Some think that Whitman stole the 1993 election by allowing Ed Rollins to pay pro-Florio black ministers to stay home to depress turnout in Essex, Hudson, Union and Camden counties, key Democratic areas for victory.

Florio was hated by White New Jerseyans because he raised taxes, but the Black vote, throughout Florio's career was key to his victory.

https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/10/nyregion/whitman-funds-went-to-curtail-black-turnout.html

[SevenEleven]

Some think that Whitman stole the 1993 election by allowing Ed Rollins to pay pro-Florio black ministers to stay home to depress turnout in Essex, Hudson, Union and Camden counties, key Democratic areas for victory.

Florio was hated by White New Jerseyans because he raised taxes, but the Black vote, throughout Florio's career was key to his victory.

https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/10/nyregion/whitman-funds-went-to-curtail-black-turnout.html

If your support is so shallow that it can be bought for cheap, you don't deserve to win, imo. Disgusting tactics but ultimately people need to support their candidate and if they don't, they will bear the consequences.

I think the opponents being Florio and McGreevey speaks for itself. You don't have to bring your racism into every discussion.

[Suburbia]

Some think that Whitman stole the 1993 election by allowing Ed Rollins to pay pro-Florio black ministers to stay home to depress turnout in Essex, Hudson, Union and Camden counties, key Democratic areas for victory.

Florio was hated by White New Jerseyans because he raised taxes, but the Black vote, throughout Florio's career was key to his victory.

https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/10/nyregion/whitman-funds-went-to-curtail-black-turnout.html

If your support is so shallow that it can be bought for cheap, you don't deserve to win, imo. Disgusting tactics but ultimately people need to support their candidate and if they don't, they will bear the consequences.

I think the opponents being Florio and McGreevey speaks for itself. You don't have to bring your racism into every discussion.

I didn't say anything racist. I'm just saying that the NJ election in '93 was very racially divided.

[SevenEleven]

Some think that Whitman stole the 1993 election by allowing Ed Rollins to pay pro-Florio black ministers to stay home to depress turnout in Essex, Hudson, Union and Camden counties, key Democratic areas for victory.

Florio was hated by White New Jerseyans because he raised taxes, but the Black vote, throughout Florio's career was key to his victory.

https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/10/nyregion/whitman-funds-went-to-curtail-black-turnout.html

If your support is so shallow that it can be bought for cheap, you don't deserve to win, imo. Disgusting tactics but ultimately people need to support their candidate and if they don't, they will bear the consequences.

I think the opponents being Florio and McGreevey speaks for itself. You don't have to bring your racism into every discussion.

I didn't say anything racist. I'm just saying that the NJ election in '93 was very racially divided.

Piss off, troll.

[lfromnj]

What? How is it racist to bring up demographics in elections, that was actually quite an interesting find, Bronz tells a lot about NJ elections which I never knew before.

[darklordoftech]

Republicans really damaged themselves with secular suburbanites during the 1990s on both issues like abortion and guns.

Whitman was so afraid of being associated with the Religious Right that she opposed partial-birth abortion bans.

In response to the rest of your post: Do you think Democrats became anti-gun in order to turn the crime issue against the GOP?

[RRusso1982]

Republicans really damaged themselves with secular suburbanites during the 1990s on both issues like abortion and guns. Furthermore, with the Democrats triangulating on crime, Republicans no longer had a successful wedge issue that would ensure victory in a state like New Jersey.

Whitman was thus running against the national grain by this point while Kean had been running with it in the 1980s if that makes sense.

Bingo.  New Jersey went Republican in every election between 1968 and 1988.  Bill Clinton only very narrowly won it over Bush 41 in 1992.  After the Republican revolution of 1994, the Republican party was redefined as the party of Southern conservatives and Newt Gingrich.  All Democrats had to do in New Jersey was to tie the Republican candidate to the national republican party.  Clinton beat Dole by 17 points in 1996 in New Jersey.  Gore beat Bush by 16 points in 2000.  Bush only lost New Jersey by about 7 points in 2004, but that was a post 9/11 bump.  Between the Republican Revolution in 1994 and Obama in 2008, the only Republican victory was Whitman's narrow reelection in 1997.  Then after Obama won in 2008, the Democrats had complete control of the federal government and in New Jersey.  Now with George W. Bush no longer on the front pages of the news every day, these voters were willing to at least hear out the Republican candidate.  Then Christie won in 2009.