James Florio - 1993 Election

1993 Election

In 1991, the Democrats lost their majority in the state legislature, for the first time in 20 years. The governor's approval ratings were as low as 18% but stabilized to roughly 50% by 1993. He made an effort for conservative support by making tighter restrictions on welfare payments to mothers and enjoyed the strong support of President Bill Clinton. Clinton advisers James Carville and Paul Begala worked on the campaign.

Due in large part to the tax hikes, Florio lost his bid for re-election to Republican Somerset County freeholder Christine Todd Whitman and became the first governor since the adoption of the state's current constitution in 1947 to lose a re-election vote (although William T. Cahill, who was elected in 1969, was defeated in the Republican primary in 1973). Whitman won by a narrow margin of 26,093 votes out of 2,505,964 votes cast.