1965 New Jersey gubernatorial election
{{Short description|none}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox election
| election_name = 1965 New Jersey gubernatorial election
| country = New Jersey
| type = Presidential
| ongoing = no
| previous_election = 1961 New Jersey gubernatorial election
| previous_year = 1961
| next_election = 1969 New Jersey gubernatorial election
| next_year = 1969
| election_date = November 2, 1965
| image1 = File:Richard J. Hughes 1962 (cropped).jpg
| image_size = 150x150px
| nominee1 = Richard J. Hughes
| party1 = Democratic Party (United States)
| popular_vote1 = 1,279,568
| percentage1 = 57.4%
| image2 = 3x4.svg
| nominee2 = Wayne Dumont
| party2 = Republican Party (United States)
| popular_vote2 = 915,996
| percentage2 = 41.1%
| map_image = 1965 New Jersey gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
| map_size = 280px
| map_caption = County results
Hughes: {{legend0|#7996e2|50–60%}} {{legend0|#6674de|60–70%}} {{legend0|#584cde|70–80%}}
Dumont: {{legend0|#e27f7f|50–60%}}
| title = Governor
| before_election = Richard J. Hughes
| before_party = Democratic Party (United States)
| after_election = Richard J. Hughes
| after_party = Democratic Party (United States)
}}
{{ElectionsNJ}}
The 1965 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1965. Incumbent Democrat Richard J. Hughes defeated Republican nominee Wayne Dumont with 57.39% of the vote. The gubernatorial elections from 1953 to 1965 are the last in New Jersey in which any party won more than two consecutive elections. This is the most recent time a Democrat was reelected Governor with a higher share of the vote than the previous election.
Primary elections were held on June 1, 1965.{{cite web|url=http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/1920-1970-results/1965-primary-election.pdf |title=Candidates for the Office of Governor - State of New Jersey |publisher=Secretary of State of New Jersey |year=1965 |access-date=August 24, 2015}} Hughes was easily re-elected over token opposition from William H. Clark, while Dumont won a narrow primary over fellow state senator Charles W. Sandman Jr. of Cape May County.
Bergen County voted Democratic for the first time since 1931, and since this election, the county has become a bellwether having voted for the winning candidate all but once since. Democrats simultaneously flipped both houses of the New Jersey legislature, a first since 1915.
Democratic primary
=Candidates=
- Richard J. Hughes, incumbent Governor
- William H. Clark, Newark Marxist activist and member of the Negro-Labor Vanguard
=Results=
{{Election box begin no change
| title = Democratic primary results
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Richard J. Hughes (incumbent)
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 236,518
| percentage = 90.89%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = William H. Clark
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 23,722
| percentage = 9.12%
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 260,240
| percentage = 100.00%
}}
{{Election box end}}
Republican primary
=Candidates=
- Wayne Dumont, State Senator from Warren County
- Charles W. Sandman, Jr., State Senator from Cape May County
- Harold P. Poeschel, Short Hills life insurance agent and perennial Conservative Party candidate{{cite news|title=Williams Is Given Edge on Shanley – Anti‐Goldwater Vote Seen Going to Jersey Senator|work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/10/26/archives/williams-is-given-edge-on-shanley-antigoldwater-vote-seen-going-to.html|date=26 Oct 1964|page=34}}{{cite news|title=G.O.P. Fights Pace Jersey Primaries; 3,146,000 Are Eligible to Vote on Tuesday|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1965/05/30/101551518.html?pageNumber=54|page=54|date=30 May 1965|newspaper=The New York Times|last=Waggoner|first=Walter H.}}
==Declined==
=Campaign=
Senator Nelson Stamler ran an unannounced campaign for party support, citing opposition to court-mandated legislative redistricting and Dumont's proposal for a sales tax. After failing to gain endorsements, Stamler declined to run and instead endorsed Sandman.
=Results=
{{Election box begin no change
| title = Republican Party primary results
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Wayne Dumont
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| votes = 167,402
| percentage = 50.35%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Charles W. Sandman Jr.
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| votes = 154,491
| percentage = 46.47%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Harold P. Poeschel
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| votes = 10,576
| percentage = 3.18%
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 332,469
| percentage = 100.00%
}}
{{Election box end}}
General election
=Candidates=
- Wayne Dumont, State Senator from Warren County (Republican)
- Richard J. Hughes, incumbent Governor since 1962 (Democratic)
- Julius Levin, apartment manager (Socialist Labor)
- Robert Lee Schlachter (Conservative)
- Ruth F. Shiminsky (Socialist Workers)
- Christopher C. Vespucci (Veterans Choice)
=Results=
{{Election box begin | title=New Jersey gubernatorial election, 1965{{cite web|url=http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/1920-1970-results/1965-general-election.pdf |title=Votes Cast for the Office of Governor of the State of New Jersey |publisher=Secretary of State of New Jersey |year=1965 |access-date=August 24, 2015}}}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link|
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| candidate = Richard J. Hughes (incumbent)
| votes = 1,279,568
| percentage = 57.39%
| change = {{increase}} 7.02
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| candidate = Wayne Dumont
| votes = 915,996
| percentage = 41.08%
| change = {{decrease}} 7.66
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
| party = New Jersey Conservative Party
| candidate = Robert Lee Schlachter
| votes = 20,753
| percentage = 0.93%
| change = {{increase}} 0.73
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
| party = Independent politician
| candidate = Christopher C. Vespucci
| votes = 5,378
| percentage = 0.24%
| change = N/A
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
| party = Socialist Labor Party of America
| candidate = Julius Levin
| votes = 4,669
| percentage = 0.21%
| change = {{increase}} 0.11
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
| party = Socialist Workers Party (United States)
| candidate = Ruth F. Shiminsky
| votes = 3,219
| percentage = 0.14%
| change = {{increase}} 0.09
}}
{{Election box majority|
| votes =
| percentage =
| change =
}}
{{Election box turnout|
| votes =
| percentage =
| change =
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{{Election box hold with party link|
| winner = Democratic Party (United States)
| loser =
| swing =
}}
{{Election box end}}
References
{{Reflist}}{{1965 United States elections|state=collapsed}}