The 1977 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1977. Incumbent Democratic governor Brendan Byrne defeated Republican State Senator Raymond Bateman with 55.71% of the vote.
Primary elections were held on June 7. Byrne barely overcame a large field of challengers, unusual for an incumbent governor, to win the Democratic nomination with just over thirty percent of the vote. In the Republican primary, Bateman defeated Thomas Kean by a roughly 66,500 vote majority with former senator C. Robert Sarcone a distant third.
Byrne, whose popularity had plummeted after his landslide 1973 victory and his introduction of the state's first income tax, faced an uphill battle even after surviving the primary. Bateman led in all early polls, usually by a large margin. However, Byrne waged an aggressive campaign, challenging Bateman to several debates and criticizing both his voting record and his comprehensive economic proposals. In doing so, he ate into Bateman's margin in the polls, softened the unpopularity of the income tax, and flipped his own image as a weak incumbent; by November, he was considered the favorite for re-election, and he won handily.
To date, this was the last time the counties of Hunterdon and Warren were carried by a Democratic gubernatorial candidate. This was also the last time New Jersey would re-elect a Democratic governor until Phil Murphy was elected in 2021. As of 2023, this is also the most recent New Jersey gubernatorial election in which both major party candidates have since died.
Background
Governor Brendan Byrne was elected in 1973 with 66.7% of the vote, the largest victory in the state's history. His landslide margin, which was credited to his image as a corruption-proof judge in the immediate wake of the Watergate scandal, swept Democratic supermajorities into both houses of the New Jersey Legislature.
During the 1973 campaign, Byrne commented that he saw no need for a state income tax "for the foreseeable future". Nevertheless, he began to push for an income tax within his first months in office to provide funding for a court-ordered refinancing of New Jersey's public schools. His popularity soon plummeted. After a two-year fight, Byrne's income tax passed in 1976. However, it was set to expire in June 1978, setting up his re-election as a referendum on the tax. During the height of the anti-tax fervor, critics began to call the governor "One-Term Byrne."
In 1976, New Jersey was a battleground state in the presidential campaign. Incumbent Republican president Gerald Ford attacked Byrne by name and made veiled references to the income tax during his visits to the state. When Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn visited the state to campaign, they were jeered by anti-tax demonstrators. At one campaign stop in Newark, Byrne was booed for ten minutes upon his arrival. Though Byrne was one of the earliest supporters of Carter during the primary, the new president avoided the Governor for nearly a year after. Though Ford ultimately lost the national election, Byrne's unpopularity was partially credited for Ford's victory in New Jersey.
Democratic primary
Candidates (with ballot slogans)
- Brendan Byrne, incumbent Governor (Democrats for Byrne)
- Ralph DeRose, former State Senator from Essex County and candidate for governor in 1973 (This Time, Make the Right Choice)
- James Florio, U.S. Representative from Cherry Hill (Regular Democratic Organization)
- A. Howard Freund, American Party nominee for governor in 1973 (Democrats Against State Income Tax)
- Raymond Garramone, state senator from Haworth (Experienced Democrats for Better Government)
- Joseph A. Hoffman, former Commissioner of Labor and Industry (He Can Make New Jersey Work)
- George Koukos (Demand Immediate Repeal of Income Tax)
- Robert A. Roe, U.S. Representative from Wayne (Regular Democratic Party)
- Melvin M. Whaley (Democrat for Change)
- Emery J. Zold (Government For the People: Stop Bossism)
Withdrew
- Paul T. Jordan, Mayor of Jersey City (withdrew following municipal elections)
- Jeffrey Ketterman, former Dean of Seton Hall Law School and aide to Governor Byrne
Byrne's unpopularity, which was particularly strong in blue-collar Democratic areas where opposition to the tax was strongest, prompted a large field of challengers. Early on, there were proposals to remove the incumbent from the race entirely by securing him a federal appointment from President Carter, but these proposals were squashed after Senate President Matthew Feldman, who would have succeeded Byrne, pleaded guilty to commercial bribery.
The first major candidate to enter the race was U.S. Representative Robert A. Roe on February 21. Roe ran as an explicit opponent of the income tax, calling for a state convention to propose at least two alternatives. Roe criticized the general business climate in the state, which he said had resulted in an "absolute decline in manufacturing jobs" and "an endangered capital base".
Another U.S. Representative who stood as a strong challenger was James Florio, a second-term South Jersey who announced his intent to run in January. Before entering the race, Florio publicly claimed he had assurances that the South Jersey counties would back him as a bloc, giving him the leverage necessary to solicit northern support. He formally announced his campaign in March. Despite his earlier opposition to the Byrne plan as a state legislator, Florio surprised observers by claiming there was no need for dramatic reform to the state tax system. He said that it would be difficult to retain the property tax relief and homestead rebate provisions of the Byrne plan without an income tax, and that "there are no glib answers to complex problems like this".
Former senator Ralph DeRose entered as a strictly anti-tax candidate, hoping to win on the back of Essex and Hudson counties alone. Joseph A. Hoffman, who had been ousted from Byrne's cabinet as State Commissioner of Labor and Industry the year prior, filled out the main field of challengers.
Raymond Garramone, a state senator and former mayor of upper-middle class Haworth, announced a "people's campaign" on March 1. He ran as a supporter of the Byrne tax plan and fervent opponent of any effort to extend or raise the sales tax. As the lone candidate from Bergen County, Garramone hoped re-unite the divided Bergen County Democratic organization, which had been unable to settle on any of the candidates already in the race.
Governor Byrne himself only entered the race in late April, prompting the anti-Byrne field to largely focus on his low chances for re-election as a detriment to the party. He admitted that he had nearly decided not to run in January.
Campaign
The primary campaign focused on two major issues: Byrne's personal qualities, especially his decision to back the income tax, and the state of the New Jersey economy.
Early on, the possibility that Byrne might not run at all encouraged his primary opponents, who attacked his "lack of leadership". In the alternative he did run, they argued he "could only lead the Democratic candidates for the Legislature to a one-sided disaster."
A collateral issue in the early campaign was the proposal to route the supersonic airliner Concorde through Newark Liberty Airport. Jersey City mayor Paul T. Jordan opposed the Concorde, claiming it was "a symbol of technology and embodies everything we are presently concerned about in terms of energy consumption and air pollution". However, Jordan sought the endorsement of Newark mayor Kenneth A. Gibson, who wanted the Port Authority to approve test landings. Gibson ultimately backed Byrne for re-nomination, and Jordan dropped out of the race after losing control of the Jersey City party in the mayoral election. The issue faded thereafter.
Byrne's campaign was led by Richard C. Leone, Richard J. Coffee, and David Garth. Byrne ran television ads admitting that his 1973 comments were a mistake; the campaign said that voters responded positively.
In June, six leading candidates (Byrne, Roe, Florio, Garramone, Joseph A. Hoffman and Ralph DeRose) met with reporters and editors of The New York Times in a roundtable discussion. Byrne conceded that the race was a referendum on the income tax and argued his defeat would lead to a 5-percent increase in the sales tax or a statewide property tax.
DeRose, who Byrne considered his strongest challenger, faced accusations that he was a machine candidate" due to his endorsements from the Essex County chair Harry Lerner and Jersey City mayor-elect Thomas F. X. Smith. "Every other candidate sought Harry Lerner's endorsement, some of them more than once," he said. "I met once with Tommy Smith in a diner when he was looking for an anti-tax candidate to support. I got his support and gave him mine because we agreed on the issues." He denied giving even "five cents" to Smith's campaign.
Hoffman said that DeRose's plan to abandon the tax in favor of a state tax on 50 percent of the value of new industrial ratables was not feasible, because it would drive down the willingness to host new industry given concerns with pollution and traffic. Florio emphasized his support for President Carter and contrasted Carter's leadership style with Byrne's. Both Florio and Roe cited their experience in Congress and the need to work with national government to solve New Jersey's economic problems. Garramone emphasized that he was from Bergen County, a Republican stronghold at the time.
As the campaign came to a close, it became apparent that Byrne could survive.
Results
Byrne survived the June primary, though with such a small plurality that his victory was blamed primarily on the regionally fractured opposition. Roe was the only challenger to pull votes from throughout the state; the others were largely confined to regional bases: DeRose in Essex and Hudson, Florio in Camden and the surrounding counties, and Hoffman in Middlesex and Monmouth.
At a victory celebration, Byrne said he "fought like hell for this nomination. ... Reports of my death were exaggerated." He framed his victory as a triumph over the county party machines and an affirmation of his efforts against corruption. Exit polling indicated that Byrne won the votes of those who supported the tax or its modification rather than outright repeal, who were a majority of the party.
Nevertheless, more than two-thirds of his party had voted against his nomination, including a majority of those who said they had voted for him in 1973. With no such prospects for the fall, he faced a difficult path to re-election.
Republican primary
Candidates (with ballot slogans)
- Raymond Bateman, State Senator from Somerville (Regular Republican Party Organization)
- Thomas Kean, State Assemblyman from Livingston (Regular Republican Party)
- C. Robert Sarcone, former state senator from Essex County (Republican (No State Income Tax))
- William A. Angus Jr., former mayor of Moorestown (Abolish Tax No T-E Conservative Government)
Withdrew
- Joseph C. Woodcock, former state senator and Bergen County prosecutor (endorsed Kean)
Declined
- Frank X. McDermott, state senator from Westfield (endorsed Kean)
- James Wallwork, state senator from Short Hills
Campaign
During the Republican primary, Senator Ray Bateman, who had supported income-tax proposals in the past as part of a proposed overhaul of the state tax code but was an adamant opponent of the Byrne plan, promised not to renew the tax and to run the state for four years without the tax if necessary. Both leading candidates were considered moderates.
Bateman was the early favorite; Kean tried to play catch-up by sidelining two strong potential opponents, State Senators Frank X. McDermott, who joined the Kean campaign as chairman, and James Wallwork, who backed out of the race after difficulty fundraising. McDermott's support gave Kean strong backing in Union County, and Wallwork's decision not to run boosted his strength in Essex County. He then hoped to consolidate neighboring Morris County behind him to take on Bateman.
Bateman ran a campaign with establishment party support, including the endorsement of former governor William T. Cahill. Kean countered this by a direct appeal to the rank-and-file voters through television advertisements.
By primary day, the race was widely rated as a toss-up.
Results
The margin of victory was a surprise, including to Bateman, who remarked to supporters, "I was the world's worst guesser. I thought Tom Kean would have run a lot closer."
General election
Candidates
- Raymond Bateman, state senator from Somerville (Republican)
- Brendan Byrne, incumbent governor (Democratic)
- Francis W. Flowers (Declare Your Independence)
- Bill Gahres, Barnegat electrician and ditchdigger (Right to Die)
- Robert Ganteaume (Grass Roots)
- Jasper C. Gould (independent)
- Chester Grabowski (Independents for All)
- Leif O. Johnson (Labor)
- Jules Levin, nominee for President of the United States in 1976 (Socialist Labor)
- Angelo S. Massaro (People's Choice)
- Richard D. McAleer, Hoboken teacher (Anti-Income Tax)
- Chauncey E. McSpiritt (Cheap, Chauncey, Upstart)
- Frank J. Primich (Libertarian)
- Paul B. Rizzo (independent)
- William Zsidisin (One For All)
Withdrew
- John F. Donato, Newark urologist and anti-tax activist (Axe The Tax) (withdrew November 3 and remained on ballot; endorsed Bateman)
- Anthony Imperiale, state senator from Newark (Independent) (withdrew September 19; endorsed Bateman)