The 1981 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held November 3, 1981. Republican Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly Thomas Kean narrowly defeated Democratic U.S. Representative James Florio, 49.46%-49.38, following a recount. Kean's margin of victory was 1,797 votes out of more than two million votes cast. As of 2025, the 1981 gubernatorial election remains the closest gubernatorial contest in New Jersey history.
Primary elections were held June 2, 1981. Kean and Florio prevailed, each defeating numerous other candidates without attaining 50% of the vote. The general election was framed as a referendum on the new presidency of Ronald Reagan and, in particular, on Reagan's cuts to federal spending. On election night, the results were too close to call, but Kean led by fewer than 1,700 votes. Florio petitioned for a recount, which expanded Kean's lead slightly; Florio conceded the race on November 30.
Democratic primary.
Candidates.
Both Robert Roe and Jim Florio, who had run in 1977 against incumbent governor Byrne, ran again in 1981. Roe entered the race alongside New Jersey Senate President Joseph P. Merlino in late February. Merlino, who served as acting governor during Byrne's frequent trips out of state, took the opportunity to announce his campaign from the governor's podium at the state Capitol Building.
Campaign.
The incredibly large primary field led candidates to define themselves on the issues, taking bold positions and trying to make the competition look unexciting by comparison. Most of the campaign was dominated by Florio and Roe, the best known candidates on the basis of their 1977 challenge to Byrne. However, they remained in Washington, D.C. for much of the campaign, allowing a number of challengers to gain attention.
For months, Gov. Byrne declined to endorse a candidate to succeed him. Instead, he praised several candidates: Degnan, Florio and Merlino for preserving the Pine Barrens; Merlino for his position on firearms; William J. Hamilton as a tax reformer; and Gibson as an urban planner. Eventually, Byrne threw his support behind Degnan and urged some other candidates to stand down.
Merlino ran a campaign focused on his record as President of the New Jersey Senate, making him sherpa of the Byrne legislative agenda and sometimes acting governor. He emphasized his sponsorship of laws banning handguns and a prescription drug assistance bill targeted at senior citizens. His strategy was to get 70 percent of the vote in his native Mercer County and 20 and 25 percent in the New York and Philadelphia television markets, respectively.
As the primary campaign came to a close, no clear favorite had emerged.
Crime and guns.
Most Democratic candidates stressed the need to fight crime, supporting restoration of the death penalty, mandatory sentences without parole for gun crimes, limits on plea-bargaining, and tougher treatment of violent juvenile defenders. Merlino, for instance, emphasized his sponsorship of a ban on the sale or importation of handguns. Some candidates who supported a national ban nevertheless called Merlino's ban unworkable. It drew opposition from many rural legislators and sportsmen's and gun clubs and support from the National Coalition to Ban Handguns.
Two candidates broke from the pack on crime in different ways. In May, Florio was the sole Democrat endorsed by the National Rifle Association of America; the organization endorsed all of the Republican candidates. Gibson maintained his opposition to the death penalty.
Endorsements.
 ;templatestyles src="Endorsements box/styles.css"/ ;List of John J. Degnan endorsements
Governors
 ;templatestyles src="Endorsements box/styles.css"/ ;List of Jim Florio endorsements
Organizations
 ;templatestyles src="Endorsements box/styles.css"/ ;List of Joseph Merlino endorsements
Organizations
Individuals
 ;templatestyles src="Endorsements box/styles.css"/ ;List of Robert A. Roe endorsements
U.S. Representatives
Initial results.
On election night, the results were extremely close. At least two television networks inaccurately declared Florio the winner.
Kean proceeded to his campaign headquarters in Livingston to deliver a prepared concession speech, but was stopped by his campaign manager. By the end of the night, Kean held a lead of 1,677 votes, and neither candidate would concede the race.
Ballot Security Task Force.
Immediately after the election, New Jersey Democrats accused the Republican National Committee of intimidating minority voters in Newark, Camden, and Trenton via the Ballot Security Task Force, a private organization which sent out mailers to voters in these cities and posted armed off-duty police officers and large signs at certain precincts.
Litigation arising from the Ballot Security Task Force activities led to the Republican National Committee operating under a consent decree through 2018 constraining its use of a variety of tactics it deployed in the New Jersey 1981 gubernatorial campaign.
Recount.
Florio, who later admitted he "assumed [he] was going to win," filed a petition for a formal recount in court. The process took another 27 days. In that time, both candidates set up transition offices to prepare to take office. On one occasion, both men showed up for a hotel ribbon-cutting ceremony with scissors.
Florio conceded on November 30 as Kean's grew slightly. "The people have selected Tom Kean," he said. Though the recount was still ongoing, Florio said that there was no longer any doubt that Kean had won and abandoned his request for a manual recount in Salem, Sussex, and Warren counties. Despite his concession, Florio called for further inquiries into the activities of the Ballot Security Task Force.
After 27 days, Kean was declared the winner on December 2. He prevailed by a margin of 1,797 votes.
! scope="col" colspan="2" style="width: 130px"|Party
! scope="col" style="width: 17em"|Candidate
! scope="col" style="width: 5em"|Votes
! scope="col" style="width: 3.5em"|%
! scope="col" style="width: 3.5em"| ;templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" / ;±%
! colspan="3" style="text-align: right; margin-right: 0.5em" scope=row | Turnout
! style="text-align:right;" | Swing
Notes.
 ;templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" / ;
References.
 ;templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" / ;