2005 New Jersey gubernatorial election

The 2005 New Jersey gubernatorial election was a race to determine the Governor of New Jersey. It was held on November 8, 2005. Democratic Governor Richard Codey, who replaced Governor Jim McGreevey in 2004 after his resignation, did not run for election for a full term of office.

The primary election was held on June 7, 2005. U.S. Senator Jon Corzine won the Democratic nomination without serious opposition. Former West Windsor Mayor Doug Forrester received the Republican nomination with a plurality of 36%. Corzine defeated Forrester in the general election. New Jersey is reliably Democratic at the federal level, but this was the first time since 1977 in which Democrats won more than one consecutive gubernatorial election in the state. This was the first time since 1965 that a Democrat won a gubernatorial race without Ocean County, and the first since 1961 that they did so without Monmouth County.

The 2005 general election also saw a public referendum question on the ballot for the voters to decide whether to create a position of lieutenant governor, alter the state's order of succession, and whether the state's first lieutenant governor would be chosen in the subsequent gubernatorial election held in 2009. The question passed by a tally of 836,134 votes (56.1%) to 655,333 (43.9%). To date, this is the most recent election that Salem County voted for the Democratic candidate in a gubernatorial race.

Background
Governor Jim McGreevey was elected in 2001 by a large margin but resigned from office in November 2004 after Golan Cipel, an Israeli national and former advisor to the Governor, threatened to bring a lawsuit for sexual harassment, and thus reveal McGreevey was homosexual. Though McGreevey admitted to an "adult consensual affair with another man" on August 12, 2004, he announced that he would not resign from office until November 15, after the fall general election.

McGreevey's decision to delay the effective date of his resignation until after September 3, 2004, avoided a November special election for governor, which would have coincided with the election for President of the United States. The 2004 election between George W. Bush and John Kerry was expected to be competitive, the political aftermath of the September 11 attacks in the state, and some observers speculated that McGreevey's decision to delay his resignation was designed to improve Kerry's political position and preserve Democratic Party control of the office of Governor.

Republicans and Democrats alike called upon McGreevey to make his resignation effective immediately. The New York Times editorial board opined, "Mr. McGreevey's strategy to delay resignation does not serve New Jersey residents well. The state will be led by an embattled governor mired in personal and legal problems for three months." On September 15, U.S. District Judge Garrett E. Brown Jr. dismissed Afran v. McGreevey, a lawsuit by Green Party members claiming that the postponement of McGreevey's resignation had left a vacancy, thereby violating New Jerseyans' voting rights.

New Jersey Senate President Richard Codey took office upon McGreevey's resignation and served the remainder of the term until January 17, 2006. At the time of McGreevey's resignation, the New Jersey State Constitution stipulated that the Senate president retains that position while serving as acting governor. In the wake of McGreevey's resignation, and in consideration of other past New Jersey governors who had left office before the end of their terms, the New Jersey legislature passed a resolution establishing a public referendum on the creation of the position of Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey.

Nominee

 * Jon Corzine, U.S. Senator

Eliminated in primary

 * James D. Kelly Jr., telecommunications company employee
 * Francis X. Tenaglio, former Pennsylvania State Representative

Declined

 * Richard Codey, incumbent Governor and president of the New Jersey Senate

Nominee

 * Doug Forrester, former Mayor of West Windsor and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2002

Eliminated in Primary

 * Todd Caliguire, Bergen County Freeholder
 * Paul DiGaetano, Assemblyman from Nutley
 * Steve Lonegan, Mayor of Bogota
 * John J. Murphy, Morris County Freeholder and former Mayor of Morris Township
 * Bob Schroeder, Washington Township Councilman
 * Bret Schundler, former Mayor of Jersey City and nominee for Governor in 2001

Declined

 * Chris Christie, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey

Candidates

 * Wesley Bell, former mayor of Stafford Township (Independent)
 * Hector Castillo, physician and candidate for mayor of Paterson in 2002 (Independent)
 * Jon Corzine, U.S. Senator (Democratic)
 * Ed Forchion, Candidate for U.S. Representative in New Jersey's 3rd congressional district in 2004 (Marijuana)
 * Doug Forrester, businessman, nominee for U.S. Senate in 2002, and former Mayor of West Windsor (Republican)
 * Angela Lariscy, candidate for U.S. Representative in New Jersey's 13th congressional district in 2004 (Socialist Workers)
 * Michael Latigona, registered nurse and EMT from Marlton (Independent)
 * Jeffrey Pawlowski, former Sayreville borough councilman (Libertarian)
 * Constantino Rozzo, candidate for U.S. Representative in New Jersey's 2nd congressional district in 2004 (Socialist)
 * Matthew Thieke, computer software analyst and resident of Maple Shade (Green)

Debates
The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission declared that the four candidates would be included in the official gubernatorial debates to be aired on NJN. They included Jeffrey Pawlowski and Hector Castillo.
 * Complete video of debate, September 20, 2005
 * Complete video of debate, October 18, 2005
 * Complete video of debate, November 5, 2005

Results

 * Results by county

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

 * Monmouth (largest municipality: Middletown Township)
 * Ocean (largest municipality: Lakewood)