United States gubernatorial election 1981
The 1981 gubernatorial election in the United States took place on November 3, 1981. The states of New Jersey and Virginia were elected . In both cases, the office of governor had to be filled due to the respective term limits.
The successor to the Democrat Brendan Byrne was sought in New Jersey , who could no longer run after two four-year terms. For the Republican Party met again Thomas Kean , who had lost in 1977 against Byrne. This time he won with 49.5 percent of the vote against the Democrat James Florio , who reached 49.4 percent. Of the eleven remaining candidates from smaller parties, none achieved a share of more than 0.2 percent. A recount of the votes requested in view of the close outcome of Florio did not change the result in Kean's favor; rather, the Republican even got around 500 votes more than before. Florio was to become Kean's successor in 1990.
In Virginia, Republican John N. Dalton could not run again after four years in office. His party nominated Marshall Coleman , the state's Attorney General , as a candidate. This lost with a share of 46.4 percent, however, quite significantly against the Democrat Chuck Robb , the previous lieutenant governor , who came to a share of 53.6 percent. This was the first time since 1970 that the Democratic Party put the governor of Virginia back .
