2001 United States gubernatorial elections

United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 6, 2001, in two states and one territory, as well as other statewide offices and members of state legislatures.

2001 United States gubernatorial elections

← 2000 November 6, 2001 2002 →

3 governorships
2 states; 1 territory
  Majority party Minority party
 
Party Republican Democratic
Seats before 29 19
Seats after 27 21
Seat change Decrease 2 Increase 2
Seats up 2 0
Seats won 0 2

2001 Northern Mariana Islands gubernatorial election2001 New Jersey gubernatorial election2001 Virginia gubernatorial election
Map of the results
     Democratic gain      Republican hold
     No election

Democrats successfully recaptured the open-seat governorships of Virginia and New Jersey, which were both last won by a Democrat in 1989. Republicans held the governorship of the Northern Mariana Islands. This was a very unusual achievement, given that President Bush was at the peak of his popularity following the September 11 attacks.

Race Summary

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States

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State Incumbent Party First
elected
Result Candidates
New Jersey Donald DiFrancesco Republican 2001[a] Incumbent retired.
New governor elected.
Democratic gain.
Virginia Jim Gilmore Republican 1997 Incumbent term-limited.
New governor elected.
Democratic gain.

Territory

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Territory Incumbent Party First
elected
Result Candidates
Northern Mariana Islands Pedro Tenorio Republican 1997 Incumbent retired.
New governor elected.
Republican hold.

Closest races

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States where the margin of victory was under 10%:

  1. Virginia, 5.1%

New Jersey

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2001 New Jersey gubernatorial election
 
← 1997 November 6, 2001 2005 →
     
Nominee Jim McGreevey Bret Schundler
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,256,853 928,174
Percentage 56.4% 41.7%

 
County results
McGreevey:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Schundler:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election

Richard Codey (acting)
Democratic

Elected Governor

Jim McGreevey
Democratic

The 2001 New Jersey gubernatorial election was a race for the governor of New Jersey. It was held on November 6, 2001. Primaries took place on June 25.[2] Democratic nominee Jim McGreevey won the general election with 56% of the vote[3] — the first majority-elected governor since James Florio in 1989.[4] His Republican opponent in that race was Bret Schundler.[5]

This is also the most recent statewide election in which the Democrat won Monmouth and Ocean counties. This was the first time since 1973 that a Democrat won without carrying Cape May County. McGreevey resigned in November 2004 after admitting that he was a gay man and ethical issues surrounding his governorship; he was succeeded by Senate President Richard Codey, who filled the remainder of McGreevey's term until January 2006.

Virginia

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2001 Virginia gubernatorial election
 
← 1997 November 6, 2001 2005 →
Turnout46.4%   3.1[6]
     
Nominee Mark Warner Mark Earley
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 984,177 887,234
Percentage 52.2% 47.0%

 
County and independent city results
Warner:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Earley:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election

Jim Gilmore
Republican

Elected Governor

Mark Warner
Democratic

The 2001 Virginia gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2001. Incumbent Republican governor Jim Gilmore was barred from seeking a second term; Democratic nominee Mark Warner, the 1996 Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate and former chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia, defeated Republican nominee Mark Earley, the attorney general of Virginia.

Territories

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Northern Mariana Islands

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Northern Marina Islands election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Juan Babauta {{{votes}}} 44.6%
Covenant Benigno Fitial {{{votes}}} 25.5%
Democratic Jesus Borja {{{votes}}} 18.2%
Total votes {{{votes}}} 100.00
Republican hold

Notes

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  1. ^ DiFrancesco took office after his predecessor (Christine Todd Whitman) resigned.

References

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  1. ^ "Our Campaigns - CNMI Governor Race - Nov 03, 2001".
  2. ^ Halbfinger, David M. (2001-06-27). "Schundler Wins G.O.P. Primary In New Jersey Governor's Race". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
  3. ^ Halbfinger, David M. (2001-08-07). "THE 2001 ELECTIONS: GOVERNOR; Democrat Vows to Alter Way 'Business Is Done in Trenton'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
  4. ^ Peterson, Iver (2004-02-29). "ON POLITICS; Is McGreevey Following In Florio's Footsteps?". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-03-11.
  5. ^ Halbfinger, David M. (2001-08-26). "ON POLITICS; One Pitches From Inside And the Other From Outside". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
  6. ^ Virginia Department of Elections (2016). "Registration/Turnout Statistics". The Commonwealth of Virginia. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved July 25, 2016.