1946 New Jersey gubernatorial election
November 5, 1946
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| Turnout | 67%[1] ( 12.01%) | ||||||||||||||||
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County results Driscoll: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Hansen: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in New Jersey |
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The 1946 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1946. Republican Alfred E. Driscoll defeated Democratic nominee Lewis G. Hansen with 57.08% of the vote.
For the last time, the Governor of New Jersey was elected to a three-year term. Afterwards, New Jersey governors would be elected for terms of four years. This is the last time a Republican was elected to succeed another Republican as Governor of New Jersey.
Primary elections
Primary elections were held on June 4, 1946.[2]
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Lewis G. Hansen, former judge of the Second District Court of Jersey City, State Assemblyman, and assistant corporation counsel of Jersey City
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Lewis G. Hansen | 162,845 | 100.00 | |
| Total votes | 162,845 | 100.00 | ||
Republican primary
Candidates
- Alfred E. Driscoll, former State Senator from Haddonfield
- Harold G. Hoffman, former Governor
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Alfred E. Driscoll | 281,715 | 57.96 | |
| Republican | Harold G. Hoffman | 204,306 | 42.04 | |
| Total votes | 486,021 | 100.00 | ||
General election
Candidates
- John Binns (Prohibition)
- George E. Bopp (Socialist Labor)
- Alfred E. Driscoll, former state senator from Camden County (Republican)
- Robert L. Gittings (Anti Medical Trust Federation)
- Lewis G. Hansen, former Jersey City judge and assemblyman (Democratic)
- Alan Kohlman (Socialist Workers)
- Lawrence Mahan (Communist)
- Rubye Smith (Socialist)
Withdrew
- Charles Edison, former Governor of New Jersey (Independent Democratic) (endorsed Driscoll)[3]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Alfred E. Driscoll | 807,378 | 57.08% | 1.88 | |
| Democratic | Lewis G. Hansen | 585,960 | 41.42% | 2.66 | |
| Socialist Workers | Alan Kohlman | 9,823 | 0.69% | N/A | |
| Communist | Lawrence Mahan | 4,031 | 0.29% | N/A | |
| Socialist | Rubye Smith | 2,326 | 0.16% | 0.02 | |
| Independent | Robert L. Gittings | 2,108 | 0.15% | N/A | |
| Socialist Labor | George E. Bopp | 1,476 | 0.10% | 0.30 | |
| Prohibition | John Binns | 1,425 | 0.10% | 0.08 | |
| Majority | |||||
| Turnout | |||||
| Republican hold | Swing | ||||
References
- ^ "General Election Data - 1924 to 2022" (PDF). NJ.gov.
- ^ a b c "Results of the Primary Election Held June 4th, 1946" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. 1946. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
- ^ "TURN-OUT SEEN KEY TO JERSEY PRIMARY; Bid Vote Tomorrow Expected to Favor Driscoll in Race for Republican Nomination". The New York Times. June 3, 1946. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
- ^ "Votes Cast for the Office of Governor of the State of New Jersey" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. 1946. Retrieved August 29, 2015.