1916 New Jersey gubernatorial election
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1916 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1916. Republican nominee Walter Evans Edge defeated Democratic nominee H. Otto Wittpenn with 55.44 percent of the total vote.
 | |||||||||||||||||
November 7, 1916
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
 County results Edge: 40â50% 50â60% 60â70% Wittpenn: 50â60% | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
.jpg)
Democratic primary
Candidates
- H. Otto Wittpenn, former mayor of Jersey City
Results
Wittpenn, who had run for Governor in 1913 but withdrew in favor of James Fairman Fielder,[1] was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | H. Otto Wittpenn | 95,607 | 100.00% | |
| Total votes | 95,607 | 100.00% | ||
| None | Blank votes | 23,906 | â | |
| Turnout | 119,513 | 100.00% | ||
Republican primary
Candidates
- Austen Colgate, former state senator for Essex County
- Walter Evans Edge, state senator for Atlantic County
- George L. Record, attorney and perennial candidate from Jersey City
Campaign
During the primary, Edge was the beneficiary of a gentleman's agreement between Atlantic County Republican boss Enoch L. Johnson and Hudson County Democratic boss Frank Hague, who feared the election of Otto Wittpenn, a reformer and Hague's political rival.[3] Historians disagree over the contours of Johnson and Hague's arrangement, but in 1916, Hague directed his supporters in Hudson County to cross over and vote for Edge in the Republican primary.[3]
Results
Edge carried the state narrowly over Colgate, with Atlantic County accounting for more than his statewide margin. More than one-quarter of Colgate's vote came from his native Essex County.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Walter Evans Edge | 76,232 | 42.94% | |
| Republican | Austen Colgate | 72,621 | 40.90% | |
| Republican | George L. Record | 28,686 | 16.16% | |
| Total votes | 177,539 | 100.00% | ||
| None | Blank votes | 9,875 | â | |
| Turnout | 187,414 | 100.00% | ||
By county
| County | Edge % | Edge votes | Colgate % | Colgate votes | Record % | Record votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic | 76.01% | 7,329 | 19.19% | 1,850 | 4.80% | 463 |
| Bergen | 32.12% | 3,897 | 47.69% | 5,787 | 20.19% | 2,450 |
| Burlington | 48.75% | 3,715 | 41.27% | 3,145 | 9.99% | 761 |
| Camden | 51.48% | 8,839 | 29.50% | 5,066 | 19.02% | 3,266 |
| Cape May | 76.18% | 2,251 | 15.63% | 462 | 8.19% | 242 |
| Cumberland | 49.62% | 2,099 | 31.63% | 1,338 | 18.75% | 793 |
| Essex | 29.31% | 10,117 | 58.53% | 20,199 | 12.16% | 4,196 |
| Gloucester | 70.01% | 2,486 | 14.90% | 529 | 15.09% | 536 |
| Hudson | 34.00% | 5,138 | 54.69% | 8,264 | 11.32% | 1,710 |
| Hunterdon | 64.89% | 972 | 12.88% | 193 | 22.23% | 333 |
| Mercer | 39.77% | 4,152 | 28.16% | 2,940 | 32.07% | 3,348 |
| Middlesex | 35.41% | 1,849 | 47.84% | 2,498 | 16.76% | 875 |
| Monmouth | 37.99% | 2,481 | 45.46% | 2,969 | 16.55% | 1,081 |
| Morris | 43.91% | 3,153 | 36.11% | 2,593 | 19.97% | 1,434 |
| Ocean | 49.49% | 1,419 | 38.58% | 1,106 | 11.93% | 342 |
| Passaic | 42.68% | 7,818 | 36.95% | 6,768 | 20.37% | 3,731 |
| Salem | 71.89% | 1,051 | 13.47% | 197 | 14.64% | 214 |
| Somerset | 44.54% | 1,545 | 34.53% | 1,198 | 20.93% | 726 |
| Sussex | 45.51% | 598 | 36.38% | 478 | 18.11% | 238 |
| Union | 43.66% | 4,689 | 42.72% | 4,589 | 13.62% | 1,463 |
| Warren | 40.38% | 634 | 28.79% | 452 | 30.83% | 484 |
General election
Candidates
- John C. Butterworth (Socialist Labor)
- Walter Evans Edge, state senator for Atlantic County (Republican)
- Frederick Krafft, business manager of the New Yorker Volkszeitung (Socialist)
- Harry Vaughan (Prohibition)
- H. Otto Wittpenn, former mayor of Jersey City (Democratic)
Campaign
In the general election, Frank Hague is believed to have discouraged fellow Democrats from voting for Wittpenn.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Walter Evans Edge | 247,343 | 55.44% |  18.06 | |
| Democratic | H. Otto Wittpenn | 177,696 | 39.83% |  6.30 | |
| Socialist | Frederick Krafft | 12,900 | 2.89% | 0.83 | |
| Prohibition | Harry Vaughan | 5,873 | 1.32% | 0.41 | |
| Socialist Labor | John C. Butterworth | 2,334 | 0.52% | 0.14 | |
| Total votes | 446,146 | ||||
| Turnout | |||||
| Republican gain from Democratic | Swing | ||||