1901 New Jersey gubernatorial election

1901 New Jersey gubernatorial election

←  1898 November 5, 1901 1904  →

Nominee Franklin Murphy James M. Seymour Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 183,814 166,681 Percentage 50.9% 46.1%

County results Murphy:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70% Seymour:      50–60%

Governor before election Foster McGowan Voorhees Republican Elected Governor Franklin Murphy Republican

The 1901 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1901. Republican nominee Franklin Murphy defeated Democratic nominee James M. Seymour with 50.88% of the vote.

Republican nomination

At the Republican convention in Trenton on September 26, Franklin Murphy was nominated without opposition. ^[1] His name was presented by Senator Thomas N. McCarter of Essex and his nomination was seconded by George Record. A speech was given by John W. Griggs and much of the convention was devoted to mourning the death of President William McKinley less than two weeks prior. ^[1]

Democratic nomination

Candidates

• Christian Braun, former State Senator for Passaic County and mayor of Paterson ^{[2] [3]}
• Howard Carrow, Camden attorney ^{[2] [4]}
• Thomas M. Ferrell, former U.S. Representative from Glassboro ^[2]
• James E. Martine, member of the Plainfield Common Council ^[2]
• James M. Seymour, mayor of Newark ^[2]

The Democratic convention was held in Trenton on October 1. Unlike the Republican convention, the nomination for Governor was hotly contested and required two ballots to resolved.

1901 Democratic state convention, first ballot ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	James M. Seymour	488	42.77%
	Democratic	Thomas M. Ferrell	480	42.07%
	Democratic	Christian Braun	91	7.98%
	Democratic	Howard Carrow	60	5.26%
	Democratic	James E. Martine	22	1.93%
Total votes			1,141	100.00%

1901 Democratic state convention, second ballot ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	James M. Seymour	659	56.76%
	Democratic	Thomas M. Ferrell	417	35.92%
	Democratic	Christian Braun	85	7.32%
Total votes			1,161	100.00%

General election

Candidates

• Joel W. Brown (Prohibition)
• Franklin Murphy, businessman and chair of the New Jersey Republican Party (Republican)
• James M. Seymour, mayor of Newark (Democratic)
• Charles H. Vail, pastor of the First Universalist Church in Jersey City (Socialist)
• Frank W. Wilson (Socialist Labor)

Results

1901 New Jersey gubernatorial election ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Franklin Murphy	183,814	50.88%	1.97
	Democratic	James M. Seymour	166,681	46.14%	1.13
	Prohibition	Joel W. Brown	5,365	1.49%	0.55
	Socialist	Charles H. Vail	3,489	0.97%	N/A
	Socialist Labor	Frank W. Wilson	1,918	0.53%	1.10
Majority
Total votes			361,267	100.00%
	Republican hold		Swing

References

1. "The Governor Named" . Bridgeton Pioneer. October 3, 1901. p. 1. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
2. "SEYMOUR: Bowing to the People's Demand, Democratic Convention Names Him for Governor" . The Jersey Journal. October 2, 1901. p. 1. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
3. "Christian Braun for Governor" . Paterson Evening News. May 3, 1901. p. 1. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
4. "The Morning Post 30 Aug 1901, page 4" . The Morning Post. August 30, 1901. p. 4. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
5. Kalb, Deborah (December 24, 2015). Guide to U.S. Elections. CQ Press. ISBN   9781483380353 . Retrieved January 25, 2016.