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1953 New Jersey gubernatorial election

The 1953 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1953. Incumbent governor Alfred E. Driscoll was constitutionally prohibited from seeking a third term in office. Democratic former State Senator Robert B. Meyner defeated Republican businessman Paul L. Troast winning 53.17% of the vote.

Primary elections were held on April 21, 1953.

Malcolm Forbes, state senator from Somerset County
Kenneth Hand, state senator from Union County
Charles Richard Klein, senior guard at Rahway State Prison
Frederick F. Richardson, former mayor of New Brunswick
Fred E. Shepard, state assemblyman from Elizabeth
Paul L. Troast, businessman and chairman of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority
Alvin W. Van Schoick, Long Branch golf caddy
Clifford Case, U.S. representative from Rahway

The campaign was primarily a contest between businessman Paul Troast and state senator and billionaire magazine publisher Malcolm Forbes. Troast campaigned on a platform of spending cuts and was considered the favorite by the final weeks of the campaign. He had the support of the Driscoll administration and virtually every major Republican leader, including 18 out of 21 county organizations, while Forbes ran as an outsider anti-administration candidate.

Troast won handily. Forbes carried his home county of Somerset and native Passaic by large margins, but trailed nearly everywhere else.

Party	Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	218,826	51.59%
	Republican	166,364	39.22%
	Republican	15,373	3.62%
	Republican	7,504	1.77%
	Republican	6,255	1.48%
	Republican	6,229	1.47%
	Republican	3,627	0.86%
424,178	100.0%

Robert B. Meyner, attorney and former state senator from Warren County
Alexander F. Ormsby, Jersey City attorney and former judge of the Court of Common Pleas
Elmer H. Wene, chicken breeder, former U.S. Representative from Cumberland County, and nominee for Governor in 1949
John J. Winberry, Passaic attorney and former special assistant New Jersey Attorney General

The primary campaign was a tight contest between the previous nominee, former Congressman Elmer H. Wene and former State Senator Robert B. Meyner. It was the first competitive Democratic primary for governor in at least 25 years. Meyner had the support of the state party establishment and a base in North Jersey, while Wene enjoyed an edge among rank-and-file voters and higher name recognition owing to his 1949 campaign.

The Democratic campaign was insurgent, with both front-runners focusing on gambling and criminal enforcement scandals in the incumbent Republican Driscoll administration.

On election night, the results were inconclusive and neither candidate claimed clear victory; Meyner led by about 6,000, owing to a large margin in Hudson County, but most of the outstanding vote was from Wene's base in rural South Jersey. After Meyner was declared the victor following a recount, Wene refused to support him, calling the Jersey City results "questionable."

Party	Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	107,801	45.68%
	Democratic	106,216	45.01%
	Democratic	17,161	7.27%
	Democratic	4,828	2.05%
236,006	100.00%

Henry B. Krajewski, pig farmer and candidate for president in 1952 (Veterans Bonus Now)
Robert B. Meyner, State Senator for Warren County (Democratic)
Albert Ronis (Socialist Labor)
Clendenin Ryan, publisher of the New American Mercury (Independent Voters)
Paul L. Troast, businessman and chair of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (Republican)

The race received national attention as a test of the popularity of the new Dwight Eisenhower presidency, as the only other state election holding elections, Virginia, was safely Democratic.

Late in the campaign, Meyner suffered a setback when Democratic former mayor of Jersey Frank Hague Eggers endorsed Troast over his opposition to current mayor John V. Kenny, Meyner's chief backer. A week after that, Democratic runner-up and prior nominee Elmer H. Wene refused to support Meyner's candidacy, referring to the result in Jersey City, and therefore the primary overall, as "questionable." Though he did not endorse Troast, Wene said that "the election of a Democratic candidate would in truth be the election of Mayor Kenny and would destroy the integrity of our state government." State party chairman Charles R. Howell referred to Wene's statement as "pathetic" and accused Republicans of an alliance with former Democratic boss Frank Hague.

Candidate	Votes	%	.mw-parser-output .tooltip-dotted{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}±%
Democratic	962,710	53.17%	6.04
Republican	809,068	44.68%	6.86
Independent	23,271	1.29%	N/A
Independent	12,881	0.71%	N/A
Socialist Labor	2,882	0.16%	0.22


Democratic hold

County	Robert B. MeynerDemocratic	Paul L. TroastRepublican	Various candidatesOther parties	Margin	Total votes cast
Atlantic	19,481	35.42%	35,452	64.46%	69	1.12%	−15,971	−29.04%	55,002
Bergen	110,530	47.95%	115,605	50.15%	4,365	1.90%	−5,075	−2.20%	230,500
Burlington	23,236	53.11%	20,403	46.63%	114	0.26%	2,833	6.48%	43,753
Camden	68,183	61.52%	41,687	37.62%	952	0.86%	26,496	23.90%	110,822
Cape May	6,531	35.26%	11,957	64.56%	34	0.18%	-5,426	−29.30%	18,522
Cumberland	14,420	47.64%	15,716	51.92%	134	0.44%	−1,296	−4.28%	30,270
Essex	141,996	50.99%	127,782	45.89%	8,692	3.12%	14,214	5.10%	278,470
Gloucester	18,012	49.51%	18,216	50.07%	152	0.42%	−204	−0.56%	36,380
Hudson	160,425	61.48%	89,501	34.30%	11,014	4.22%	70,924	27.18%	260,940
Hunterdon	8,513	52.26%	7,628	46.82%	150	0.92%	885	5.44%	16,291
Mercer	50,624	63.414%	28,351	35.514%	856	1.072%	22,273	27.900%	79,831
Middlesex	72,592	62.33%	40,685	34.93%	3,189	2.74%	31,907	27.40%	116,466
Monmouth	38,615	47.01%	43,046	52.41%	474	0.58%	-4,431	-5.40%	82,135
Morris	26,899	42.11%	36,100	56.51%	884	1.38%	−9,201	−14.40%	63,883
Ocean	9,302	36.0333%	16,326	63.2423%	187	0.4244%	-7,024	-27.2090%	25,815
Passaic	65,852	50.89%	60,599	46.83%	2,945	2.28%	5,253	4.06%	129,396
Salem	9,919	56.18%	7,694	43.58%	43	0.24%	2,225	12.60%	17,656
Somerset	17,921	52.29%	15,737	45.91%	617	1.80%	2,184	6.38%	34,275
Sussex	6,727	46.53%	7,566	52.33%	165	1.14%	-839	-5.80%	14,458
Union	76,144	53.63%	61,973	43.65%	3,865	2.72%	14,171	9.98%	141,982
Warren	16,788	69.53%	7,224	29.92%	133	0.55%	9,564	39.61%	24,145

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Atlantic
Cumberland
Gloucester

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Essex
Somerset
Union

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