New Jersey Democrat Jim Florio, a congressman who was elected governor on his third try in 1989, died Sunday at the age of 85. Florio, who was the Garden State’s first Italian American chief executive, overcame fierce opposition to push through a semi-automatic weapons ban and a plan to reallocate education funding to poorer districts, but it was his successful drive to raise taxes to deal with a huge budget deficit that did him the most damage politically. Florio ended up narrowly losing re-election in 1993 to Republican Christine Todd Whitman in what proved to be an early sign of the national GOP wave that came the next year.
Florio, who as an amateur boxer during his Navy days earned a spot in the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame, got his start in elected office in 1969 when he won a seat representing Camden in the state Assembly. Florio sought higher office in 1972 when he challenged Rep. John Hunt, who was arguably the most conservative member of the state’s delegation, in the 1st Congressional District, which had been in GOP hands for a century. The congressman, who campaigned as an ardent supporter of President Richard Nixon, won 52-47 even though, according to analyst Kiernan Park-Egan, Nixon was taking the seat 60-40 as part of his 49-state landslide.
The two faced off again two years later in a campaign that Hunt kicked off by declaring that he wouldn’t make any joint appearance with Florio outside a TV studio because the Democrat’s supporters might “harass” him. Florio went after the incumbent’s “slavish devotion” to Nixon until the president resigned, but while Hunt predicted that he’d benefit from Gerald Ford’s ascension (“You can't pick on a sick man,” the congressman said of Nixon), he turned out to be very wrong. The energetic Florio took advantage of the national anti-GOP wave, as well as local party infighting and what the New York Times called a “decidedly low key” effort from Hunt, and prevailed 57-38; Democrats have held each subsequent version of the 1st ever since.
Florio, who authored the Superfund toxic cleanup law, spent 15 years in the House, though he twice tried to leave far sooner. In 1977 he was one of 10 candidates to wage a primary bid against Gov. Brendan Byrne, who, in a move that foreshadowed where Florio’s own career would go, had become horribly unpopular after he created the state’s first income tax because the state Supreme Court ruled that the state wasn't providing adequate education funding. But the man nicknamed “one-term Byrne” turned back Rep. Robert Roe 30-23 as Florio grabbed fourth with 15%, and he went on to win a second term in the fall.
Florio tried again in an even more crowded 1981 primary to succeed Byrne, and this time, he beat Roe 26-16. The congressman, though, went through an extremely tight general election against Rep. Tom Kean in what turned into a closely watched race. Florio urged voters to send “an overwhelming message” to Ronald Reagan, whose numbers had fallen since he carried the state the previous year, while Kean’s side argued that voters didn’t want “another four years of a Democratic administration in Trenton.”
Polls showed Florio ahead, and two TV networks even called the race for him on Election Day. But Kean, whose campaign manager had to stop him from delivering a concession speech in what remains the closest gubernatorial race in state history, ended up prevailing by 1,800 votes in a victory that was only affirmed after 26 days. Democrats, after the election, highlighted how Republicans used a “Ballot Security Task Force” of off-duty police to intimidate voters of color. The RNC entered into a consent decree the next year, where it had to take steps to avoid even the appearance that it supports voter suppression, but the decree expired in 2018.
Things finally aligned for Florio in the 1989 race to replace Kean. After defeating Princeton Mayor Barbara Boggs Sigmund 68-17 in the primary, Florio won the general 61-37 against fellow Rep. James Courter following a campaign where both candidates compared the other to Pinocchio. Florio, though, immediately called for raising taxes upon taking office to deal with the national recession, a decision that would define four difficult years in office. Republicans flipped both legislative chambers in 1991, and Florio’s approval numbers got so bad that he himself joked that “visitors to New Jersey think my first name is Dump.”
Florio, in 1993, went up against Whitman, the former New Jersey Board of Public Utilities head who had come unexpectedly close to unseating Democratic Sen. Bill Bradley in 1990. Florio, who was awarded that year’s Profile in Courage Award from the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation for his politically risky decisions, aggressively worked to portray Whitman as, in the words of the Times, a “gun-loving, tax-evading, out-of-touch heiress who wanted to put drunken drivers back on the street and opposed putting carjackers in jail.”
The incumbent also focused on Whitman’s membership in one of the state’s richest families, saying, “There are no blue bloods” where he grew up. It was almost enough, but Whitman ultimately pulled off a 49-48 victory. No South Jersey politician has come close to winning statewide office, much less won, in the almost three decades since.
Florio tried to relaunch his career in 2000 when he entered the Democratic primary to succeed retiring Sen. Frank Lautenberg. (Lautenberg, who quickly regretted his decision to leave, returned to the chamber in 2002 by winning the other seat.) State party leaders, though, were far more interested in Jon Corzine, the former Goldman Sachs CEO who could self-fund massive amounts. Florio argued his primary foe sounded too much like a Republican, but Corzine hit back by arguing that he poorly managed the state.
The South Jersey party establishment stuck with the former governor, but he couldn’t overcome Corzine’s money and support in more populous North Jersey. Corzine won 58-42, and he would go on to be elected to one term in the Senate and as governor. Florio never ran for office again, though he went on to chair the New Jersey Pinelands Commission, a site he helped create while in Congress.
Florio, who as an amateur boxer during his Navy days earned a spot in the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame, got his start in elected office in 1969 when he won a seat representing Camden in the state Assembly. Florio sought higher office in 1972 when he challenged Rep. John Hunt, who was arguably the most conservative member of the state’s delegation, in the 1st Congressional District, which had been in GOP hands for a century. The congressman, who campaigned as an ardent supporter of President Richard Nixon, won 52-47 even though, according to analyst Kiernan Park-Egan, Nixon was taking the seat 60-40 as part of his 49-state landslide.
The two faced off again two years later in a campaign that Hunt kicked off by declaring that he wouldn’t make any joint appearance with Florio outside a TV studio because the Democrat’s supporters might “harass” him. Florio went after the incumbent’s “slavish devotion” to Nixon until the president resigned, but while Hunt predicted that he’d benefit from Gerald Ford’s ascension (“You can't pick on a sick man,” the congressman said of Nixon), he turned out to be very wrong. The energetic Florio took advantage of the national anti-GOP wave, as well as local party infighting and what the New York Times called a “decidedly low key” effort from Hunt, and prevailed 57-38; Democrats have held each subsequent version of the 1st ever since.
Florio, who authored the Superfund toxic cleanup law, spent 15 years in the House, though he twice tried to leave far sooner. In 1977 he was one of 10 candidates to wage a primary bid against Gov. Brendan Byrne, who, in a move that foreshadowed where Florio’s own career would go, had become horribly unpopular after he created the state’s first income tax because the state Supreme Court ruled that the state wasn't providing adequate education funding. But the man nicknamed “one-term Byrne” turned back Rep. Robert Roe 30-23 as Florio grabbed fourth with 15%, and he went on to win a second term in the fall.
Florio tried again in an even more crowded 1981 primary to succeed Byrne, and this time, he beat Roe 26-16. The congressman, though, went through an extremely tight general election against Rep. Tom Kean in what turned into a closely watched race. Florio urged voters to send “an overwhelming message” to Ronald Reagan, whose numbers had fallen since he carried the state the previous year, while Kean’s side argued that voters didn’t want “another four years of a Democratic administration in Trenton.”
Polls showed Florio ahead, and two TV networks even called the race for him on Election Day. But Kean, whose campaign manager had to stop him from delivering a concession speech in what remains the closest gubernatorial race in state history, ended up prevailing by 1,800 votes in a victory that was only affirmed after 26 days. Democrats, after the election, highlighted how Republicans used a “Ballot Security Task Force” of off-duty police to intimidate voters of color. The RNC entered into a consent decree the next year, where it had to take steps to avoid even the appearance that it supports voter suppression, but the decree expired in 2018.
Things finally aligned for Florio in the 1989 race to replace Kean. After defeating Princeton Mayor Barbara Boggs Sigmund 68-17 in the primary, Florio won the general 61-37 against fellow Rep. James Courter following a campaign where both candidates compared the other to Pinocchio. Florio, though, immediately called for raising taxes upon taking office to deal with the national recession, a decision that would define four difficult years in office. Republicans flipped both legislative chambers in 1991, and Florio’s approval numbers got so bad that he himself joked that “visitors to New Jersey think my first name is Dump.”
Florio, in 1993, went up against Whitman, the former New Jersey Board of Public Utilities head who had come unexpectedly close to unseating Democratic Sen. Bill Bradley in 1990. Florio, who was awarded that year’s Profile in Courage Award from the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation for his politically risky decisions, aggressively worked to portray Whitman as, in the words of the Times, a “gun-loving, tax-evading, out-of-touch heiress who wanted to put drunken drivers back on the street and opposed putting carjackers in jail.”
The incumbent also focused on Whitman’s membership in one of the state’s richest families, saying, “There are no blue bloods” where he grew up. It was almost enough, but Whitman ultimately pulled off a 49-48 victory. No South Jersey politician has come close to winning statewide office, much less won, in the almost three decades since.
Florio tried to relaunch his career in 2000 when he entered the Democratic primary to succeed retiring Sen. Frank Lautenberg. (Lautenberg, who quickly regretted his decision to leave, returned to the chamber in 2002 by winning the other seat.) State party leaders, though, were far more interested in Jon Corzine, the former Goldman Sachs CEO who could self-fund massive amounts. Florio argued his primary foe sounded too much like a Republican, but Corzine hit back by arguing that he poorly managed the state.
The South Jersey party establishment stuck with the former governor, but he couldn’t overcome Corzine’s money and support in more populous North Jersey. Corzine won 58-42, and he would go on to be elected to one term in the Senate and as governor. Florio never ran for office again, though he went on to chair the New Jersey Pinelands Commission, a site he helped create while in Congress.