In the 2021 New Jersey governor election, Phil Murphy, a Democrat and the incumbent, won 51.5% of the vote statewide. However he won 51.7% of the vote in Somerset County a suburban county which has swung heavily to Democrats from 2012 to 2020 like many suburbs. Based on my reading of historical data, the Democrat getting a higher percentage of the total vote in Somerset County than statewide average is unprecedented in recent history. When was the last governor election where the percentage of the vote for the Democrat (including 3rd parties) was greater in Somerset County than statewide (if it ever happened)?
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1 Answer
The last time this happened was in 1910, when Democrat Woodrow Wilson (yes, that one) beat Republican Vivian M. Lewis, as well as Wilson B. Killingbeck of the Socialist Paty, C. F. Repp of the Prohibition Party, and John C. Butterworth of the Socialist Labor Party in the gubernatorial race.
Wilson won 53.9% of the state-wide vote, and 54.3% of the vote in Somerset County, according to figures published in the Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey 1911.
| Wilson (Dem) | Lewis (Rep) | Killingbeck (Soc) | Repp (Pro) | Butterworth (Soc-Lab) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 233,682 | 184,626 | 10,134 | 2,818 | 2,032 |
| Somerset County | 4,151 | 3,405 | 21 | 63 | 8 |
