Incumbent Democrat Richard J. Hughes defeated Republican nominee Wayne Dumont with 57.39% of the vote.

This is the most recent time a Democrat was reelected Governor with a higher share of the vote than the previous election.

[1] Hughes was easily re-elected over token opposition from William H. Clark, while Dumont won a narrow primary over fellow state senator Charles W. Sandman Jr. of Cape May County.

Democrats simultaneously flipped both houses of the New Jersey legislature, a first since 1915.

Senator Nelson Stamler ran an unannounced campaign for party support, citing opposition to court-mandated legislative redistricting and Dumont's proposal for a sales tax.