Thomas Kean Republican James Florio Democratic The 1989 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1989.

Florio, who had run in 1977 and 1981, won the Democratic nomination with little trouble over Princeton mayor Barbara Boggs Sigmund and former Speaker Alan Karcher.

[4] Hardwick presented himself as a slightly more conservative version of Kean, even noting their physical similarities: part of his stump speech was to ask, "How can a Republican Assembly Speaker with a gap-toothed smile, who isn't a lawyer, expect to be Governor?"

[5] The Hardwick campaign actively sought endorsement from New Jersey Right to Life, the NRA Political Victory Fund, and police officers' groups in an attempt to attract unaffiliated voters into the Republican primary.

Campaign advisors attributed his win to a strong performance in his own congressional district, where he outpolled the field two-to-one in every county.

[18]) Following a Supreme Court ruling that would allow states to impose regulations on abortions, Courter—who had an anti-abortion voting record in Congress—sought to moderate his position, causing voters to distrust him.

In September, Florio released a televised attack ad contending that Courter had failed "to clean up toxic wastes on his own property".