[2] Sullivan served as Finance Chairman of the Essex County Republican Committee and was a top fundraiser for Ronald Reagan in 1980.
[4] Campaigning in 1981, Sullivan eschewed public financing and spent more than $2 million of his own money to win the Republican nomination for governor,[5] but was unsuccessful.
[6] His campaign was managed by Karl Ottesen, who had run the stealth U.S. Senate race of Al D'Amato in New York the previous year.
[5] In trying to portray Kean as out of touch with common folk, Sullivan ran a TV ad that said "This isn't the kind of guy who would buy you a beer in Bayonne.
[5] The election results were:[8] Sullivan won kudos from GOP leaders when he showed up at Kean's victory celebration to offer his support.