George Theodore Werts (March 24, 1846 – January 17, 1910) was an American attorney, judge, and Democratic Party politician who served as the 28th governor of New Jersey from 1893 to 1896.

His term in Governor coincided with the precipitous decline of the New Jersey Democratic Party amid the Panic of 1893 and growing ethnoreligious divisions in the state.

[1][2] Werts was nominated for Governor in 1892 on the first ballot of the Democratic convention with Abbett's support, beating out Edward C. Young and Job Lippincott.

Kean campaigned against the Abbett administration's record, condemning Democratic election fraud, graft, and subservience to liquor and gambling interests.

In his inaugural address, Werts proposed expanding prison facilities, creating a juvenile reformatory, and passing ballot-reform legislation.

[1] The 1894 legislature was dominated by Republican attempts to remove Democratic officeholders from appointed positions and restrict religious teaching in public schools.

The unsuccessful Democratic campaign of 1894 attempt to identify Republicans with prohibition and anti-Catholic organizations like the American Protective Association; they won only a few seats.

[1] Werts's annual message to the legislature in 1895 reiterated his support for prison expansion and ballot reform, adding a call for water conservation.

The legislature also undertook investigations into corruption among former Democratic officials, who were revealed to have sold pardons and accepted bribes and kickbacks from construction companies.