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The 1913 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1913. Democratic acting Governor James Fairman Fielder, who resigned a week before the election so that he could succeed himself, defeated Republican former Governor Edward C. Stokes and Progressive former State Senator Everett Colby.
The state's first-ever direct primary elections for governor were held on September 23,[1] though the contests were largely uneventful. For the Democratic nomination, Fielder defeated former Trenton mayor Frank S. Katzenbach, making his third run for governor. Stokes easily topped a four-man field in the Republican Party, including former U.S. Representative Charles N. Fowler, whom he had defeated in the 1910 primary for U.S. Senate. The Progressive primary was closest, with Colby defeating Montclair industrialist Edmund Burke Osborne by 29 percent of the vote.
The Democratic nomination was hotly contested between two progressive candidates from Hudson County, acting Governor James Fairman Fielder and H. Otto Wittpenn, the mayor of Jersey City. Fielder prevailed by securing the endorsement of President (and former Governor) Woodrow Wilson on July 23, when President Wilson called on Wittpenn to unite the party behind Fielder, who had "backed [Wilson] so consistently, so intelligently, so frankly and honestly throughout my administration ... that I feel I would have no ground whatever upon which to oppose his candidacy."[4] Wittpenn acquiesced and withdrew from the race.
Fielder, who thus had the support of Wilson and the party machine, easily defeated third-time candidate Frank S. Katzenbach in the September 23 primary.[4]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | James Fairman Fielder (incumbent) | 80,414 | 69.61% | |
| Democratic | Frank S. Katzenbach | 35,115 | 30.39% | |
| Total votes | 115,529 | 100.00% | ||
Former U.S. Representative Charles N. Fowler ran on a progressive platform favoring a convention to redraw the state constitution and various electoral reforms, including the recall of all officers except judges, initiative, referendum, and making failure to vote in a primary a bar to voting in the general election.[5]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Edward C. Stokes | 60,644 | 70.05% | |
| Republican | Charles N. Fowler | 10,571 | 12.21% | |
| Republican | Robert Carey | 10,336 | 11.92% | |
| Republican | Carlton B. Pierce | 5,022 | 5.80% | |
| Total votes | 86,573 | 100.00% | ||
On July 26, both candidates spoke in Ocean Grove at a mass meeting of the New Jersey Men's League for Women's Suffrage, along with George La Monte, Lillian Feickert, and Mina Van Winkle.[7]
Osborne originally requested that Colby tour the state with him, since both candidates were from Essex County, but Colby declined before acquiescing to a debate in Montclair on September 11. The debate was moved to Newark's Kreuger Auditorium at Osborne's request to accommodate a larger audience.[8]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Progressive | Everett Colby | 6,458 | 63.91% | |
| Progressive | Edmund Burke Osborne | 3,647 | 36.09% | |
| Total votes | 10,105 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | James Fairman Fielder | 173,148 | 46.13% | ||
| Republican | Edward C. Stokes | 140,298 | 37.38% | ||
| Progressive | Everett Colby | 41,132 | 10.96% | ||
| Socialist | James M. Reilly | 13,977 | 3.72% | ||
| Prohibition | James G. Mason | 3,427 | 0.91% | ||
| Socialist Labor | John C. Butterworth | 2,460 | 0.66% | ||
| Independent | Daniel F. Dwyer | 875 | 0.23% | ||
| Majority | |||||
| Turnout | |||||
| Democratic hold | Swing | ||||
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