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 County results Kean: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Edwards: 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in New Jersey |
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The United States Senate election of 1928 in New Jersey was held on November 6, 1928. Incumbent Democratic Senator Edward I. Edwards ran for re-election to a second term in office, but was defeated by Hamilton Fish Kean in a landslide. This was the third of four straight elections to this seat in which the incumbents were defeated.
Senator Edwards was unopposed for the re-nomination.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Edward I. Edwards (incumbent) | 153,528 | 100.0% | |
| Total votes | 153,528 | 100.0% | ||
In June 1924, former Senator Joseph Frelinghuysen declined to run for the U.S. Senate and announced his intention to run in this election instead. [2]
In June 1927, party chair and former Governor Edward C. Stokes entered the race after failing to convince Frelinghuysen and Hamilton Fish Kean to step aside for a compromise candidate. Frelinghuysen derided Stokes for having no particular candidate in mind. [3]
Kean formally announced his entry into the race on January 19, claiming that President Calvin Coolidge had advised him to run. [4]
Lillian Feickert and Edward W. Gray ran peripheral campaigns focused on the issue of prohibition; Feickert supported prohibition and Gray was opposed. [5] Feickert ran as the sole "dry" candidate. [6]
In February, Frelinghuysen claimed that other candidates were spending too freely and risking an investigation by James Reed's Senate committee on campaign spending, which had begun investigations into the elections of William Scott Vare and Frank L. Smith. (Both would ultimately be expelled.) Most observers took this as an attack on Kean. [9]
Kean, Frelinghuysen, and Stokes were all called to testify before the Reed committee in early June. Both Kean and Frelinghuysen testified that they donated the maximum $50,000 to their campaigns and did not accept outside funding; Kean repudiated charges from the committee that he had issued a "blank check." [7]
Kean claimed $49,366.30 in spending. Frelinghuysen claimed $48,774.97. [7] Stokes testified that he had raised 16,355, of which he contributed $3,000 personally. He claimed to have spent only $14,609. [10]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Hamilton Fish Kean | 167,029 | 33.57% | |
| Republican | Edward C. Stokes | 142,123 | 28.56% | |
| Republican | Joseph S. Frelinghuysen | 137,440 | 27.62% | |
| Republican | Lillian Feickert | 26,029 | 5.23% | |
| Republican | Edward W. Gray | 24,959 | 5.02% | |
| Total votes | 497,580 | 100.0% | ||
On election night, the results were too close to call. [5]
Robert Carey, a reformist Jersey City judge who lost the Republican nomination for Governor to Morgan F. Larson, quickly alleged that many Hudson County Democrats had voted in the Republican primary for Larson and Stokes as part of a deal with Democratic boss Frank Hague. Carey demanded an investigation by the state Attorney General, which Kean and Frelinghuysen seconded. [5]
| County | Kean | % | Stokes | % | Frelinghuysen | % | Feickert | % | Gray | % | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic | 22,672 | 70% | 5,258 | 16% | 2,600 | 8% | 954 | 3% | 906 | 3% | 32,390 |
| Bergen | 13,107 | 31% | 5,566 | 13% | 17,355 | 41% | 2,560 | 6% | 3,349 | 8% | 41,937 |
| Burlington | 5,125 | 27% | 6,198 | 33% | 5,088 | 27% | 1,568 | 8% | 1,051 | 6% | 19,030 |
| Camden | 27,095 | 52% | 9,416 | 18% | 11,066 | 21% | 2,610 | 5% | 1,873 | 4% | 52,060 |
| Cape May | 4,021 | 55% | 1,678 | 23% | 948 | 13% | 480 | 7% | 237 | 3% | 7,364 |
| Cumberland | 1,468 | 9% | 10,254 | 62% | 3,314 | 20% | 1,063 | 6% | 417 | 3% | 16,516 |
| Essex | 22,274 | 29% | 19,926 | 26% | 26,559 | 34% | 3,272 | 4% | 5,806 | 7% | 77,837 |
| Gloucester | 3,801 | 25% | 3,105 | 20% | 7,495 | 49% | 658 | 4% | 358 | 2% | 15,417 |
| Hudson | 9,049 | 19% | 26,373 | 54% | 9,808 | 20% | 1,415 | 3% | 2,070 | 4% | 48,715 |
| Hunterdon | 707 | 18% | 1,274 | 32% | 1,599 | 40% | 301 | 8% | 107 | 3% | 3,988 |
| Mercer | 1,753 | 8% | 14,966 | 71% | 2,966 | 14% | 911 | 4% | 625 | 3% | 21,221 |
| Middlesex | 5,650 | 27% | 7,448 | 35% | 5,972 | 28% | 1,247 | 6% | 814 | 4% | 21,131 |
| Monmouth | 8,091 | 43% | 4,088 | 22% | 4,547 | 24% | 1,162 | 6% | 881 | 5% | 18,769 |
| Morris | 3,754 | 22% | 5,502 | 33% | 7,591 | 45% | 1,588 | 9% | 1,029 | 6% | 16,847 |
| Ocean | 3,040 | 40% | 1,372 | 18% | 2,116 | 28% | 340 | 5% | 660 | 9% | 7,528 |
| Passaic | 16,267 | 44% | 7,807 | 21% | 9,461 | 26% | 1,234 | 3% | 1,834 | 5% | 36,603 |
| Salem | 1,258 | 25% | 1,896 | 37% | 1,258 | 25% | 585 | 11% | 109 | 2% | 5,106 |
| Somerset | 1,093 | 12% | 1,257 | 13% | 5,764 | 62% | 870 | 9% | 339 | 4% | 9,323 |
| Sussex | 536 | 21% | 747 | 29% | 892 | 34% | 237 | 9% | 184 | 7% | 2,596 |
| Union | 15,409 | 42% | 6,253 | 17% | 9,933 | 27% | 2,614 | 7% | 2,141 | 6% | 36,350 |
| Warren | 859 | 20% | 1,739 | 41% | 1,108 | 26% | 360 | 9% | 169 | 4% | 4,235 |
The primary left a lasting rift in the state Republican Party. At the party convention weeks later, Stokes denounced "payroll politicians" and unsuccessfully called for a resolution to bar candidates from spending except on specific items, which he claimed would prevent the nomination from being "purchased." [11] Frelinghuysen also demanded an investigation of Carey's charges against Hague, denouncing "those who pretended to be loyal Republicans but who traded with the Democratic bosses." [11]
Frelinghuysen finally endorsed Kean in September, citing his friendship with Herbert Hoover and his support for the "progressive policies" of the Coolidge administration. [12] He ran for Senate again in 1930 but finished a distant third in the primary to Dwight Morrow.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Hamilton Fish Kean | 841,752 | 57.87% | |
| Democratic | Edward I. Edwards (incumbent) | 608,623 | 41.84% | |
| Socialist | Charlotte L. Bohlin | 2,267 | 0.16% | |
| Workers | Albert Weisbrod | 1,333 | 0.09% | |
| Prohibition | Will D. Martin | 372 | 0.03% | |
| Socialist Labor | Frank Sanders | 280 | 0.02% | |
| Majority | 232,129 | 16.03% | ||
| Turnout | 1,454,627 | |||
| Republican gain from Democratic | ||||
Walter Evans Edge was an American diplomat and Republican politician who served as the 36th governor of New Jersey, from 1917 to 1919 and again from 1944 to 1947, during both World War I and World War II. Edge also served as United States Senator representing New Jersey from 1919 to 1929 and as United States Ambassador to France from 1929 to 1933.
Edward Irving Edwards was an American attorney, banker, and Democratic Party politician who served as the 37th Governor of New Jersey from 1920 to 1923 and represented the state in the United States Senate from 1923 to 1929. He was a leading critic of Prohibition.
Edward Casper Stokes was an American Republican Party politician, who served as the 32nd governor of New Jersey, from 1905 to 1908.
Thomas Howard Kean Jr. is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative from New Jersey's 7th congressional district since 2023. He represented New Jersey's 21st legislative district in the New Jersey Senate from 2003 to 2022, serving as minority leader from 2008 to 2022. A member of the Republican Party, Kean is the son of former New Jersey governor Thomas Kean.
The 2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held on November 7, 2006. Bob Menendez, who had served as an interim appointee, was elected to a six-year term in office. He defeated Republican Thomas Kean Jr. in the general election.
Robert Winthrop Kean was an American Republican Party politician from the state of New Jersey. Kean represented parts of Essex County, New Jersey in the United States House of Representatives from 1939 to 1959. He retired from the House to run for United States Senate in 1958, but was defeated by Harrison A. Williams.
Hamilton Fish Kean was a U.S. Senator from New Jersey.
The 2002 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held on November 5, 2002. Former U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg was elected to an open seat over Republican businessman Doug Forrester after incumbent Senator Robert Torricelli dropped out of the race on September 30, facing ethical misconduct allegations, a formal admonishment by the U.S. Senate, and falling poll numbers against Forrester.
The 1988 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held on November 8, 1988. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg won re-election to a second term with a margin of 8.37%.
The 1981 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held November 3, 1981. Republican Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly Thomas Kean narrowly defeated Democratic U.S. Representative James Florio, 49.46%-49.38, following a recount. Kean's margin of victory was 1,797 votes out of more than two million votes cast. As of 2023, the 1981 gubernatorial election remains the closest gubernatorial contest in New Jersey history.
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 United States Senate special election of 1938 in New Jersey was held on November 8, 1938.
The United States Senate election of 1916 in New Jersey was held on November 7, 1916.
The 1911 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held on January 24–25, 1911. Republican incumbent John Kean did not run for re-election to a third term. The open seat was won by Democrat James Edgar Martine with Republican former Governor Edward C. Stokes as the runner-up.
The United States Senate election of 1922 in New Jersey was held on November 7, 1922.
The 1924 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held on November 4, 1924. Incumbent Republican Senator Walter Evans Edge was re-elected to a second term in office. He would not complete the term, resigning from office in 1929 to be sworn in as the U.S. Ambassador to France.
The United States Senate elections of 1930 in New Jersey was held on November 4, 1930.
The 1930 United States Senate election in Illinois took place on November 4, 1930.
The United States Senate election of 1934 in New Jersey was held on November 6, 1934.
The 1958 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held on November 4, 1958.
