1951 New Jersey Senate election

1951 New Jersey Senate election

← 1949 November 6, 1951 1953 →
11 out of 21 seats in the New Jersey Senate 11 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Party Republican Democratic Last election 14 7 Seats after 16 5 Seat change 2 2
President of the Senate before election Alfred B. Littell Republican Elected President of the Senate Alfred B. Littell Republican

The 1951 New Jersey Senate election was held on November 6, 1951, to determine which party would control the New Jersey Senate for the following two years in the 176th New Jersey Legislature. Eleven out of 21 seats in the New Jersey Senate were up for election, and the primary was held in April 1951. Prior to the election, 14 seats were held by Republicans, and 7 seats were held by Democrats. The general election saw Republicans expand their majority in the State Senate by 2 seats. ^[1] Republicans flipped each seat in Burlington and Warren counties.

Defeated incumbents

In primary

Republicans

1. Monmouth County: J. Stanley Herbert lost renomination to Richard R. Stout.
2. Somerset County: Freas L. Hess lost renomination to Malcolm Forbes. ^[2]

In general

Democrats

1. Burlington County: James M. Davis Jr. lost re-election to Albert McCay.
2. Warren County: Robert B. Meyner lost re-election to Wayne Dumont.

Summary of results by county

County	Incumbent	Party		Elected Senator	Party
Atlantic	Frank S. Farley		Rep	No election
Bergen	David Van Alstyne		Rep	No election
Burlington	James M. Davis Jr.		Dem	Albert McCay		Rep
Camden	Bruce A. Wallace		Rep	Bruce A. Wallace		Rep
Cape May	Anthony Cafiero		Rep	Anthony Cafiero		Rep
Cumberland	W. Howard Sharp		Dem	No election
Essex	Alfred C. Clapp		Rep	Alfred C. Clapp		Rep
Gloucester	Harold W. Hannold		Rep	Harold W. Hannold		Rep
Hudson	James F. Murray Jr.		Dem	No election
Hunterdon	Wesley Lance		Rep	No election
Mercer	Sido Ridolfi		Dem	No election
Middlesex	Bernard W. Vogel		Dem	Bernard W. Vogel		Dem
Monmouth	J. Stanley Herbert		Rep	Richard R. Stout		Rep
Morris	Thomas J. Hillery		Rep	No election
Ocean	W. Steelman Mathis		Rep	No election
Passaic	Frank W. Shershin		Rep	No election
Salem	John M. Summerill Jr.		Rep	John M. Summerill Jr.		Rep
Somerset	Freas Hess		Rep	Malcolm Forbes		Rep
Sussex	George B. Harper		Rep	No election
Union	Kenneth Hand		Rep	Kenneth Hand		Rep
Warren	Robert B. Meyner		Dem	Wayne Dumont		Rep

Closest races

Seats where the margin of victory was under 10%:

1. Warren County, 0.20% (gain)
2. Camden County, 7.38%
3. Salem County, 7.70%

Burlington County

Democratic primary

Candidates

• James M. Davis Jr., incumbent state senator

Republican primary

Candidates

• Louis J. Kaser ^[3]
• Albert McCay, former assemblyman (1944–48)
• William F. Parker ^[3]
• Clifford Ross Powell, former state senator (1928–40) and acting governor (1935) ^[3]

General election

Candidates

• James M. Davis Jr., incumbent state senator (Democratic)
• Albert McCay, former assemblyman (1944–48) (Republican)

Results

Burlington County election, 1951

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Albert McCay	20,051	56.85%
	Democratic	James M. Davis Jr. (incumbent)	15,222	43.15%
Total votes			35,273	100.0%
	Republican gain from Democratic

Camden County

General election

Candidates

• George F. Neutze (Democratic)
• Bruce A. Wallace, incumbent senator (Republican)

Results

Camden County election, 1951

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bruce A. Wallace (incumbent)	47,420	53.69%
	Democratic	George F. Neutze	40,903	46.31%
Total votes			88,323	100.0%
	Republican hold

Cape May County

General election

Candidates

• Anthony Cafiero, incumbent senator (Republican)
• Joseph F. Hughes (Democratic)

Results

Cape May County election, 1951

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Anthony Cafiero (incumbent)	12,279	79.86%
	Democratic	Joseph F. Hughes	3,097	20.14%
Total votes			15,376	100.0%
	Republican hold

Essex County

General election

Candidates

• Alfred C. Clapp, incumbent senator (Republican)
• Ruth Lerner (Progressive)
• John A. Pindar (Democratic)

Results

Essex County election, 1951

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Alfred C. Clapp (incumbent)	114,435	61.60%
	Democratic	John A. Pindar	67,678	36.44%
	Progressive	Ruth Lerner	3,637	1.96%
Total votes			185,750	100.0%
	Republican hold

Gloucester County

General election

Candidates

• Harold W. Hannold, incumbent senator (Republican)
• Joseph Mennite (Democratic)

Results

Gloucester County election, 1951

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Harold W. Hannold (incumbent)	20,046	71.60%
	Democratic	Joseph Mennite	7,950	28.40%
Total votes			27,996	100.0%
	Republican hold

Middlesex County

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Joseph T. Karcher ^[3]
• Bernard Vogel, incumbent senator ^[3]

General election

Candidates

• Walter D. Fetterly (Republican)
• Bernard Vogel, incumbent senator (Democratic)

Results

Middlesex County election, 1951

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bernard W. Vogel (incumbent)	49,287	60.03%
	Republican	Walter D. Fetterly	32,815	39.97%
Total votes			82,102	100.0%
	Democratic hold

Monmouth County

Republican primary

• J. Stanley Herbert, incumbent senator ^[3]
• Richard R. Stout, attorney and veteran ^[3]

General election

Candidates

• Solomon Lautman (Democratic)
• Richard R. Stout, attorney and veteran (Republican)

Results

Monmouth County election, 1951

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Richard R. Stout	42,261	68.74%
	Democratic	Solomon Lautman	19,214	31.26%
Total votes			61,475	100.0%
	Republican hold

Salem County

General election

Candidates

• James S. Sparks (Democratic)
• John M. Summerill Jr. (Republican)

Results

Salem County election, 1951

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John M. Summerill Jr. (incumbent)	8,941	53.85%
	Democratic	James S. Sparks	7,663	46.15%
Total votes			16,604	100.0%
	Republican hold

Somerset County

Republican primary

Candidates

• Malcolm Forbes, publishing magnate ^[3]
• Freas L. Hess, incumbent senator ^[3]

General election

Candidates

• Malcolm Forbes, publishing magnate (Republican)
• Anthony P. Kearns (Democratic)

Results

Somerset County election, 1951

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Malcolm Forbes	20,474	71.59%
	Democratic	Anthony P. Kearns	8,123	28.41%
Total votes			28,597	100.0%
	Republican hold

Union County

General election

Candidates

• Kenneth Hand, incumbent senator (Republican)
• J. Jerome Kaplon (Democratic)

Results

Union County election, 1951

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kenneth Hand (incumbent)	60,249	63.43%
	Democratic	J. Jerome Kaplon	34,728	36.57%
Total votes			94,977	100.0%
	Republican hold

Warren County

General election

Candidates

• Wayne Dumont, Phillipsburg attorney (Republican)
• Robert B. Meyner, incumbent senator (Democratic)

Results

Warren County election, 1951

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Wayne Dumont	10,929	50.10%
	Democratic	Robert B. Meyner (incumbent)	10,883	49.90%
Total votes			21,812	100.0%
	Republican gain from Democratic

See also

• List of New Jersey state legislatures

References

1. "Results of the general election" (PDF). nj.gov. Retrieved 2025-11-29.
2. "Freas Leslie Hess (1896-1959)". politicalstrangenames.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2025-11-29.
3. "PRIMARY CONTESTS IN JERSEY HEATED; Major Centers of Interest in Tuesday Voting Are Hudson and Bergen Counties Kenny Control at Stake Gambling Issue in Bergen Somerset Contest Hard-Fought LIST OF CANDIDATES". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-12-05.