1955 New Jersey Senate election

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1955 New Jersey Senate elections
Flag of New Jersey.svg
← 1953November 8, 1955 1957  →
10 of the 21 seats in the New Jersey State Senate
11 seats needed for a majority
 Majority partyMinority party
 
Party Republican Democratic
Seats before174
Seats won147
Seat changeDecrease2.svg 3Increase2.svg 3
Seats up91
Races won64
Senate President before election


Republican

Elected Senate President


Republican

The 1955 New Jersey Senate elections were held on November 8.

Contents

The elections took place midway through the first term of Governor Robert Meyner. Eleven of New Jersey's 21 counties held regular elections for Senator. The Democratic Party gained Camden, Essex and Salem counties.

Incumbents not running for re-election

Democratic

Republican

Summary of results by county

County Incumbent PartyElected SenatorParty
Atlantic Frank S. Farley RepNo election
Bergen Walter H. Jones RepNo election
Burlington Albert McCay RepAlbert McCayRep
Camden Bruce A. Wallace Rep Joseph W. Cowgill Dem
Cape May Anthony Cafiero Rep Charles W. Sandman Rep
CumberlandW. Howard SharpDemNo election
Essex Mark Anton [a] Rep Donal C. Fox Dem
Gloucester Harold W. Hannold RepHarold W. HannoldRep
HudsonJames F. Murray Jr.DemNo election
Hunterdon Wesley Lance RepNo election
Mercer Sido Ridolfi DemNo election
Middlesex Bernard W. Vogel Dem John A. Lynch Sr. Dem
Monmouth Richard R. Stout RepRichard R. StoutRep
Morris Thomas J. Hillery RepNo election
Ocean W. Steelman Mathis RepNo election
PassaicFrank W. ShershinRepNo election
Salem John M. Summerill Jr. Rep John A. Waddington Dem
Somerset Malcolm Forbes RepMalcolm ForbesRep
Sussex George B. Harper RepNo election
Union Kenneth Hand RepKenneth HandRep
Warren Wayne Dumont RepWayne DumontRep
  1. ↑ Anton succeeded Senator Alfred C. Clapp, who resigned in 1953 after he was appointed to the New Jersey Superior Court.

Close races

Seats where the margin of victory was under 10%:

  1. Camden, 0.26% gain
  2. Somerset, 0.94%
  3. Essex, 3.35% gain
  4. Salem, 6.14% gain
  5. Warren, 8.00%
  6. Union, 9.33%

Burlington

1955 general election [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican Albert McCay (incumbent) 24,219 55.77%
Democratic Edward J. Hulse19,20644.23%
Total votes43,425 100.0%

Camden

1955 general election [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Joseph W. Cowgill 54,683 50.02%
Republican William G. Rohrer54,39349.76%
Socialist Labor Robert G. Howell2400.22%
Total votes109,316 100.0%

Cape May

1955 general election [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican Charles W. Sandman 12,747 73.82%
Democratic William E. Sturm4,52026.18%
Total votes17,267 100.0%

Essex

Republican primary

Candidates

  • Mark Anton, incumbent Senator since 1953 and founder of Suburban Propane Gas Company [2]
  • William O. Barnes, Assemblyman from South Orange [2]

Campaign

Barnes challenged Anton and the county party establishment with a "Good Government" ticket that included four incumbent Assembly members. [2] They were defeated in a rancorous primary, and Barnes lost by about 3,222 votes. [2]

General election

1955 general election [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Donal C. Fox 118,950 51.11%
Republican Mark Anton (incumbent)111,14147.76%
Independent James R. Golden2,0620.89%
Socialist Labor Frank DeGeorge5720.25%
Total votes232,725 100.0%

Gloucester

1955 general election [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican Harold W. Hannold (incumbent) 20,658 56.75%
Democratic Thomas F. Connery Jr.15,74243.25%
Total votes36,400 100.0%

Middlesex

1955 general election [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic John A. Lynch 68,385 64.07%
Republican Joseph H. Edgar38,35635.93%
Total votes106,741 100.0%

Monmouth

1955 general election [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican Richard R. Stout (incumbent) 43,889 64.09%
Democratic Thomas J. Smith24,58835.91%
Total votes68,477 100.0%

Salem

1955 general election [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic John A. Waddington 9,836 53.05%
Republican John M. Summerill Jr. (incumbent)8,69846.91%
Socialist Labor Marvin Ronis60.03%
Total votes18,540 100.0%

Somerset

General election

Candidates

Campaign

In a race later dubbed the "Battle of the Billionaires," [3] [4] Malcolm Forbes narrowly defeated Charles Engelhard.

The Democratic Party targeted Forbes in an effort to stave off a challenge to Governor Meyner in 1957. Forbes, who had already run for governor in 1953 and possessed a large fortune, was expected to be able to self-fund a serious challenge to Meyner. Thus, they recruited Engelhard, a wealthy industrialist who had been a major contributor to the Democratic Party.

Although state election disclosure laws at the time did not require candidates to report spending on their own behalf, some observers as of 2013 believed this to be the most expensive state legislative contest in history. [5] Engelhard spent freely to match Forbes. Forbes owned his own local newspaper, the Messenger Gazette, so Engelhard bought out the Somerville Star to serve as his campaign bulletin. [5] At one point during the campaign, Engelhard reportedly campaigned by sailing his yacht down the Raritan River wearing a white naval uniform. [5]

Results

1955 general election [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican Malcolm Forbes (incumbent) 19,981 50.47%
Democratic Charles W. Engelhard Jr. 19,61149.53%
Total votes39,592 100.0%

Forbes survived a challenge and recount. [5] Engelhard reportedly felt the loss was a blessing in disguise, as it allowed him to focus his efforts on his vast industrial empire. He later became the inspiration for the James Bond villain Auric Goldfinger. [6]

Forbes ran for Governor in 1957 and secured the Republican nomination but lost to Meyner by over 200,000 votes.

Union

1955 general election [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican Kenneth Hand (incumbent) 67,290 54.10%
Democratic Robert L. Sheldon55,68944.77%
Independent Harry Mopsick1,4131.14%
Total votes124,392 100.0%

Warren

1955 general election [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican Wayne Dumont (incumbent) 12,075 54.00%
Democratic James C. Jamieson10,28646.00%
Total votes22,361 100.0%

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Results of the General Election Held November 8th, 1955" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Anton Beats Barnes in Essex Race" . Courier-Post . Associated Press. 20 Apr 1955. p. 43. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  3. ↑ Wildstein, David. "Son of former Speaker dies". NewJerseyGlobe.com. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  4. ↑ Wildstein, David. "Somerset hasn't elected a Democratic state senator since 1902". NewJerseyGlobe.com. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Donohue, Joe. "LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS 2013: BIG SPENDING, LITTLE CHANGE PLUS A HISTORY OF SELF-FINANCING BY LEGISLATORS AND OTHERS" (PDF). ELEC. State of New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  6. ↑ "Charles W. Engelhard Jr. Biography". allengelhard.com. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
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