1958 United States Senate election in New Jersey

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1958 United States Senate election in New Jersey
Flag of New Jersey (1896-1965).png
←  1952 November 4, 1958 1964  →
  Harrison A Williams.jpg Robert W Kean.jpg
Nominee Harrison Williams Robert Kean
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote966,832882,287
Percentage51.39%46.90%
1958 United States Senate election in New Jersey results map by county.svg
County results
Williams:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%
Kean:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%
U.S. senator before election

H. Alexander Smith
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Harrison Williams
Democratic

The 1958 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held on November 4, 1958.

Contents

Incumbent Senator H. Alexander Smith chose not to seek a third term in office. Democratic former U.S. Representative Harrison Williams won the open seat over U.S. Representative Robert Kean. Primary elections were held on April 15. Kean defeated Eisenhower aide Bernard M. Shanley and Robert J. Morris, while Williams narrowly defeated Hoboken mayor John Grogan.

This was one of a record 15 seats Democrats gained from the Republican Party in 1958. Williams was the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from New Jersey since 1936; as of 2024, Democrats have won every subsequent election to this seat.

Republican primary

Candidates

Withdrew

Declined

Robert Kean was the first candidate to announce that he would enter the race for Senate, notwithstanding Senator Smith's incumbency.

Incumbent Senator H. Alexander Smith initially announced in June 1957 that he would stand for re-election, expressing surprise that Kean had entered the race without informing him. [6] Eisenhower aide Bernard Shanley joined the race on November 7, resigning from the Eisenhower administration to run immediately after Democratic Governor Robert Meyner won a landslide victory in the fall state election. [3] Following Kean and Shanley's entries, Smith announced that he would confer with party leaders in an attempt to stave off a divisive primary contest between Kean and Shanley. [3] [4] Following such a conference, Smith announced in late November 1957 that he would not seek a third term in office. [1] [7]

Robert Morris joined the race on January 11. He announced a campaign focused on anti-communism and resistance to Soviet influence, saying, "The primary issue today is our survival as a free nation." [8]

Kean formalized his campaign announcement on January 31, grounding his campaign on international peace, national defense "strong enough to deter any possible aggressor," and "a healthy, expanding national economy with a stable dollar." [9]

State Senator Walter H. Jones, who was seen as a leading contender, announced he would not be a candidate on March 1. [5]

Campaign

Kean campaigned on a liberal platform throughout the state, touring all twenty-one counties. He advocated an income tax cut and increased spending on public works and Social Security, but warned against "pump-priming" New Deal-era measures. Kean introduced a tax cut bill in the House. His sons, Robert Kean Jr. and future Governor Thomas Kean, campaigned on his behalf. [10]

Morris presented himself as the only conservative candidate in the race and a "strong new voice." He attributed the ongoing economic recession and inflation to spending on foreign aid and defense, which he argued was made necessary by both Democratic and Republican vacillation in the face of Russian imperialism. To combat the recession, he proposed an immediate cut in income and excise taxes. He also argued for a "big tent" approach to politics and posited that the ongoing decline in the Republican vote in New Jersey was due to Eisenhower's feuds with conservative Senators Joseph McCarthy and Robert A. Taft. [11]

In an appeal to commuters, Shanley proposed a constitutional amendment barring a state from taxing residents of another state. [12]

Endorsements

Robert Kean
Elected officials
Newspapers
Bernard Shanley
County party organizations
  • Bergen County Republican Organization [14]

Results

1958 Republican U.S. Senate primary [15]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Robert Kean 152,884 43.00%
Republican Bernard M. Shanley 128,99036.28%
Republican Robert J. Morris 73,65820.72%
Total votes355,532 100.00%

Both Shanley and Morris conceded the primary race on election night and endorsed Kean. [16]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Withdrew

  • Thorn Lord, member of the Port of New York Authority and former U.S. Attorney

Declined

  • Archibald S. Alexander, former New Jersey Treasurer, Undersecretary of the U.S. Army, and nominee in 1948 and 1952 (endorsed Williams) [17]
  • James F. Murray Jr., Jersey City Commissioner and former State Senator (endorsed McLean)

The first Democratic candidate to announce was mayor of Hoboken John Grogan, who entered the race on January 22. [18]

In late February, Democrats culled their field of candidates to select an establishment candidate. Congressman Harrison Williams and Thorn Lord were the leading candidates for party support, [5] though Lord had a slight majority of leadership support. [19] On February 25, eight of the eleven candidates in the field announced they would withdraw if Lord were named. Only Hoboken mayor John Grogan and Meyner aide Joseph McLean announced they would force a primary regardless. Party leaders hoped to induce Grogan to withdraw by promising him a U.S. House seat, [20] but talks between Governor Robert Meyner, Grogan, and Hudson County Senator William F. Kelly failed. [5]

A poll of party leadership in Trenton showed that Lord had a slight majority of support, but party leaders empowered Governor Robert Meyner to choose between Lord and Williams. On March 4, Meyner announced that Williams would be the party-preferred candidate. He received the support of twenty of the twenty-one county party organizations; only Hudson County held out, maintaining support for Grogan. [21]

Campaign

The campaign shaped up largely as a contest between the state party organization and the Hudson County machine. Meyner spoke on behalf of Williams in Edison, Livingston, Nutley, and Caldwell. Williams made a pair of campaign stops in Hudson County in the final week of the campaign. To combat the ongoing economic recession, Williams proposed an expansion in federal transportation programs and substantial increases in federal unemployment benefits. [22]

Grogan campaigned in all twenty-one counties and presented himself as the most liberal and most anti-communist of the three options. To combat recession, he proposed a tax cut, increased unemployment benefits, public works spending, and higher pensions. He won a major late victory when the Camden County Democratic Organization endorsed his campaign, against the wishes of Governor Meyner and George E. Brunner. [23] He was also able to flip the Atlantic County organization in the final week of the campaign. [24] He had the full support of organized labor throughout the race. [25]

Joseph McLean ran an outsider campaign without support from any establishment politicians, emphasizing his "unbossed" independence. He resisted pleas from Governor Meyner to abandon his campaign. He contended that the race was between himself and Grogan, claiming Williams's campaign "never got off the ground." He proposed a tax cut to end the recession and a robust program of national defense for the nuclear age. [24]

As the campaign closed, it was regarded as a close contest and a test of the prestige of both Governor Meyner and the Hudson County organization, which typically accounted for 40 percent of the statewide primary vote. Meyner declined to make a prediction on election day and disclaimed the election as any test of his political strength. [25]

Endorsements

John Grogan
Individuals
  • Louis P. Marciante, president of the New Jersey Federation of Labor [23]
Labor unions
County party organizations
  • Atlantic County Democratic Organization [24]
  • Hudson County Democratic Organization [23]
Local party organizations
  • Camden City Democratic Organization [23]
Joseph McLean
Public officials
  • Charles S. Witkowski, Mayor of Jersey City
  • James F. Murray Jr., Jersey City Commissioner and former State Senator
Organizations
  • Victory, an anti-Hudson County machine activist group [24]
Harrison Williams
Elected officials
Newspapers
County party organizations
  • Bergen County Democratic Organization
  • Burlington County Democratic Organization
  • Cape May County Democratic Organization
  • Cumberland County Democratic Organization
  • Essex County Democratic Organization
  • Gloucester County Democratic Organization
  • Hunterdon County Democratic Organization
  • Mercer County Democratic Organization
  • Middlesex County Democratic Organization
  • Monmouth County Democratic Organization
  • Morris County Democratic Organization
  • Ocean County Democratic Organization
  • Passaic County Democratic Organization
  • Salem County Democratic Organization
  • Somerset County Democratic Organization
  • Sussex County Democratic Organization
  • Union County Democratic Organization
  • Warren County Democratic Organization

Results

1958 Democratic U.S. Senate primary [26]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Harrison A. Williams 152,413 43.12%
Democratic John Grogan139,60539.49%
Democratic Joseph E. McLean61,47817.39%
Total votes353,496 100.00%

Williams was the first candidate to win a Democratic primary in New Jersey without carrying Hudson County in sixty years. He attributed his victory directly to Meyner's support. [16]

General election

Candidates

Campaign

Kean struggled with divisions in his own party. Party chair Samuel L. Bodine died on September 15, leaving a vacancy with no clear successor, creating an intra-party struggle for the seat between factions led by Clifford Case, Richard Stout, Walter H. Jones, Frank S. Farley, and Malcolm Forbes. At Kean's request, Senator Smith was named a temporary placeholder. [27]

Results

General election results [28]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Harrison A. Williams 966,832 51.39% Increase2.svg7.77
Republican Robert Kean 882,28746.90%Decrease2.svg8.61
Socialist Workers Daniel Roberts11,6690.62%Increase2.svg0.40
Independent Henry Krajewski6,0130.32%N/A
Independent John J. Winberry5,4810.29%N/A
Conservative Winifred O. Perry3,0620.16%N/A
Independent John M. D'Addetta3,0240.16%N/A
Socialist Labor Albert Ronis2,9350.16%Increase2.svg0.09
Total votes1,881,303 100.00%
Democratic gain from Republican

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "Smith Expected to Leave Senate". The New York Times . November 26, 1957. p. 16.
  2. 1 2 "Kean Wins Support of Smith in Jersey". The New York Times . March 8, 1958. p. 36.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Shanley Quits Post To Run For Senate". The New York Times . November 7, 1957. p. 1.
  4. 1 2 Cable Wright, George (November 8, 1957). "Shanley Senate Bid Stirs Jersey Battle". The New York Times. p. 21.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Jones Will Not Seek Jersey Senate Seat". The New York Times . March 1, 1958. p. 10.
  6. ↑ "Smith to Run in Jersey". The New York Times . June 24, 1957. p. 7.
  7. ↑ "Jersey G.O.P. Sets Rebuilding Drive". The New York Times . November 27, 1957. p. 41.
  8. ↑ "Morris to Enter Senatorial Race". The New York Times . January 12, 1958. p. 77.
  9. ↑ "Senate Bid Made By kean in Jersey". The New York Times . January 31, 1958. p. 43.
  10. ↑ "Kean Opens Drive in Bergen County: Republican in Bid for Senate Backs Tax Cut, World Aid, More Social Security". The New York Times . April 8, 1958. p. 19.
  11. ↑ "Morris Stresses His Fight on Reds". The New York Times . April 12, 1958. p. 20.
  12. ↑ "Shanley Pledges Tax Aid in Jersey". The New York Times . April 10, 1958. p. 22.
  13. 1 2 3 "New Jersey's Primaries". The New York Times . April 15, 1958. p. 32.
  14. ↑ "Shanley Gains Support: Bergen G.O.P. Body Backs Him for Jersey Senator". The New York Times . March 10, 1958. p. 45.
  15. ↑ "NJ US Senate - R Primary". OurCampaigns. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  16. 1 2 Cable Wright, George (April 16, 1958). "Williams, Kean Win New Jersey Vote". The New York Times . p. 1.
  17. ↑ "2 Rebuff Meyner, Join Senate Race". The New York Times . March 7, 1958. p. 12.
  18. ↑ "Grogan Enters Race – Mayor of Hoboken 'Definitely' in Bid for U. S. Senate". The New York Times . January 23, 1958. p. 18.
  19. ↑ "Democrats Pick 2 in Jersey Contest". The New York Times . February 28, 1958. p. 12.
  20. ↑ Cable Wright, George (February 26, 1958). "8 Democrats Quit Contest in Jersey". The New York Times . p. 34.
  21. ↑ "Williams Tapped for Jersey Race". The New York Times . March 4, 1958. p. 25.
  22. ↑ Cable Wright, George (April 9, 1958). "Williams' Hopes Spurt in Jersey". The New York Times . p. 68.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Unbeaten Grogan in Toughest Race: Jersey Democratic Senate Hopeful Picks Up Support in Camden and C. I. O." The New York Times . April 11, 1958. p. 12.
  24. 1 2 3 4 "M'Lean Optimistic Near End of Race". The New York Times . April 13, 1958. p. 82.
  25. 1 2 "Moderate Vote Likely in Jersey". The New York Times . April 15, 1958. p. 1.
  26. ↑ "NJ US Senate - D Primary". OurCampaigns. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  27. ↑ Cable Wright, George (September 28, 1958). "Rivalries Beset G. O. P. in Jersey". The New York Times . p. 76.
  28. ↑ "NJ US Senate Race". OurCampaigns. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
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