1963 New Jersey Senate election

1963 New Jersey Senate elections

←  1961 November 5, 1963 1965  →
11 of the 21 seats in the New Jersey State Senate 11 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader William Ozzard Party Republican Democratic Leader's seat Somerset Seats before 11 10 Seats won 15 6 Seat change 4 4 Seats up 5 6 Races won 9 2
Senate President before election William E. Ozzard Republican Elected Senate President Charles Sandman Republican

The 1963 New Jersey Senate elections were held on November 5. The elections took place midway through the first term of Governor Richard J. Hughes. Eleven of New Jersey's 21 counties elected Senators. Republicans gained four seats by flipping one seat each in Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, and Essex counties.

Incumbents not running for re-election

Democratic

• Donal C. Fox (Essex) (lost support of county organization)

Republican

All five Republican incumbents stood for re-election.

Summary of results by county

County	Incumbent	Party		Elected Senator	Party
Atlantic	Frank S. Farley		Rep	No election
Bergen	Pierce Deamer		Rep	No election
Burlington	Henry S. Haines		Dem	Edwin B. Forsythe		Rep
Camden	Joseph W. Cowgill		Dem	Frederick J. Scholz		Rep
Cape May	Charles W. Sandman		Rep	Charles W. Sandman		Rep
Cumberland	Robert H. Weber		Dem	No election
Essex	Donal C. Fox		Dem	C. Robert Sarcone		Rep
Gloucester	Thomas F. Connery Jr.		Dem	John E. Hunt		Rep
Hudson	William F. Kelly Jr.		Dem	No election
Hunterdon	Raymond E. Bowkley		Rep	No election
Mercer	Sido Ridolfi		Dem	No election
Middlesex	John A. Lynch		Dem	John A. Lynch		Dem
Monmouth	Richard R. Stout		Rep	Richard R. Stout		Rep
Morris	Thomas J. Hillery		Rep	No election
Ocean	W. Steelman Mathis		Rep	No election
Passaic	Anthony J. Grossi		Dem	No election
Salem	John A. Waddington		Dem	John A. Waddington		Dem
Somerset	William E. Ozzard		Rep	William E. Ozzard		Rep
Sussex	George B. Harper		Rep	No election
Union	Nelson Stamler [a]		Rep	Nelson Stamler		Rep
Warren	Wayne Dumont		Rep	Wayne Dumont		Rep

1. Stamler was elected to the seat in November 1962 following the death of Senator Robert C. Crane.

Close races

Seats where the margin of victory was under 10%:

1. Essex, 6.41% gain
2. Gloucester, 8.07% gain
3. Union, 9.22%
4. Burlington, 9.71% gain

Burlington

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Henry S. Haines, incumbent Senator ^{[1] [2]}
• Edward J. Hulse, director of the Burlington County Board of Chosen Freeholders and brother-in-law of Governor Hughes ^{[1] [2]}

Campaign

The campaign was bitter, with Hulse criticizing Haines's record in the Senate. Haines was aligned with Grover C. Richman Jr., the former Attorney General whom Governor Hughes had outmaneuvered for the 1961 Democratic nomination. ^[2]

Results

1963 Burlington Democratic Senate primary ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Edward J. Hulse	8,133	56.78%
	Democratic	Henry S. Haines (incumbent)	6,190	43.22%
Total votes			14,323	100.0%

Hulse and his four-man ticket won the primary by carrying the heavily Democratic towns of Burlington, Florence, Levittown, and Maple Shade. Haines was strongest in Bordentown and also received a large majority in Palmyra. ^[2]

Both Haines and Hulse lost their own home towns, Burlington and Edgewater Park, respectively. ^[2]

General election

Candidates

• Bernardo S. Doganiero, perennial candidate (Socialist Labor)
• Edward J. Hulse, director of the Burlington County Board of Chosen Freeholders (Democratic)
• Edwin B. Forsythe, former mayor of Moorestown (Republican)
• John V. Mahalchik (Independent)

Results

1963 general election ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Edwin B. Forsythe	35,847	54.63%	8.76
	Democratic	Edward J. Hulse	29,476	44.92%	9.21
	Independent	John V. Mahalchik	157	0.24%	N/A
	Socialist Labor	Bernardo S. Doganiero	135	0.21%	N/A
Total votes			65,615	100.0%

Camden

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Joseph F. Carroll, college professor of education ^[4]
• Joseph W. Cowgill, incumbent Senator ^[4]

Results

1963 Camden Democratic Senate primary (partial results) ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joseph W. Cowgill (incumbent)	15,181	84.25%
	Democratic	Joseph F. Carroll	2,837	15.75%
Total votes			18,018	100.0%

Cowgill won the city of Camden with a 5–1 margin. ^[4]

General election

Candidates

• Joseph W. Cowgill, incumbent Senator (Democratic) ^[4]
• Julius Levin (Socialist Labor)
• Frederick J. Scholz, senior vice president of First Camden National Bank and Trust Co. (Republican) ^[4]

Results

1963 general election ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Frederick J. Scholz	72,873	54.93%	6.65
	Democratic	Joseph W. Cowgill (incumbent)	59,246	44.66%	7.06
	Socialist Labor	Julius Levin	535	0.40%	N/A
Total votes			132,654	100.0%

Cape May

1963 general election ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Charles W. Sandman (incumbent)	12,900	60.98%	0.40
	Democratic	Carlton E. Mason	7,025	33.21%	5.41
	Independent	Walter C. Wright	1,231	5.82%	N/A
Total votes			21,156	100.0%

Essex

General election

Candidates

• Elmer Matthews, Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly (Democratic)
• George C. Richardson, Democratic Assemblyman at-large for Essex County (New Frontier)
• C. Robert Sarcone, Assemblyman at-large for Essex County (Republican)
• David E. Wilson (Conservative)
• Paul J. Wolek (Legalized Gambling Bonus)
• Murray Zuckoff (Socialist Workers)

Results

1963 general election ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	C. Robert Sarcone	125,836	50.72%	5.49
	Democratic	Elmer Matthews	109,934	44.31%	6.80
	Independent Democratic	George C. Richardson	10,164	4.10%	N/A
	Conservative	David E. Wilson	1,248	0.50%	N/A
	Independent	Paul J. Wolek	551	0.22%	N/A
	Socialist Workers	Murray Zuckoff	351	0.14%	N/A
Total votes			248,084	100.0%

Gloucester

1963 general election ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	John E. Hunt	27,562	54.00%	4.77
	Democratic	Thomas F. Connery Jr. (incumbent)	23,443	45.93%	4.85
	Socialist Labor	David E. Wilson	38	0.07%	N/A
Total votes			51,043	100.0%

Middlesex

1963 general election ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John A. Lynch (incumbent)	94,829	63.29%	1.01
	Republican	Robert F. Moss	55,013	36.71%	1.01
Total votes			149,842	100.0%

Monmouth

1963 general election ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Richard R. Stout (incumbent)	67,449	59.65%	1.86
	Democratic	Earl Moody	45,622	40.35%	1.86
Total votes			113,071	100.0%

Salem

1963 general election ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John A. Waddington (incumbent)	13,665	61.86%	1.94
	Republican	Joseph Narrow	8,412	38.08%	2.00
	Socialist Labor	David E. Wilson	12	0.05%	N/A
Total votes			22,089	100.0%

Somerset

1963 general election ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	William E. Ozzard (incumbent)	30,349	58.63%	1.60
	Democratic	John J. Carlin	21,416	41.37%	1.60
Total votes			51,765	100.0%

Union

1963 general election ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Nelson Stamler (incumbent)	94,820	54.61%
	Democratic	James M. McGowan	78,814	45.39%
Total votes			173,634	100.0%

Warren

1963 general election ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Wayne Dumont (incumbent)	14,062	59.32%	2.59
	Democratic	Joseph T. Brennan	9,645	40.68%	2.59
Total votes			23,707	100.0%

References

1. Wright, George Cable (April 17, 1963). "Jersey Senator Loses Primary To Governor's Brother-in-Law; Freeholder Since 1960 Light Voter Turnout". The New York Times .
2. Chelland, Edmund J.; Aarons, Richard N. (April 17, 1963). "Hulse Whips Haines for Senate Post in Burlington County". The Courier-Post . p. 1. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
3. "Results of the General Election Held November 5th, 1963" (PDF). Robert J. Burkhardt, New Jersey Secretary of State.
4. "Cowgill Regular Democrats Victorious Over Carroll Slate". The Courier-Post . April 17, 1963. p. 1. Retrieved May 12, 2023.