1970 United States Senate election in New Jersey

1970 United States Senate election in New Jersey

←  1964 November 3, 1970 1976  →

Nominee Harrison A. Williams Nelson G. Gross Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,157,074 903,026 Percentage 54.02% 42.16%

County results Williams:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70% Gross:      40–50%     50–60%

U.S. senator before election Harrison A. Williams Democratic Elected U.S. senator Harrison A. Williams Democratic

The 1970 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held on November 3, 1970. Incumbent Democrat Harrison A. Williams defeated Republican nominee Nelson G. Gross with 54.02% of the vote.

Primary elections were held on June 2, 1970. ^[1] Williams held off a challenge from the Hudson County party organization in the form of State Senator Frank Guarini, while Gross prevailed over two candidates without organizational support. ^[2]

Background

Harrison Williams was first elected to the United States Senate in 1958; he narrowly defeated Hoboken mayor John Grogan in the Democratic primary and U.S. representative Robert Kean in the general election. He was re-elected in a landslide in 1964.

In 1968, Williams was formally censured by the New Jersey chapter of the NAACP after he addressed their annual convention drunk. After the censure, leaders in both parties saw Williams as politically vulnerable, with Republicans hoping to gain his seat and Middlesex County Democratic boss David Wilentz weighing replacing him on the ballot. ^[3]

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Frank Joseph Guarini, state senator from Hudson County
• Harrison A. Williams, incumbent U.S. senator since 1959

Campaign

Guarini ran as the candidate of the powerful Hudson County machine. ^[4] As in 1958, the machine hoped to defeat Williams by running up a large margin in Hudson County, which accounted for the majority of the state's Democratic vote. ^[2] Guarini campaigned on themes that echoed Republican President Richard Nixon's 1968 campaign, calling himself a candidate who would uphold “law and order” and a champion of the “silent majority” and the “forgotten taxpayer." ^[2] Guarini also emphasized his Italian ancestry. ^[5]

In a May interview with The New York Times , Williams confessed to past struggles resulting from alcoholism and said that he had been sober for eighteen months, shortly after his disastrous NAACP speech. The interview prompted Guarini campaign manager Arthur J. Sills to claim the party should not "risk" supporting a former alcoholic. ^[5] Sills was rebuked by most of the party leadership in New Jersey, including former governor Richard J. Hughes, under whom Sills had served as Attorney General. Hughes praised Williams's courage, and he denounced Guarini as "someone who crawled out of the woodwork" and Sills for trying to inject “the meanest kind of issue” into the race. ^[2] Hughes further suggested Sills, who was confined to a wheelchair with polio, “ought to be the last man in the world to hurt anybody with a disease, illness or handicap.” ^[5]

Of all primary candidates in either party, Williams took the strongest stance against American involvement in the Vietnam War; he called for unilateral withdrawal within one year. ^[2] Guarini also supported withdrawal but contended that the United States should have gone into Vietnam to win instead of “tying the generals' hands.” ^[2]

Williams received the unified support of organized labor late in the campaign. After Senator Ralph Yarborough unexpectedly lost the Democratic primary in Texas to Lloyd Bentsen on May 2, Williams became the potential next chair of the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare. As a result, national labor unions flooded New Jersey with donations and volunteers in support of Williams. ^{[2] [5] [6]}

Results

Democratic primary results ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Harrison A. Williams (incumbent)	190,692	65.59%
	Democratic	Frank Joseph Guarini	100,045	34.41%
Total votes			290,737	100.00

Williams won the primary easily; he nearly finished even with Guarini in Hudson County. ^[2]

Republican primary

Candidates

• Joseph T. Gavin
• Nelson G. Gross, chair of the New Jersey Republican State Committee and former assemblyman from Saddle River
• James A. Quaremba, Ridgewood attorney ^[2]

Declined

• Joseph Maraziti, State Senator from Morris County ^[4]

Campaign

Nelson Gross resigned his position as party chairman on April 9 to enter the race for Senate with the full-backing of Governor William T. Cahill. Cahill's support discouraged any serious contenders from challenging Gross in the primary. ^[4] Gross also had the support of President Richard Nixon. As a member of the New Jersey delegation to the 1968 Republican National Convention, Gross had flipped from favorite son Clifford Case to support Nixon and helped secure his nomination. ^[2]

Gross was nonetheless privately criticized as a poor choice by some Republicans due to his ongoing investigation by the United States Department of Justice for involvement with a Mafia-backed labor union. The investigation was led by U.S. Attorney Frederick Bernard Lacey, who had been personally recommended to the Nixon administration by Senator Clifford Case. Case and Gross had been on uneven terms since Gross undermined Case's "favorite son" status at the 1968 Republican National Convention by bringing Bergen County delegates into the Nixon column. ^[4]

On the war issue, Gross advocated for congressional restriction on the American incursion into Cambodia, but withheld calling for unilateral withdrawal, pending a fact-finding trip he pledged to take after the primary. ^[2] Quaremba defended the Nixon administration's policy. ^[5]

Quaremba emphasized his Italian ancestry in the campaign. ^[5]

Joseph Gavin did not campaign actively. He ran only to provide a Senate heading on the ballot line for Assemblyman Walter T. Smith, who was running for the U.S. House of Representatives. ^{[2] [5]}

By the end of the campaign, observers said that Gross had an "insurmountable" lead over Quaremba. ^[5] He largely ignored Quaremba's campaign and spent the final week of the primary filming television ads for the general election. ^[5]

Results

Although Gross won the primary easily, his margin was less than expected by many observers. Republican officials attributed the large vote against him to his position on the Vietnam War and support for restrictions on the Nixon administration. ^[7]

Republican primary results ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Nelson G. Gross	150,662	65.39%
	Republican	James A. Quaremba	43,547	18.90%
	Republican	Joseph T. Gavin	36,208	15.71%
Total votes			230,417	100.00

General election

Candidates

• Nelson G. Gross, former chairman of the New Jersey Republican State Committee and State Assemblyman (Republican)
• Joseph F. Job, Bergen County Sheriff (Independent) ^[8]
• Jules Levin (Socialist Labor)
• Joseph S. Mans (Independent)
• William J. O'Grady (Independent)
• Harrison A. Williams, incumbent Senator since 1959 (Democratic)

Campaign

Gross campaigned with President Richard Nixon in Ocean Grove on October 17.

Gross assailed Williams as a "radical liberal" and implied that he was involved in "influence peddling" for having sponsored special bills for about 70 Chinese seamen who jumped ship in the United States. ^[9]

In mid-October, President Richard Nixon campaigned for Gross as part of a one-day swing through Pennsylvania, Vermont, Wisconsin and New Jersey. ^[9]

Debates

Williams declined numerous calls for debates. ^[9]

Endorsements

Harrison Williams

Newspapers

• The New York Times ^[10]
• The Trenton Times ^[11]
• The Star-Ledger ^[11]

Nelson Gross

U.S. executive branch officials

• Richard Nixon, 37th president of the United States ^[9]

Newspapers

• The Hackensack Record ^[11]
• The Newark Sunday News ^[11]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Harrison Williams (D)	Nelson Gross (R)	Other	Undecided
RSCC [9] [a]	October 15, 1970	?	± ?%	36%	32%	3%	29%

1. Poll released by the Gross campaign.

Results

1970 United States Senate election in New Jersey ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Harrison A. Williams (incumbent)	1,157,074	54.02%	7.89
	Republican	Nelson G. Gross	903,026	42.16%	4.84
	Independent	Joseph F. Job	58,992	2.75%	N/A
	Independent	William J. O'Grady	12,938	0.60%	N/A
	Independent	Joseph S. Mans	6,066	0.28%	N/A
	Socialist Labor	Jules Levin	4,009	0.19%	0.11
Majority			254,048
Turnout			2,142,105
	Democratic hold		Swing

By county

By county

County Williams votes Williams % Gross votes Gross % Other votes Other % Atlantic 27,618 47.5% 28,592 49.1% 1,966 3.4% Bergen 163,212 49.9% 128,591 39.3% 35,346 10.8% Burlington 37,382 52.6% 32,640 45.9% 1,044 1.5% Camden 65,597 53.5% 55,483 45.2% 1,586 1.2% Cape May 9,591 42.0% 12,797 56.1% 426 1.8% Cumberland 17,605 53.3% 15,169 45.9% 243 0.7% Essex 146,129 59.2% 94,615 38.3% 6,109 2.5% Gloucester 25,586 47.2% 28,341 52.2% 335 0.6% Hudson 121,345 68.0% 51,879 29.1% 5,185 2.9% Hunterdon 9,556 45.4% 11,161 53.0% 339 1.6% Mercer 53,084 58.7% 35,881 39.7% 1,427 1.5% Middlesex 101,458 59.7% 65,305 38.4% 3,194 1.9% Monmouth 65,003 50.7% 59,977 46.8% 3,162 2.4% Morris 50,615 44.8% 58,702 52.0% 3,537 3.1% Ocean 30,509 44.8% 35,975 52.8% 1,635 2.4% Passaic 67,683 53.0% 52,217 40.9% 7,748 6.0% Salem 10,302 51.6% 9,577 48.0% 71 0.3% Somerset 28,739 47.7% 29,885 49.6% 1,651 2.8% Sussex 10,030 43.5% 12,706 55.1% 343 1.5% Union 104,392 56.5% 73,749 39.9% 6,491 3.5% Warren 11,638 53.9% 9,784 45.3% 167 0.8% Total 1,157,074 54.0% 903,026 42.2% 82,005 3.8% Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Atlantic Cape May Hunterdon Gloucester Ocean Somerset [13]

References

1. "1970 Primary Election Results" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. 1970. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
2. Sullivan, Ronald (June 3, 1970). "Williams and Gross Win Jersey Senate Primaries". The New York Times . Retrieved March 23, 2022.
3. "Williams, a Nondrinker Since '68, Tells of Past (Published 1970)". May 21, 1970. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
4. "GROSS QUITS AS G.O.P. CHAIRMAN IN JERSEY TO RUN FOR THE SENATE". The New York Times . April 9, 1970. p. 44. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
5. Sullivan, Ronald (May 31, 1970). "Williams and Gross Favored in Jersey". The New York Times . Retrieved March 23, 2022.
6. Wildstein, David (September 2, 2019). "Labor: How a Texas primary helped focus unions on Pete Williams". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
7. "Williams Campaigns (Published 1970)". June 4, 1970. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
8. "Bergen Sheriff Plans to Run For Senate as Independent". The New York Times . April 23, 1970. p. 29. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
9. Sullivan, Ronald (October 15, 1970). "Test for G.O.P. in Jersey". The New York Times . p. 53. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
10. "The New Jersey Senate Race". The New York Times . October 19, 1970. Retrieved August 20, 2021. In our opinion, the case for the re‐election of Senator Williams is clear and persuasive... Senator Williams is far and away the better choice.
11. "Gross Vows to Seek U.S. Aid for Jersey". The New York Times . October 26, 1970. p. 44. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
12. "1970 General Election Results" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. 1970. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
13. "NJ DOS - Division of Elections - Election Results Archive". nj.gov. Retrieved January 16, 2025.