 | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
  Lautenberg: 50–60% 60–70% 80–90% Dawkins: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| Elections in New Jersey |
|---|
 |
The 1988 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held on November 8, 1988. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg won re-election to a second term with a margin of 8.37%. This is the last time that a Senate candidate was elected to the United States Senate in New Jersey at the same time that a presidential candidate of the opposite party won New Jersey.
Businessman Frank Lautenberg was elected in 1982 in a hard-fought, come-from-behind upset victory over U.S. Representative Millicent Fenwick. Given his narrow victory and low name recognition, New Jersey Republicans eagerly targeted his seat as a potential victory. Popular second-term Governor Thomas Kean led the efforts to recruit a challenger. [1]
Senator Lautenberg formally launched his re-election campaign in April. [2] He ignored his primary opponents, instead focusing on the general election and Pete Dawkins. [3]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Frank Lautenberg (incumbent) | 326,072 | 77.76% | |
| Democratic | Elnardo J. Webster | 51,938 | 12.39% | |
| Democratic | Harold J. Young | 41,303 | 9.85% | |
| Total votes | 419,313 | 100.00% | ||
In 1987, Governor Thomas Kean recruited Pete Dawkins to move from New York City to Rumson, New Jersey in order to campaign as a Republican for Senate. Kean served as Dawkins's campaign chair. [5] Efforts to recruit Dawkins were paired with efforts to persuade Commissioner of Community Affairs Leonard S. Coleman Jr. against running; Coleman was a personal friend of the Governor and was the early favorite to challenge Lautenberg. [1] [6]
Pete Dawkins announced his campaign on March 1 with the enthusiastic endorsement of Governor Kean. At his campaign announcement, Kean praised Dawkins as "the only West Point cadet in history to be the Captain of Cadets, president of his class, captain of the football team and finish in the top 5 percent of his class, and, by the way, pick up a Heisman Trophy and Rhodes Scholarship on the side." Dawkins pledged support for giving a presidential line-item veto and a "sweeping reform" of the federal budget process, while favoring budget cuts, including cuts to military spending, over tax increases. [7]
On April 19, President Reagan appeared and spoke at a pre-primary fundraising dinner for Dawkins in Washington D.C., where Dawkins presented Reagan with a football signed by many Heisman Trophy winners. [8]
Dawkins was unopposed in the primary.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Pete Dawkins | 155,886 | 100.00% | |
| Total votes | 155,886 | 100.00% | ||
With no serious primary threat, Lautenberg and Dawkins targeted each other from early March. Both candidates being political moderates, the campaign quickly turned personal. [5] On the day of Dawkins's campaign announcement, Lautenberg pointed out that he was a lifelong New Jerseyan, while Dawkins had moved to the state to run for Senate. Dawkins responded, "The important thing is not where we were born, but who we are, what our vision for the state is, and how we intend to act in the United States Senate." [7] Lautenberg's carpetbagging accusation was a theme throughout the campaign. [9] Dawkins aimed to tie himself to the popular Governor Kean, while Lautenberg leaned on his relationship with New Jersey's more popular senior Senator, Bill Bradley. [5]
The campaign was full of political mudslinging. In addition to his carpetbagging accusation, Lautenberg's campaign also accused Dawkins's of lying about his war record. [10] Dawkins accused Lautenberg of running a smear campaign, called him a "swamp dog", [11] and criticized him for saying he voted eight times against a senatorial pay raise without mentioning the fact that he did vote once for the pay raise. [10]
Paul Begala and James Carville consulted for the Lautenberg campaign, while Roger Stone consulted for Dawkins. Stone called Dawkins “the biggest thing to hit New Jersey since Bill Bradley.” [6]
 | Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size [lower-alpha 2] | Margin of error | Frank Lautenberg (D) | Pete Dawkins (R) | Other/ Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rutgers-Eagleton Poll [12] | Jan. 29–Feb. 8, 1988 | 575 LV | ±4.2% | 45% | 16% | 39% |
| Rutgers-Eagleton Poll [12] | May 18–26, 1988 | 611 LV | ±4.0% | 45% | 28% | 27% |
| Rutgers-Eagleton Poll [12] | September 16–22, 1988 | 765 LV | ±3.5% | 53% | 32% | 16% |
| Rutgers-Eagleton Poll [12] | October 17–25, 1988 | 774 RV | ±3.5% | 50% | 38% | 12% |
| 627 LV | ±4.0% | 50% | 39% | 11% | ||
| Rutgers-Eagleton Poll [12] | November 3–6, 1988 | 1,183 RV | ±2.9% | 49% | 38% | 13% |
| 954 LV | ±3.3% | 51% | 39% | 10% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Frank Lautenberg (incumbent) | 1,599,905 | 53.55% |  2.61 | |
| Republican | Pete Dawkins | 1,349,937 | 45.18% |  2.57 | |
| Independent | Joseph F. Job | 20,091 | 0.67% | N/A | |
| Libertarian | Jerry Zeldin | 12,354 | 0.41% | 0.04 | |
| Socialist Workers | Thomas A. Fiske | 5,347 | 0.18% | 0.01 | |
| Majority | 249,968 | 8.37% | |||
| Total votes | 2,987,634 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
| County | Lautenberg % | Lautenberg votes | Dawkins % | Dawkins votes | Other % | Other votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic | 54.7% | 41,004 | 44.6% | 33,417 | 0.7% | 493 |
| Bergen | 52.6% | 199,195 | 45.5% | 172,257 | 1.9% | 7,291 |
| Burlington | 52.0% | 75,513 | 47.3% | 68,657 | 0.6% | 929 |
| Camden | 59.1% | 110,718 | 40.1% | 75,162 | 0.8% | 1,438 |
| Cape May | 46.6% | 19,720 | 52.8% | 22,349 | 0.5% | 223 |
| Cumberland | 55.4% | 25,379 | 42.9% | 19,680 | 1.7% | 771 |
| Essex | 65.0% | 170,591 | 32.4% | 85,169 | 2.6% | 6,855 |
| Gloucester | 53.4% | 46,247 | 42.9% | 39,232 | 1.7% | 1,055 |
| Hudson | 61.7% | 108,355 | 37.0% | 65,092 | 1.3% | 2,270 |
| Hunterdon | 41.1% | 18,281 | 57.6% | 25,615 | 1.2% | 544 |
| Mercer | 61.8% | 80,569 | 37.7% | 49,122 | 0.6% | 724 |
| Middlesex | 55.1% | 141,067 | 43.8% | 112,182 | 1.1% | 2,796 |
| Monmouth | 50.8% | 117,063 | 48.3% | 111,318 | 0.8% | 1,906 |
| Morris | 43.0% | 79,237 | 56.4% | 103,843 | 0.6% | 1,057 |
| Ocean | 46.0% | 84,812 | 53.2% | 98,161 | 0.8% | 1,512 |
| Passaic | 52.7% | 77,827 | 45.0% | 66,440 | 2.4% | 3,512 |
| Salem | 48.8% | 12,485 | 49.1% | 12,562 | 2.1% | 534 |
| Somerset | 46.4% | 47,648 | 52.5% | 53,969 | 1.1% | 1,138 |
| Sussex | 38.4% | 19,035 | 60.4% | 29,909 | 1.2% | 613 |
| Union | 55.0% | 109,852 | 44.1% | 88,027 | 0.9% | 1,775 |
| Warren | 45.8% | 15,307 | 53.2% | 17,774 | 1.1% | 356 |
Frank Raleigh Lautenberg was an American businessman and Democratic Party politician who served as United States Senator from New Jersey from 1982 to 2001, and again from 2003 until his death in 2013. He was originally from Paterson, New Jersey.
Richard Alan Zimmer is an American Republican Party politician from New Jersey, who served in both houses of the New Jersey Legislature and in the United States House of Representatives. He was the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate from New Jersey in 1996 and 2008. In March 2010, he was appointed by Governor Chris Christie to head the New Jersey Privatization Task Force.
The 1988 United States Senate elections were elections for the United States Senate. Held on November 8, 1988, the 33 seats of Class 1 were contested in regular elections. In spite of the Republican victory by George H. W. Bush in the presidential election, the Democrats gained a net of 1 seat in the Senate. 7 seats changed parties, with 4 incumbents being defeated. The Democratic majority in the Senate increased by one to 55–45.
The 1982 United States Senate elections were held on November 2, 1982. They were elections for the United States Senate following Republican gains in 1980. The 33 Senate seats of Class 1 were up for election in 1982. A total of four seats changed hands between parties, with Democrats winning seats in New Jersey and New Mexico, and Republicans taking seats in Nevada and the seat of the lone independent, Senator Harry Byrd Jr., in Virginia. Democrats made a net gain of one seat bringing them to 46 seats, while Republicans stayed at 54 seats for a majority. However, the Democratic gain in New Jersey replaced a Republican that had been appointed earlier in the year. Liberal Republicans senators in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Vermont held onto their seats, keeping the Senate in Republican hands.
Charles Leighton Hardwick is an American Republican Party politician and business leader who served as Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly and was a candidate for Governor of New Jersey.
Frank Joseph Pallone Jr. is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for New Jersey's 6th congressional district since 1988. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 3rd district from 1988 to 1993, is in the north-central part of the state and includes New Brunswick, Woodbridge Township, Perth Amboy, Sayreville, Edison, Piscataway and Asbury Park. Pallone is the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
From January 29 to June 4, 1996, voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for president in the 1996 United States presidential election. Senator Bob Dole of Kansas, the former Senate majority leader, was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 1996 Republican National Convention held from August 12 to 15, 1996, in San Diego, California. Dole resigned from the Senate in June 1996 once he became the presumptive nominee to concentrate on his presidential campaign. He chose Jack Kemp as his running mate.
Peter Ian Shapiro was an American financial services executive, member of the Board of Directors of New Israel Fund, and politician from New Jersey. He was the youngest person ever elected to the New Jersey General Assembly and went on to serve as Essex County Executive and as the Democratic nominee for Governor of New Jersey in 1985 against incumbent Thomas Kean.
The 2000 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held on November 7, 2000. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg retired rather than seeking a fourth term. Democratic nominee Jon Corzine, former CEO of Goldman Sachs, defeated the Republican U.S. Representative Bob Franks in a close election.
The 2002 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held on November 5, 2002. Former U.S. senator Frank Lautenberg was elected to an open seat over Republican businessman Doug Forrester after incumbent senator Robert Torricelli dropped out of the race on September 30, facing ethical misconduct allegations, a formal admonishment by the U.S. Senate, and falling poll numbers against Forrester.
The 1994 United States Senate Election in New Jersey was held November 8, 1994. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg won re-election to a third term.
The 1982 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held on November 2, 1982.
The 2014 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of New Jersey. Incumbent senator Cory Booker was first elected in a 2013 special election to complete the term of fellow Democrat Frank Lautenberg, who died in office. Booker defeated Jeff Bell (R) to win a first full term.
Joseph Aloysius "Bo" Sullivan was chairman of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and a Republican Party politician who sought the nomination for Governor of New Jersey in the 1981 primary.
The 1993 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1993. Incumbent Democratic Governor James Florio was narrowly defeated by Republican former Somerset County freeholder and 1990 U.S. Senate nominee Christine Todd Whitman. Primary elections were held on June 8, 1993. In the Democratic primary, Governor Florio's only challenger, anti-tax activist John Budzash, was disqualified from the ballot due to invalid petition signatures. In the Republican primary, Whitman defeated W. Cary Edwards and James Wallwork.
The 1985 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1985. Incumbent Republican Governor Thomas Kean won a landslide re-election against the Democratic candidate, Essex County Executive Peter Shapiro. As of 2024, Kean's is the largest margin in terms of percentage and raw votes in all New Jersey gubernatorial elections. Kean was the first Republican to be re-elected governor since 1949, and the first Republican to ever win two four-year terms.
The 1981 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held November 3, 1981. Republican Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly Thomas Kean narrowly defeated Democratic U.S. Representative James Florio, 49.46%-49.38, following a recount. Kean's margin of victory was 1,797 votes out of more than two million votes cast. As of 2024, the 1981 gubernatorial election remains the closest gubernatorial contest in New Jersey history.
The 1977 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1977. Incumbent Democratic governor Brendan Byrne defeated Republican State Senator Raymond Bateman with 55.71% of the vote.
The United States Senate election of 1928 in New Jersey was held on November 6, 1928. Incumbent Democratic Senator Edward I. Edwards ran for re-election to a second term in office, but was defeated by Hamilton Fish Kean in a landslide. This was the third of four straight elections to this seat in which the incumbents were defeated.
The 1958 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held on November 4, 1958.
