1997 New Jersey General Assembly election

1997 New Jersey General Assembly election

←  1995 November 4, 1997 (1997-11-04) 1999  →
All 80 seats to the General Assembly 41 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	56% [1] ( 18pp)
Majority party Minority party   Leader Jack Collins Joseph Doria (stepped down) Party Republican Democratic Leader since January 9, 1996 January 12, 1988 Leader's seat 3rd (Gloucester City) 31st (Bayonne) Last election 50 30 Seats won 48 32 Seat change 2 2
Results:      Republican gain     Democratic gain      Republican hold     Democratic hold
Speaker before election Jack Collins Republican Elected Speaker Jack Collins Republican

The 1997 New Jersey General Assembly elections were held on November 4, 1997, for all 80 seats in the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. The election coincided with a gubernatorial election where Republican Christine Todd Whitman won. Republicans held a 50-30 majority in the lower house prior to the election. The members of the New Jersey Legislature are chosen from 40 electoral districts. Each district elects one state senator and two State Assembly members. New Jersey uses coterminous legislative districts for both its State Senate and General Assembly.

Republicans flipped one seat in the 4th. Democrats were able to flip one seat in the 6th and both in the 7th. After eight months in office, the courts threw out the results of the 1997 election in the 7th district for Democrat Jack Conners due to problems with 160 uncounted ballots from a voting machine that affected the results for the second seat. Conners was ordered to leave office in September 1998, and Republican Ken Faulkner was seated in his place. ^[2] In a November 1998 special election, Conners defeated Faulkner by 5,500 votes and was sworn into office for a second time that year. ^[3]

Incumbents not seeking re-election

Democratic

• Sean F. Dalton, District 4
• Willie B. Brown, District 29
• Alberto Coutinho, District 29

Republican

• Diane Allen, District 7
• Carmine DeSopo, District 7
• Joann H. Smith, District 13
• Walter J. Kavanaugh, District 16
• Anthony R. Bucco, District 25

^[4]

Summary of results by district

Legislative District	Position	Incumbent	Party		Elected Assembly Member	Party
1st [5]	1	Nicholas Asselta		Republican	Nicholas Asselta		Republican
	2	John C. Gibson		Republican	John C. Gibson		Republican
2nd [6]	1	Kenneth LeFevre		Republican	Kenneth LeFevre		Republican
	2	Francis J. Blee		Republican	Francis J. Blee		Republican
3rd [7]	1	Jack Collins		Republican	Jack Collins		Republican
	2	Gary Stuhltrager		Republican	Gary Stuhltrager		Republican
4th [8]	1	Sean F. Dalton		Democrat	Gerald Luongo		Republican
	2	George Geist		Republican	George Geist		Republican
5th [9]	1	Nilsa Cruz-Perez		Democrat	Nilsa Cruz-Perez		Democrat
	2	Joseph J. Roberts		Democrat	Joseph J. Roberts		Democrat
6th [10]	1	Louis Greenwald		Democrat	Louis Greenwald		Democrat
	2	Mary Previte		Democrat	Mary Previte		Democrat
7th [11]	1	Diane Allen		Republican	Herb Conaway		Democrat
	2	Carmine DeSopo		Republican	Jack Conners		Democrat
8th [12]	1	Francis Bodine		Republican	Francis Bodine		Republican
	2	Larry Chatzidakis		Republican	Larry Chatzidakis		Republican
9th [13]	1	Jeffrey Moran		Republican	Jeffrey Moran		Republican
	2	Christopher J. Connors		Republican	Christopher J. Connors		Republican
10th [14]	1	James W. Holzapfel		Republican	James W. Holzapfel		Republican
	2	David W. Wolfe		Republican	David W. Wolfe		Republican
11th [15]	1	Thomas S. Smith		Republican	Thomas S. Smith		Republican
	2	Steve Corodemus		Republican	Steve Corodemus		Republican
12th [16]	1	Clare Farragher		Republican	Clare Farragher		Republican
	2	Michael Arnone		Republican	Michael Arnone		Republican
13th [17]	1	Joann H. Smith		Republican	Samuel D. Thompson		Republican
	2	Joseph Azzolina		Republican	Joseph Azzolina		Republican
14th [18]	1	Paul Kramer		Republican	Paul Kramer		Republican
	2	Barbara W. Wright		Republican	Barbara W. Wright		Republican
15th [19]	1	Shirley Turner		Democrat	Shirley Turner		Democrat
	2	Reed Gusciora		Democrat	Reed Gusciora		Democrat
16th [20]	1	Walter J. Kavanaugh		Republican	Peter Biondi		Republican
	2	Christopher Bateman		Republican	Christopher Bateman		Republican
17th [21]	1	Bob Smith		Democrat	Bob Smith		Democrat
	2	Jerry Green		Democrat	Jerry Green		Democrat
18th [22]	1	Peter Barnes		Democrat	Peter Barnes		Democrat
	2	Barbara Buono		Democrat	Barbara Buono		Democrat
19th [23]	1	Arline Friscia		Democrat	Arline Friscia		Democrat
	2	John Wisniewski		Democrat	John Wisniewski		Democrat
20th [24]	1	Neil M. Cohen		Democrat	Neil M. Cohen		Democrat
	2	Joseph Suliga		Democrat	Joseph Suliga		Democrat
21st [25]	1	Joel Weingarten		Republican	Joel Weingarten		Republican
	2	Kevin J. O'Toole		Republican	Kevin J. O'Toole		Republican
22nd [26]	1	Richard Bagger		Republican	Richard Bagger		Republican
	2	Alan Augustine		Republican	Alan Augustine		Republican
23rd [27]	1	Leonard Lance		Republican	Leonard Lance		Republican
	2	Connie Myers		Republican	Connie Myers		Republican
24th [28]	1	Guy Gregg		Republican	Guy Gregg		Republican
	2	Scott Garrett		Republican	Scott Garrett		Republican
25th [29]	1	Anthony R. Bucco		Republican	Rick Merkt		Republican
	2	Michael Patrick Carroll		Republican	Michael Patrick Carroll		Republican
26th [30]	1	Alex DeCroce		Republican	Alex DeCroce		Republican
	2	Carol J. Murphy		Republican	Carol J. Murphy		Republican
27th [31]	1	LeRoy J. Jones Jr.		Democrat	LeRoy J. Jones Jr.		Democrat
	2	Nia Gill		Democrat	Nia Gill		Democrat
28th [32]	1	Craig A. Stanley		Democrat	Craig A. Stanley		Democrat
	2	Wilfredo Caraballo		Democrat	Wilfredo Caraballo		Democrat
29th [33]	1	Willie B. Brown		Democrat	William D. Payne		Democrat
	2	Alberto Coutinho		Democrat	Donald Kofi Tucker		Democrat
30th [34]	1	Joseph Malone		Republican	Joseph Malone		Republican
	2	Melvin Cottrell		Republican	Melvin Cottrell		Republican
31st [35]	1	Joseph Doria		Democrat	Joseph Doria		Democrat
	2	Joseph Charles		Democrat	Joseph Charles		Democrat
32nd [36]	1	Joan M. Quigley		Democrat	Joan Quigley		Democrat
	2	Anthony Impreveduto		Democrat	Anthony Impreveduto		Democrat
33rd [37]	1	Louis Romano		Democrat	Louis Romano		Democrat
	2	Raul Garcia		Democrat	Raul Garcia		Democrat
34th [38]	1	Marion Crecco		Republican	Marion Crecco		Republican
	2	Gerald H. Zecker		Republican	Gerald H. Zecker		Republican
35th [39]	1	Nellie Pou		Democrat	Nellie Pou		Democrat
	2	Alfred Steele		Democrat	Alfred Steele		Democrat
36th [40]	1	Paul DiGaetano		Republican	Paul DiGaetano		Republican
	2	John V. Kelly		Republican	John V. Kelly		Republican
37th [41]	1	Ken Zisa		Democrat	Ken Zisa		Democrat
	2	Loretta Weinberg		Democrat	Loretta Weinberg		Democrat
38th [42]	1	Guy Talarico		Republican	Guy Talarico		Republican
	2	Rose Marie Heck		Republican	Rose Marie Heck		Republican
39th [43]	1	Charlotte Vandervalk		Republican	Charlotte Vandervalk		Republican
	2	John E. Rooney		Republican	John E. Rooney		Republican
40th [44]	1	Nicholas Felice		Republican	Nicholas Felice		Republican
	2	David C. Russo		Republican	David Russo		Republican

Close races

Districts where the difference of total votes between the top-two parties was under 10%:

1. District 4, 5.3% gain R
2. District 7, 2.19% gain
3. District 14, 8.3%
4. District 36, 3.4%
5. District 38, 9.7%

List of races

District 1 • District 2 • District 3 • District 4 • District 5 • District 6 • District 7 • District 8 • District 9 • District 10 • District 11 • District 12 • District 13 • District 14 • District 15 • District 16 • District 17 • District 18 • District 19 • District 20 • District 21 • District 22 • District 23 • District 24 • District 25 • District 26 • District 27 • District 28 • District 29 • District 30 • District 31 • District 32 • District 33 • District 34 • District 35 • District 36 • District 37 • District 38 • District 39 • District 40

District 1

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^{[45] [46]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	John C. Gibson	32,699	27.6	1.6
	Republican	Nicholas Asselta	32,032	27.0	1.3
	Democratic	Jeff Van Drew	30,221	25.5	2.3
	Democratic	Rob O'Donnell	21,278	17.9	3.9
	Conservative	Rosemary Garrison	1,325	1.1	N/A
	Conservative	Marie Pellecchia	1,127	0.9	N/A
Total votes			118,682	100.0

District 2

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^[45]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Kenneth C. Le Fevre	33,430	32.2	3.7
	Republican	Frank Blee	32,698	31.5	4.3
	Democratic	John Di Maria	19,132	18.4	4.9
	Democratic	E. Iris Hernandez	18,651	17.9	1.7
Total votes			103,911	100.0

District 3

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^{[45] [46]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Jack Collins	39,046	36.3	5.3
	Republican	Gary W. Stuhltrager	36,686	34.1	3.8
	Democratic	Harry L. Rink	22,350	20.8	3.4
	Conservative	Bob McFetridge	4,160	3.9	2.2
	Conservative	Jan McFetridge	3,982	3.7	2.1
	Democratic	No nomination made	1,376	1.3	16.7
Total votes			107,600	100.0

District 4

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^{[45] [47]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	George F. Geist	28,114	25.8	0.2
	Republican	Gerald J. Luongo	26,535	24.3	3.4
	Democratic	Anthony S. Marsella	25,310	23.2	2.6
	Democratic	John "Jack" Luby	23,538	21.6	1.2
	Conservative	J. Edw. Gormley	3,213	2.9	0.3
	Conservative	Cynthia A. Merckx	2,394	2.2	0.0
Total votes			109,104	100.0

District 5

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^[45]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joe Roberts	31,898	43.5	9.3
	Democratic	Nilsa Cruz-Perez	28,918	39.4	7.9
	Republican	Joe Smiriglio	11,744	16.0	1.6
	Republican	No nomination made	777	1.1	15.5
Total votes			73,337	100.0

District 6

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^[45]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Louis D. Greenwald	35,883	29.0	2.7
	Democratic	Mary T. Previte	34,105	27.6	3.2
	Republican	Thomas Shusted, Jr.	27,236	22.0	2.9
	Republican	Susan R. Rose	26,453	21.4	3.1
Total votes			123,677	100.0

District 7

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^{[45] [47]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Herbert C. Conaway, Jr.	27,447	24.63	3.2
	Democratic	Jack Conners	27,402	24.59	3.4
	Republican	Ken Faulkner	27,335	24.53	3.2
	Republican	George Williams	25,122	22.5	3.0
	Conservative	Hosey Best	1,257	1.1	N/A
	Conservative	Raymond Hellings	1,091	1.0	N/A
	Reform	Carmen S. Zarrelli	900	0.8	N/A
	Reform	George Guzdek	880	0.8	0.7
Total votes			111,434	100.0

District 8

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^{[45] [46]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Francis L. Bodine	35,865	28.8	2.9
	Republican	Larry Chatzidakis	33,871	27.2	1.5
	Democratic	James B. Smith	26,463	21.3	0.1
	Democratic	Robert S. Shestack	25,947	20.8	0.3
	Libertarian	Janice Presser, PhD.	2,385	1.9	0.7
Total votes			124,531	100.0

District 9

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^{[45] [46]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Jeffrey W. Moran	47,232	31.9	0.5
	Republican	Christopher J. Connors	47,205	31.9	0.8
	Democratic	Sharon Fumei	25,398	17.1	2.5
	Democratic	Michael G. Carrig	24,298	16.4	1.8
	Conservative	James W. Eissing	2,015	1.4	1.4
	Conservative	Nancy L. Eissing	2,009	1.4	1.5
Total votes			148,157	100.0

District 10

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^{[45] [46]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	David W. Wolfe	41,746	31.2	2.3
	Republican	James W. Holzapfel	41,117	30.8	2.0
	Democratic	Regina Calandrillo	23,538	17.6	0.9
	Democratic	Jim Margetis	22,239	16.6	0.9
	Libertarian	Betty Florentine	1,381	1.0	N/A
	Libertarian	Christopher Kawa	1,317	1.0	N/A
	Conservative	Edward C. Mueller	1,292	1.0	2.1
	Conservative	J. Morgan Strong	1,068	0.8	2.3
Total votes			133,698	100.0

District 11

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^{[45] [46]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Steve Corodemus	36,447	31.4	4.6
	Republican	Tom Smith	36,379	31.4	4.8
	Democratic	Matthew Donovan	21,673	18.7	2.1
	Democratic	James Famularo	19,381	16.7	4.9
	Conservative	Tom Holthausen	1,080	0.9	0.9
	Conservative	Art Post	1,000	0.9	0.7
Total votes			115,960	100.0

District 12

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^{[45] [46]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Michael J. Arnone	39,098	30.7	2.6
	Republican	Clare M. Farragher	38,356	30.1	3.2
	Democratic	Lillian E. Harris	23,018	18.1	4.9
	Democratic	Gayle L. Hershcopf	22,073	17.3	N/A
	Conservative	Frances H. Marshall	1,645	1.3	2.7
	Conservative	Cornelius Van Sant	1,528	1.2	3.0
	Natural Law	Christina M. Zegler	913	0.7	0.5
	Natural Law	Joseph Parziale	867	0.7	0.4
Total votes			127,498	100.0

District 13

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^{[45] [46]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Joe Azzolina	33,976	30.6	5.1
	Republican	Sam Thompson	30,108	27.1	1.9
	Democratic	Dennis M. Maher	22,162	20.0	3.1
	Democratic	Nicholas Minutolo	21,712	19.6	1.8
	Conservative	Leonard T. Skoblar	1,504	1.4	1.1
	Conservative	Sylvia Kuzmak	1,456	1.3	1.0
Total votes			110,918	100.0

District 14

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^{[45] [46] [48]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Paul R. Kramer	34,996	26.2	1.0
	Republican	Barbara W. Wright	34,725	26.0	1.8
	Democratic	Janice S. Mironov	30,870	23.1	0.6
	Democratic	Diana Segarra-Smith	30,534	22.8	1.5
	Conservative	Bruce C. Macdonald	2,586	1.9	1.6
Total votes			133,711	100.0

District 15

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^[45]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Bonnie Watson Coleman	31,976	32.2	4.0
	Democratic	Reed Gusciora	30,235	30.5	4.2
	Republican	Wanda Webster Stansbury	19,639	19.8	1.1
	Republican	Channell Wilkins	17,342	17.5	2.5
Total votes			99,192	100.0

District 16

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^{[45] [47]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Christopher “Kip” Bateman	43,458	31.8	3.1
	Republican	Peter J. Biondi	41,008	30.0	1.4
	Democratic	Amedeo D’Adamo, Jr.	23,920	17.5	1.3
	Democratic	Harold Weber	22,921	16.8	0.6
	Conservative	Robert Kowal	2,758	2.0	1.4
	Conservative	Howard Manella	2,432	1.8	1.3
Total votes			136,497	100.0

District 17

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^{[45] [47]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Bob Smith	27,802	34.5	0.9
	Democratic	Jerry Green	26,135	32.4	0.3
	Republican	Phyllis A. Mason	13,310	16.5	2.0
	Republican	Daniel N. Epstein	11,803	14.6	0.7
	Conservative	Pat M. Iurilli	802	1.0	1.8
	Conservative	Joy Norsworthy	778	1.0	1.4
Total votes			80,630	100.0

District 18

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^[45]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Barbara Buono	33,248	28.6	2.0
	Democratic	Peter J. Barnes, Jr.	31,781	27.3	2.0
	Republican	Wendy L. Wiebalk	25,729	22.1	1.2
	Republican	Thomas J. Toto	25,612	22.0	0.2
Total votes			116,370	100.0

District 19

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^[45]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John S. Wisniewski	36,099	34.4	5.5
	Democratic	Arline M. Friscia	34,006	32.4	5.1
	Republican	Kennedy O’Brien	17,605	16.8	4.3
	Republican	Debbie Bialowarczuk	17,356	16.5	2.3
Total votes			105,066	100.0

District 20

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^[45]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joseph S. Suliga	26,348	35.0	0.5
	Democratic	Neil M. Cohen	26,242	34.8	0.0
	Republican	Daniel B. Levine	11,380	15.1	1.7
	Republican	Richard A. Revilla	11,366	15.1	1.7
Total votes			75,336	100.0

District 21

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^{[45] [47]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Kevin O’Toole	38,169	31.3	2.7
	Republican	Joel M. Weingarten	37,915	31.1	2.5
	Democratic	John M. Mazziotti	22,292	18.3	3.4
	Democratic	John C. Shaw	21,511	17.6	2.0
	Conservative	Alfonso J. Adinolfi	1,207	1.0	N/A
	Conservative	Thomas J. Mooney	883	0.7	N/A
Total votes			121,977	100.0

District 22

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^{[45] [47]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Richard H. Bagger	43,421	32.5	3.3
	Republican	Alan M. Augustine	42,479	31.8	3.3
	Democratic	Andrew Baron	22,368	16.7	2.5
	Democratic	Norman Albert	22,110	16.5	2.6
	Conservative	Douglas Lawless	1,688	1.3	0.8
	Conservative	Norman A. Ross	1,635	1.2	0.8
Total votes			133,701	100.0

District 23

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^{[45] [47]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Leonard Lance	41,880	32.7	0.8
	Republican	Connie Myers	37,852	29.6	0.1
	Democratic	Sharon B. Ransavage	25,237	19.7	2.6
	Democratic	John Patrick Barnes	19,798	15.5	N/A
	Conservative	Paul Wallace	3,242	2.5	3.8
Total votes			128,009	100.0

District 24

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^{[45] [47]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	E. Scott Garrett	43,066	39.7	3.1
	Republican	Guy R. Gregg	40,170	37.1	1.4
	Democratic	Frederick J. Katz, Jr.	14,878	13.7	2.0
	Conservative	Marilyn McCann	4,015	3.7	3.7
	Libertarian	Jeffrey Polachek	3,654	3.4	N/A
	Conservative	Ed De Mott	2,622	2.4	2.3
Total votes			108,405	100.0

District 25

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^{[45] [47]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Michael Patrick Carroll	37,935	31.8	3.2
	Republican	Rick Merkt	36,649	30.7	0.1
	Democratic	Chris Evangel	20,968	17.6	0.7
	Democratic	Harriet Lerner	20,967	17.6	0.5
	Conservative	James Spinosa	1,630	1.4	0.7
	Conservative	Stephen Spinosa	1,296	1.1	1.0
Total votes			119,445	100.0

District 26

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^{[45] [47]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Carol J. Murphy	41,044	34.6	1.0
	Republican	Alex DeCroce	40,469	34.1	0.6
	Democratic	Daniel L. Grant	16,891	14.2	1.3
	Democratic	Michael B. McGlynn	16,787	14.1	1.1
	Conservative	Stephen A. Bauer	1,793	1.5	0.6
	Conservative	Martin J. McGrath	1,729	1.5	N/A
Total votes			118,713	100.0

District 27

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^{[45] [47]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	LeRoy J. Jones, Jr.	34,377	49.0	14.5
	Democratic	Nia H. Gill	34,176	48.7	13.1
	Socialist	John Winter	1,051	1.5	0.4
	Natural Law	Jeffrey M. Levine	601	0.9	N/A
Total votes			70,205	100.0

District 28

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^{[45] [47]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Wilfredo Caraballo	28,673	40.1	5.0
	Democratic	Craig A. Stanley	28,261	39.6	5.5
	Republican	Mary Devon O’Brien	7,754	10.9	1.1
	Republican	Eugene Brenycz	6,044	8.5	3.6
	Conservative	Barbara M. Hester	368	0.5	1.0
	Conservative	Richard S. Hester, Sr.	335	0.5	0.7 ( 1.3)
Total votes			71,435	100.0

District 29

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^{[45] [46]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	William D. Payne	27,250	42.8	4.2
	Democratic	Donald Tucker	27,188	42.7	8.8
	Republican	Efrain Colon, Jr.	4,113	6.5	3.4
	Republican	Rita MacGonigle	3,873	6.1	3.7
	Independent	D. Kim Thompson-Gaddy	615	1.0	N/A
	Independent	Tharien Arnold	334	0.5	N/A
	Socialist Workers	Megan Arney	206	0.3	3.9
	Socialist Workers	Brock Satter	156	0.2	3.5
Total votes			63,735	100.0

District 30

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^{[45] [46]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Joseph R. Malone, III	28,550	28.6	5.0
	Republican	Melvin Cottrell	28,236	28.3	3.5
	Democratic	Arthur F. Conway	20,375	20.4	0.4
	Democratic	Richard Borys	18,673	18.7	N/A
	Conservative	Stephen Mognancki	2,028	2.0	4.7
	Conservative	Sal Duscio	1,961	2.0	2.4
Total votes			99,823	100.0

District 31

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^[45]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joseph V. Doria, Jr.	31,129	39.6	1.1
	Democratic	Joseph Charles, Jr.	30,479	38.8	0.4
	Republican	David J. Longenhagen	8,561	10.9	0.6
	Republican	Mofalc Olei Meinga	8,415	10.7	0.5
Total votes			78,584	100.0

District 32

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^{[45] [46] [49]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Anthony Impreveduto	28,834	33.6	1.0
	Democratic	Joan Quigley	28,519	33.3	0.0
	Republican	Michael Padovano	12,965	15.1	0.6
	Republican	Kevin Canessa, Jr.	12,201	14.2	0.1
	Politicians Are Crooks	Frank X. Landrigan	1,434	1.7	0.7
	Conservative	Yvonne Battaglia	634	0.7	0.1
	Conservative	Charles W. Joyce	500	0.6	0.2
	Natural Law	Barbara Ebel	425	0.5	N/A
	Natural Law	Kenneth Ebel	224	0.3	N/A
Total votes			85,736	100.0

District 33

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^[45]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Raul “Rudy” Garcia	28,335	36.9	3.0
	Democratic	Louis A. Romano	27,440	35.7	2.8
	Republican	Micaela M. Alvarez	10,608	13.8	3.5
	Republican	Freddy Gomez	10,447	13.6	3.3
Total votes			76,830	100.0

District 34

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^{[45] [46]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Gerald H. Zecker	32,584	28.7	1.7
	Republican	Marion Crecco	31,125	27.5	2.0
	Democratic	Joseph A. Mecca	26,507	23.4	1.1
	Democratic	J. Martin Comey	22,454	19.8	0.4
	Conservative	Joe Bukowski	710	0.6	1.7
Total votes			113,380	100.0

District 35

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^[45]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Alfred Steele	23,253	31.2	4.6
	Democratic	Nellie Pou	22,112	29.6	3.7
	Republican	Karole A. Graves	14,785	19.8	1.8
	Republican	Frank Catania, Jr.	14,465	19.4	0.9
Total votes			74,615	100.0

District 36

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^[45]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	John V. Kelly	24,140	25.9	1.0
	Republican	Paul DiGaetano	24,037	25.8	1.9
	Democratic	David Sivella	23,009	24.7	4.1
	Democratic	Kenneth M. Sorkin	21,992	23.6	3.4
Total votes			93,178	100.0

District 37

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^{[45] [46]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Loretta Weinberg	33,677	33.0	2.3
	Democratic	Ken Zisa	31,961	31.3	3.8
	Republican	Bette O’Keefe	17,633	17.3	2.3
	Republican	John Abraham	17,045	16.7	2.5
	Conservative	BettyJean Downing	975	1.0	0.5
	Conservative	Gregory A. Potter	803	0.8	0.8
Total votes			102,094	100.0

District 38

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^{[45] [46]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Rose Marie Heck	29,987	28.0	1.6
	Republican	Guy F. Talarico	28,157	26.3	1.9
	Democratic	Michael Paul De Marse	23,956	22.4	1.1
	Democratic	Fred Dressel	23,738	22.2	1.6
	Conservative	Bernard C. Sobolewski	1,259	1.2	0.5
Total votes			107,097	100.0

District 39

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^{[45] [47]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Charlotte Vandervalk	44,522	32.8	2.2
	Republican	John E. Rooney	43,203	31.9	2.6
	Democratic	Sherri Lippman	22,847	16.9	2.7
	Democratic	Eric S. Aronson	22,446	16.6	2.1
	Conservative	Pasquale Salimone	951	0.7	0.0
	Conservative	Cynthia Soroka	926	0.7	0.0
	Libertarian	Thomas Fischetti	666	0.5	N/A
Total votes			135,561	100.0

District 40

New Jersey general election, 1997 ^{[45] [46]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Nicholas R. Felice	42,207	33.7	0.0
	Republican	David C. Russo	41,261	33.0	1.1
	Democratic	Dawn Savarese	20,013	16.0	1.2
	Democratic	Peter Goetz	19,680	15.7	0.6
	Conservative	Mike Best	1,088	0.9	1.2
	Conservative	Walter Renninghoff	961	0.8	N/A
Total votes			125,210	100.0

See also

• 1997 New Jersey Senate election

References

1. "General Election Data - 1924 to 2022" (PDF). NJ.gov.
2. Staff. "CONNERS ORDERED TO LEAVE ASSEMBLY \ A DISPUTED ELECTION LED TO A RULING THAT A REPUBLICAN MUST TAKE HIS SEAT, SETTING STAGE FOR REMATCH WITH KEN FAULKNER.", The Philadelphia Inquirer , September 3, 1998. Accessed June 23, 2010.
3. via Associated Press , "DEMOCRAT REGAINS ASSEMBLY SEAT IN 'DO-OVER'RACE", The Press of Atlantic City , November 4, 1998. Accessed June 23, 2010.
4. "New Jersey General Assembly elections, 1997". Ballotpedia. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
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44. 40th
45. "Official Results, General Election Returns for the Office of State Assembly for Election Held November 4, 1997" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
46. "THE 1997 ELECTIONS: RESULTS; The Races for the New Jersey Assebly". The New York Times. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
47. Staff. "THE 1997 ELECTIONS: RESULTS; The Races for the New Jersey Assembly", The New York Times , November 5, 1997. Accessed June 17, 2010.
48. "NJ General Assembly 14". Our Campaigns. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
49. "NJ General Assembly 32". Our Campaigns. Retrieved October 9, 2017.