1997 New Jersey Senate election

1997 New Jersey Senate elections

←  1993 November 4, 1997 2001  →
All 40 seats in the New Jersey State Senate 21 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Donald DiFrancesco John A. Lynch Jr. (retired) Party Republican Democratic Leader's seat 22nd 17th Last election 24 16 Seats won 24 16 Seat change
Results by district      Democratic hold     Democratic gain      Republican hold     Republican gain
Senate President before election Donald DiFrancesco Republican Elected Senate President Donald DiFrancesco Republican

The 1993 New Jersey Senate election was held on November 4.

The election took place alongside Christine Todd Whitman's re-election as Governor over Senator Jim McGreevey. Republicans defended the large majority they gained in the 1991 landslide elections.

Four seats changed hands with no impact on the overall balance of power. Republicans Anthony R. Bucco and Diane Allen unseated incumbent Gordon MacInnes in the 25th district and gained the seat of retiring Senator Jack Casey in the 7th, respectively. Democrats Shirley Turner and Garry Furnari unseated incumbent Republicans Dick LaRossa in the 15th and John P. Scott in the 36th, respectively. One Senator, Republican Joseph Bubba, lost a primary. His challenger, Norman M. Robertson, held the 34th district for the Republicans. This remains the last time that Republicans won a Senate majority.

Contents Incumbents not running • Summary of results By District: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31 • 32 • 33 • 34 • 35 • 36 • 37 • 38 • 39 • 40

Incumbents not running for re-election

Democratic

• Jack Casey (District 7)
• Jim McGreevey (District 17) (ran for Governor)

Republican

• John H. Ewing (District 16)

Summary of results by State Senate district

District	Incumbent	Party		Elected Senator	Party
1st Legislative District	James Cafiero		Rep	James Cafiero		Rep
2nd Legislative District	William Gormley		Rep	William Gormley		Rep
3rd Legislative District	Raymond Zane		Dem	Raymond Zane		Dem
4th Legislative District	John Matheussen		Rep	John Matheussen		Rep
5th Legislative District	Wayne R. Bryant [a]		Dem	Wayne R. Bryant		Dem
6th Legislative District	John Adler		Dem	John Adler		Dem
7th Legislative District	Jack Casey		Dem	Diane Allen		Rep
8th Legislative District	Martha W. Bark [b]		Rep	Martha W. Bark		Rep
9th Legislative District	Leonard T. Connors		Rep	Leonard T. Connors		Rep
10th Legislative District	Andrew R. Ciesla		Rep	Andrew R. Ciesla		Rep
11th Legislative District	Joseph A. Palaia		Rep	Joseph A. Palaia		Rep
12th Legislative District	John O. Bennett		Rep	John O. Bennett		Rep
13th Legislative District	Joe Kyrillos		Rep	Joe Kyrillos		Rep
14th Legislative District	Peter Inverso		Rep	Peter Inverso		Rep
15th Legislative District	Dick LaRossa		Rep	Shirley Turner		Dem
16th Legislative District	John H. Ewing		Rep	Walter J. Kavanaugh		Rep
17th Legislative District	John A. Lynch Jr.		Dem	John A. Lynch Jr.		Dem
18th Legislative District	Jack Sinagra		Rep	Jack Sinagra		Rep
19th Legislative District	Jim McGreevey		Dem	Joe Vitale		Dem
20th Legislative District	Raymond Lesniak		Dem	Raymond Lesniak		Dem
21st Legislative District	C. Louis Bassano		Rep	C. Louis Bassano		Rep
22nd Legislative District	Donald DiFrancesco		Rep	Donald DiFrancesco		Rep
23rd Legislative District	William E. Schluter		Rep	William E. Schluter		Rep
24th Legislative District	Robert Littell		Rep	Robert Littell		Rep
25th Legislative District	Gordon MacInnes		Dem	Anthony Bucco		Rep
26th Legislative District	Robert Martin		Rep	Robert Martin		Rep
27th Legislative District	Richard Codey		Dem	Richard Codey		Dem
28th Legislative District	Ronald Rice		Dem	Ronald Rice		Dem
29th Legislative District	Wynona Lipman		Dem	Wynona Lipman		Dem
30th Legislative District	Robert W. Singer		Rep	Robert W. Singer		Rep
31st Legislative District	Edward T. O'Connor Jr.		Dem	Edward T. O'Connor Jr.		Dem
32nd Legislative District	Nicholas Sacco		Dem	Nicholas Sacco		Dem
33rd Legislative District	Bernard Kenny		Dem	Bernard Kenny		Dem
34th Legislative District	Joseph Bubba		Rep	Norman M. Robertson		Rep
35th Legislative District	John Girgenti		Dem	John Girgenti		Dem
36th Legislative District	John P. Scott		Rep	Garry Furnari		Dem
37th Legislative District	Byron Baer		Dem	Byron Baer		Dem
38th Legislative District	Louis F. Kosco		Rep	Louis F. Kosco		Rep
39th Legislative District	Gerald Cardinale		Rep	Gerald Cardinale		Rep
40th Legislative District	Henry McNamara		Rep	Henry McNamara		Rep

Close races

Seats where the margin of victory was under 10%:

1. Legislative District 4, 4.6%
2. Legislative District 6, 8.0%
3. Legislative District 7, 9.3% gain
4. Legislative District 8, 9.8%
5. Legislative District 15, 7.8% gain
6. Legislative District 36, 6.2% gain

1. Bryant was appointed to complete the unexpired term of Senator Walter Rand, who died on January 6, 1995.
2. Bark was appointed to complete the unexpired term of Senator C. William Haines, who died on December 18, 1996.

District 1

1997 general election ^{[1] [2]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	James Cafiero (incumbent)	35,573	60.8%	1.2
	Democratic	John Rauh	21,340	36.5%
	Conservative	Geraldine Caiafa	1,579	2.7%	N/A
Total votes			58,492	100.00%

District 2

1997 general election ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	William Gormley (incumbent)	34,814	65.2%	3.6
	Democratic	John R. Piatt	18,569	34.8%	3.6
Total votes			53,383	100.00%

District 3

1997 general election ^{[1] [2]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Raymond Zane (incumbent)	46,551	84.5%	16.9
	Conservative	Mary A. Whittam	8,121	14.7%	N/A
	Republican	N/A	415	0.8%	31.6
Total votes			55,087	100.00%

District 4

1997 general election ^{[1] [2]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	John J. Matheussen (incumbent)	29,429	50.7%	3.6
	Democratic	Sean F. Dalton	26,780	46.1%	0.4
	Conservative	Jim Barber	1,872	3.2%	N/A
Total votes			58,081	100.00%

District 5

1997 general election ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Wayne R. Bryant (incumbent)	29,809	71.9	3.1
	Republican	Mel Suplee	11,624	28.1	3.1
Total votes			41,433	100.00%

District 6

1997 general election ^{[1] [2]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John Adler (incumbent)	34,073	53.0%	6.8
	Republican	John A. Rocco	28,938	45.0%	4.8
	Conservative	Kenneth L. Mayo	1,257	2.0%	N/A
Total votes			64,268	100.00%

District 7

1997 general election ^{[1] [2]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Diane Allen	30,875	53.7	5.5
	Democratic	Robert P. Broderick	25,501	44.4	6.0
	Conservative	Norman E. Wahner	1,121	1.9	N/A
Total votes			57,497	100.00%

District 8

1997 general election ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Martha W. Bark (incumbent)	34,597	54.9	6.1
	Democratic	Marie Hall	28,401	45.1	6.1
Total votes			62,998	100.00%

District 9

1997 general election ^{[1] [2]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Leonard T. Connors (incumbent)	45,880	60.0	5.2
	Democratic	Bill Zimmermann, Jr.	28,508	37.3	2.5
	Conservative	Leonard P. Marshall	2,139	2.8	N/A
Total votes			76,527	100.00%

District 10

1997 general election ^{[1] [2]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Andrew R. Ciesla (incumbent)	41,409	60.6	1.1
	Democratic	Judith G. Leone	24,217	35.5	0.3
	Libertarian	Steve Nagle	1,381	2.0	N/A
	Conservative	Agnes A. James	1,015	1.5	1.0
	Green	Edith Gbur	278	0.4	N/A
Total votes			68,300	100.00%

District 11

1997 general election ^{[1] [2]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Joseph A. Palaia (incumbent)	39,579	66.2	0.6
	Democratic	Eugene M. LaVergne	18,981	31.7	0.8
	Conservative	Christian P. Olsen	1,228	2.1	0.0
Total votes			59,788	100.00%

District 12

1997 general election ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	John O. Bennett (incumbent)	41,171	62.8	2.2
	Democratic	George E. Ball	20,289	30.9	0.4
	Conservative	John P. Desmond	2,780	4.2	1.8
	Natural Law	Mary Jo Christian	1,354	2.1	N/A
Total votes			65,594	100.00%

District 13

1997 general election ^{[1] [2]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Joe Kyrillos (incumbent)	36,047	63.2	0.8
	Democratic	Mike Caffrey	19,733	34.6	1.4
	Conservative	Jerome Bowe	1,299	2.3	N/A
Total votes			57,079	100.00%

District 14

1997 general election ^{[1] [2]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Peter Inverso (incumbent)	38,195	55.3	4.5
	Democratic	Gilbert W. Lugossy	28,866	41.8	1.6
	Conservative	Joseph Fabrizi	1,997	2.9	N/A
Total votes			69,058	100.00%

District 15

1997 general election ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Shirley Turner	29,995	53.9	6.2
	Republican	Dick LaRossa (incumbent)	25,630	46.1	6.2
Total votes			55,625	100.00%

District 16

1997 general election ^{[1] [2]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Walter J. Kavanaugh	44,171	63.8	2.2
	Democratic	Mitchell E. Ignatoff	22,545	32.6	5.8
	Conservative	Richard C. Martin	2,541	3.7	N/A
Total votes			69,257	100.00%

District 17

1997 general election ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John A. Lynch Jr. (incumbent)	27,748	68.0	11.3
	Republican	Timothy J. O’Brien	13,061	32.0	2.2
Total votes			40,809	100.00%

District 18

1997 general election ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Jack Sinagra (incumbent)	35,400	58.5	0.3
	Democratic	Thomas H. Paterniti	25,110	41.5	1.7
Total votes			60,510	100.00%

District 19

1997 general election ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joe Vitale	32,454	60.2	12.6
	Republican	Stephen A. Mikulak	21,445	39.8	5.3
Total votes			53,899	100.00%

District 20

1997 general election ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Raymond Lesniak (incumbent)	26,699	69.1	9.2
	Republican	Gene Andre	11,928	30.9	9.2
Total votes			38,627	100.00%

District 21

1997 general election ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	C. Louis Bassano (incumbent)	43,997	100.00%	35.7
Total votes			43,997	100.00%

District 22

1997 general election ^{[1] [2]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Donald DiFrancesco (incumbent)	46,249	67.0	2.2
	Democratic	Margaret Ault	20,962	30.4	0.4
	Conservative	Frank J. Festa, Jr.	1,778	2.6	N/A
Total votes			68,989	100.00%

District 23

1997 general election ^{[1] [2]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	William E. Schluter (incumbent)	42,221	61.3	30.4
	Democratic	Austin “Ken” Kutscher, M.D.	23,094	33.5	N/A
	Conservative	Michael P. Kelly	2,770	4.0	N/A
	Independent	Daniel Z. Seyler	762	1.1	N/A
Total votes			68,847	100.00%

District 24

1997 general election ^{[1] [2]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Robert Littell (incumbent)	44,342	73.0	10.3
	Democratic	John G. Wingler	13,551	22.3	N/A
	Conservative	Ron Pondiscio	2,868	4.7	N/A
Total votes			60,761	100.00%

District 25

1997 general election ^{[1] [2]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Anthony R. Bucco	37,048	54.8	5.1
	Democratic	Gordon MacInnes (incumbent)	29,515	43.7	6.6
	Conservative	Joseph Long	1,033	1.5	N/A
Total votes			67,596	100.00%

District 26

1997 general election ^{[1] [2]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Robert Martin (incumbent)	43,994	92.6	23.2
	Conservative	Virginia P. Bauer	3,505	7.4	N/A
Total votes			47,499	100.00%

District 27

1997 general election ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Richard Codey (incumbent)	35,770	79.5	4.4
	Republican	Richard R. Klattenberg	9,250	20.5	4.4
Total votes			45,020	100.00%

District 28

1997 general election ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Ronald Rice (incumbent)	31,069	100.00%	0.0
Total votes			31,069	100.00%

District 29

1997 general election ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Wynona Lipman (incumbent)	27,480	86.7	13.3
	Republican	Elaine L. Guarino	4,226	13.3	N/A
Total votes			31,706	100.00%

District 30

1997 general election ^{[1] [2]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Robert Singer (incumbent)	27,837	53.7	12.0
	Democratic	Kenneth A. Kurtz	20,815	40.2	5.9
	Libertarian	Bob Mondgock	1,932	3.7	N/A
	Conservative	Fred Rasiewicz	1,208	2.3	N/A
Total votes			51,792	100.00%

District 31

1997 general election ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Edward T. O'Connor Jr. (incumbent)	30,993	77.6	9.2
	Republican	Richard Freda	8,935	22.4	9.2
Total votes			39,928	100.00%

District 32

1997 general election ^{[1] [2] [4]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Nicholas Sacco (incumbent)	29,386	66.7	7.4
	Republican	John Pluchino	12,541	28.5	8.2
	Politicians Are Crooks	Herbert H. Shaw	1,569	3.6	0.8
	Conservative	Pat Armstrong	532	1.2	0.0
Total votes			44,028	100.00%

District 33

1997 general election ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Bernard Kenny (incumbent)	27,914	72.6%	9.3
	Republican	Gerald Spike	10,517	27.4%	8.2
Total votes			38,431	100.00%

District 34

Republican primary

1997 Republican primary ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Norman M. Robertson	6,203	66.0%
	Republican	Joseph Bubba (incumbent)	3,202	34.0%
Total votes			56,451	100.00%

General election

1997 general election ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Norman M. Robertson	30,450	53.9%	1.6
	Democratic	Joan Waks	26,001	46.1%	1.6
Total votes			56,451	100.00%

District 35

1997 general election ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John Girgenti (incumbent)	24,552	69.8	3.3
	Republican	Brian A. Duncan	10,644	30.2	1.9
Total votes			35,196	100.00%

District 36

1997 general election ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Garry Furnari	25,844	53.1%	6.0
	Republican	John P. Scott (incumbent)	22,806	46.9%	6.0
Total votes			48,650	100.00%

District 37

1997 general election ^{[1] [2]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Byron Baer (incumbent)	30,844	59.0	1.5
	Republican	Steve Lonegan	20,543	39.3	1.7
	Natural Law	Helen Hamilton	855	1.6	N/A
Total votes			52,242	100.00%

District 38

1997 general election ^{[1] [2]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Louis F. Kosco (incumbent)	30,538	55.2%	8.1
	Democratic	Valerie Huttle	23,350	42.2%	5.5
	Conservative	Denise A. Richardson	1,390	2.5%	N/A
Total votes			55,278	100.00%

District 39

1997 general election ^{[1] [2]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Gerald Cardinale (incumbent)	46,424	66.3	3.8
	Democratic	Ilan Plawker	22,466	32.1	5.4
	Conservative	Michael W. Koontz	1,166	1.7	N/A
Total votes			70,056	100.00%

District 40

1997 general election ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Henry McNamara (incumbent)	42,751	67.5%	0.2
	Democratic	Michael Greenspan	20,537	32.5%	0.2
Total votes			63,288	100.00%

References

1. "Official Results, General Election Returns for the Office of State Senate for Election Held November 4, 1997" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 5, 2016. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
2. "THE 1997 ELECTIONS: RESULTS; The Races for New Jersey Senate". The New York Times. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
3. "NJ State Senate 12". Our Campaigns. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
4. "NJ State Senate 32". Our Campaigns. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
5. "Primary Election Results for office of State Senate" (PDF).