2000 United States Senate election in New Jersey

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2000 United States Senate election in New Jersey
Flag of New Jersey.svg
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  SenatorJonCorzine (cropped).jpg Congressman Bob Franks.jpg
Nominee Jon Corzine Bob Franks
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote1,511,2371,420,267
Percentage50.11%47.10%
2000 United States Senate election in New Jersey results map by county.svg
2000 United States Senate election in New Jersey by Congressional District.svg
Corzine:     40-50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
Franks:     40-50%     50–60%     60–70%
U.S. senator before election

Frank Lautenberg
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Jon Corzine
Democratic

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.

Contents

For most of the prior years, the election was expected to pit the incumbent, Lautenberg, against popular Republican governor Christine Todd Whitman. Lautenberg unexpectedly announced his retirement from the Senate in February 1999, leaving the race open. Whitman announced in April that she would form a campaign committee to enter the race in earnest; however, she stunned political observers in September 1999 by announcing that she would withdraw from the race, citing fundraising concerns.

Primary elections were held on June 7. Corzine defeated former Governor Jim Florio in the Democratic primary by a wide margin after a hard-fought campaign in which Corzine spent over $35 million of his own money. Franks narrowly defeated State Senator William Gormley to capture the Republican nomination.

In the general election, Corzine continued to spend freely to advertise his campaign and establish political support. Ultimately, he defeated Franks by approximately three percent of the total vote.

Background

Incumbent U.S. senator Frank R. Lautenberg was elected in 1982 in an upset victory over Representative Millicent Fenwick. In his two re-election bids, Lautenberg beat Pete Dawkins in 1988 by a 54%-46% margin and held back a challenge from Assembly Speaker Chuck Haytaian by a smaller margin of 50%-47% in 1994. New Jersey had not elected a Republican to the United States Senate since 1972.

For most of 1998 and 1999, speculation on the race centered on popular Republican governor Christine Todd Whitman, who had run a surprisingly strong campaign for the state's other Senate seat in 1990 and was widely expected to challenge Lautenberg for re-election. After a February 1999 poll by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute indicated that Whitman would defeat Lautenberg by a wide margin, as would former Republican governor Tom Kean, Lautenberg unexpectedly announced that he would retire rather than seek a fourth term in office, leaving the seat open. [1] [2] In her initial response to the announcment, Whitman told reporters that she was "seriously considering all of [her] options." [1]

Hypothetical polling with Frank Lautenberg

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Christine
Whitman (R)		Tom
Kean (R)		Frank
Lautenberg (D)		Undecided
Quinnipiac [3] April 15–20, 1998860 RV±3.3%44%–45%11%
Rutgers-Eagleton [4] January 7–13, 1999623 RV±4.0%40%–42%18%
Quinnipiac [5] February 3–8, 1999860 RV±3.3%50%–41%9%
–46%42%12%

Lautenberg later regretted his decision not to run[ citation needed ] and was elected to New Jersey's other Senate seat in 2002 after his former colleague, Senator Robert Torricelli, prematurely ended his re-election campaign in disgrace.

Whitman filed a campaign committee with the Federal Election Commission on April 8, 1999 in order to raise funds for a potential race. In her announcement, Whitman said, "This is not an exploratory committee. This is a campaign committee. I am obviously very serious about contemplating this run and moving forward." She emphasized that she would focus on "being governor" and refrain from campaign until 2000. [6] Her campaign committee was chaired by prominent fundraisers Lewis Eisenberg and Candace Straight, and Whitman was also expected to rely on her large family fortune to fund her campaign. [6]

Despite her large lead in all public opinion polling, Whitman stunned observers herself by announcing on September 8, 1999 that she no longer planned to run for the vacant seat. At a public news conference at the New Jersey State House, she said that she had made the decision while on a recent family vacation after determining that the race would be "a distraction from finishing the work New Jersey voters had asked me to complete." [7] She also cited her concerns regarding "the amount of money that needs to be raised and just the time that it takes to do it." [7] Privately, Whitman had reportedly factored in the burden of outspending Jon Corzine, who had promised to spend any amount necessary to win the race and had a personal fortune estimated at over $300 million and had already given his campaign $500,000 in direct funding. [7] Whitman advisers were reportedly surprised by the decision, since she had raised approximately $2.3 million since her committee was announced. She explicitly denied rumors that she had withdrawn due to health concerns or in order to be nominated for vice president of the United States as a running mate to George W. Bush. Bush publicly expressed his surprised and regret at her withdrawal. [7]

The Whitman announcement immediately reversed the outlook for the two major political parties. Republicans admitted that the decision left them without a clear front-runner for the nomination, while the two Democratic candidates, Corzine and Jim Florio, predicted that the Democratic primary would determine the election. [7] Paul von Zielbauer of The New York Times noted that despite her wide lead in all polling, Whitman had won her two campaigns for governor by narrow margins and had never been on the ballot in a presidential election year, when Democratic voters typically turned out in larger numbers, and growing scrutiny of the use of racial profiling by the New Jersey State Police may have contributed to her decision not to run. [7]

Hypothetical polling with Christine Whitman

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Christine
Whitman (R)		Jim
Florio (D)		Frank
Pallone (D)		Thomas
Byrne (D)		Jon
Corzine (D)		Bob
Grant (I)		Undecided
Quinnipiac [5] March 23–29, 1999984 RV±3.1%51%35%––––14%
50%–29%–––21%
Rutgers-Eagleton [4] April 28–May 6, 1999623 RV±4.0%46%39%––––15%
46%–35%–––18%
46%––34%––20%
Quinnipiac [8] June 2–7, 19991,109 RV±2.9%50%38%––––12%
Quinnipiac [9] July 13–20, 19991,082 RV±3.0%52%35%––––13%
46%32%–––11%11%
56%–––22%–22%
52%–––17%11%21%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Withdrew

Declined

Campaign

Following Lautenberg's announced retirement, several candidates publicly considered campaigns. The leading contender was U.S. representative Bob Menendez, who had considered campaigns for Senate in 1996 and governor in 1997 before ultimately declining to run. Menendez had recently been elected to House leadership and had raised $1.5 million in anticipation of Lautenberg's retirement, though he had stopped his fundraising efforts in 1998 in an effort to preserve party unity. [1] [2] However, Menendez did not enter the race.

The field ultimately narrowed to Jim Florio, the former governor who had been defeated by Whitman in 1993, and Jon Corzine, a former Goldman Sachs executive who spent freely to secure the nomination. Privately, party leaders questioned the desirability of running Florio, since they preferred to support a new face for the nomination. [1]

Corzine spent $35 million of his fortunes into this primary election alone. [10] [11]

During the campaign, Corzine made a number of controversial off-color statements. Emanuel Alfano, chairman of the Italian-American One Voice Committee, claimed that when introduced to a man with an Italian name who said he was in the construction business, Corzine quipped, "Oh, you make cement shoes!" Alfano also reported that when introduced to a lawyer named David Stein, Corzine said, "He's not Italian, is he? Oh, I guess he's your Jewish lawyer who is here to get the rest of you out of jail." [12] Corzine denied mentioning religion, but did not deny the quip about Italians, claiming that some of his own ancestors were probably Italian or maybe French. [13] [14]

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		James
Florio		Jon
Corzine		Undecided
Quinnipiac [15] July 13–20, 19991,082 RV± 3.0%55%19%26%
Quinnipiac [15] February 16–21, 2000374 RV± 5.1%57%22%21%
Quinnipiac [16] March 21–27, 2000400 RV± 4.9%50%26%24%
Quinnipiac [17] May 1–8, 2000347 RV± 5.3%33%48%19%
Quinnipiac [18] May 17–23, 2000371 LV± 5.1%30%56%14%

Endorsements

Corzine was endorsed by State Senators Raymond Zane, Wayne Bryant, and John Adler. He was also endorsed by U.S. Representative Bob Menendez and U.S. Senator Robert Torricelli.

Florio was endorsed by the New Jersey Democratic Party, Assemblyman Joseph Doria and State Senator John A. Lynch Jr.

Results

2000 Democratic Senate primary [19]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Jon Corzine 251,216 57.96%
Democratic James Florio 182,21242.04%
Total votes433,428 100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Withdrew

Declined

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Murray
Sabrin		Bob
Franks		James
Treffinger		William
Gormley		Brian
Kennedy		Undecided
Quinnipiac [22] March 21–27, 2000348 RV± 5.3%5%14%7%9%6%59%
Quinnipiac [23] May 1–8, 2000311 RV± 5.6%5%18%8%14%-55%
Hypothetical polling
Poll sourceDate(s)
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Steve
Forbes		Murray
Sabrin		Bob
Franks		James
Treffinger		William
Gormley		Undecided
Quinnipiac [24] February 16–21, 2000307 RV± 5.6%33%4%8%5%10%40%

Results

2000 New Jersey U.S. Senate Republican primary election [19]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Bob Franks 98,370 35.7%
Republican William Gormley 94,01034.1%
Republican James W. Treffinger 48,67417.7%
Republican Murray Sabrin 34,62912.6%
Total votes275,683 100.00%

General election

Candidates

Declined

Campaign

Franks, a moderate Republican, [25] attacked Corzine for "trying to buy the election and of advocating big-government spending programs that the nation can ill afford." Corzine accused Franks of wanting to "dismantle" the Social Security system because he supported Governor George W. Bush's partial privatization plan. [26]

During the campaign, Corzine refused to release his income tax return records. He claimed an interest in doing so, but he cited a confidentiality agreement with Goldman Sachs. Skeptics argued that he should have followed the example of his predecessor Robert Rubin, who converted his equity stake into debt upon leaving Goldman. [27]

Corzine campaigned for state government programs including universal health care, universal gun registration, mandatory public preschool, and more taxpayer funding for college education. [28] [29] He pushed affirmative action and same-sex marriage. [30] David Brooks considered Corzine so liberal that although his predecessor was also a Democrat, his election helped shift the Senate to the left. [31]

Corzine was accused of exchanging donations to black ministers for their endorsements after a foundation controlled by him and his wife donated $25,000 to an influential black church. [32] Rev. Reginald T. Jackson, the director of the Black Ministers Council, and a notable advocate against racial profiling against minority drivers in traffic stops, was criticized for endorsing Corzine after receiving a large donation from the then candidate. [33]

Franks generally trailed Corzine in the polls until the final week, when he pulled even in a few polls. Corzine spent $63 million, while Franks spent only $6 million. [34]

Debates

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Jon
Corzine (D)		Bob
Franks (R)		Undecided
Rutgers-Eagleton [4] September 15–21, 1999560 LV±4.0%24%30%47%
Rutgers-Eagleton [4] February 28–March 9, 2000626 LV±4.0%24%25%51%
Rutgers-Eagleton [4] June 8–13, 2000579 RV±4.0%43%33%23%
442 LV±5.0%43%36%20%
Quinnipiac [35] June 20–26, 20001,004 RV± 3.1%46%26%28%
Quinnipiac [36] July 19–24, 2000910 RV± 3.3%50%30%20%
Quinnipiac [37] August 18–22, 2000802 RV± 3.5%43%35%22%
Rutgers-Eagleton [4] September 6–13, 2000670 RV±4.0%47%32%21%
542 LV±4.5%45%36%19%
Quinnipiac [38] September 26–Oct. 1, 2000820 LV± 3.4%48%34%18%
1,045 RV± 3.0%44%30%20%
Rutgers-Eagleton [4] [39] October 12–15, 2000482 RV±4.5%45%33%22%
367 LV±5.5%45%37%18%
Quinnipiac [40] October 18–23, 2000909 LV± 3.3%46%41%13%
Rutgers-Eagleton [4] October 23–26, 2000432 LV±4.5%46%37%17%
Quinnipiac [41] October 24–30, 2000793 LV± 3.5%47%39%14%
Quinnipiac [42] November 1–5, 2000770 LV± 3.4%43%45%12%
Hypothetical polling
Poll sourceDate(s)
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error
Bob Franks (R)
Bill Gormley (R)
Jim Treffinger (R)
Jim Florio (D)
Frank Pallone (D)
Thomas Byrne (D)
Jon Corinze (D)
Undecided
Rutgers-Eagleton [4] September 15–21, 1999560 RV±4.0%31%––––29%–41%
–31%––––24%45%
34%––41%–––26%
–33%–41%–––18%
––33%41%–––18%
Rutgers-Eagleton [4] February 28–March 9, 2000626 RV±4.0%–27%––––23%50%
–21%––––24%55%
33%––36%–––31%
–32%–37%–––31%
––31%36%–––33%

Results

Despite being heavily outspent, Franks lost by only three percentage points, doing better that year than Republican Governor George W. Bush in the presidential election, who obtained just 40.29% of the vote in the state. [43]

General election results [44]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Jon Corzine 1,511,237 50.11% Decrease2.svg 0.18
Republican Bob Franks 1,420,26747.10%Increase2.svg 0.08
Green Bruce Afran32,8411.09%N/A
Reform Pat DiNizio 19,3120.64%N/A
Libertarian Emerson Ellett7,2410.24%+.44%
Independent Dennis A. Breen6,0610.20%N/A
Trust in GodJ.M. Carter5,6570.19%N/A
Conservative Lorraine LaNeve3,8360.13%N/A
Socialist Gregory Pason3,3650.11%Decrease2.svg 0.35
Socialist Workers Nancy Rosenstock3,3090.11%Decrease2.svg 0.07
God Bless JerseyGeorge Gostigian2,5360.08%N/A
Majority 90,9703.01%−.26%
Total votes3,015,662 100.0% N/A
Democratic hold

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

See also

Notes

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Preston, Jennifer (February 18, 1999). "Some Look to Move Up, Others to Come Back". The New York Times . Retrieved August 25, 2025.
    2. 1 2 3 4 The New York Times Editorial Board (February 18, 1999). "Mr. Lautenberg Bows Out". The New York Times . p. 20. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
    3. ↑ "Whitman-Lautenberg Would Tie In Jersey Senate Race, Quinnipiac College Poll Finds; Bradley Gets A Good Look In Run For President". Quinnipiaac Poll. April 23, 1998. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
    4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Rutgers-Eagleton
    5. 1 2 "Whitman Tops Lautenberg In Senate Matchup, Quinnipiac College Poll Finds; Most Don't Believe Tax Rebate Will Last". Quinnipiac Poll. February 12, 1999. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
    6. 1 2 "Gov. Whitman moves toward Senate race". CNN. Trenton, New Jersey. AllPolitics. April 8, 1999. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
    7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Zielbauer, Paul (September 8, 1999). "Citing Money, Whitman Decides She Won't Run for U.S. Senate". The New York Times . Retrieved August 25, 2025.
    8. ↑ "Florio Inches Up On Whitman In Senate Race, Quinnipiac College Poll Finds; Bob Grant And Other Candidates Barely Register". Quinnipiac Poll. June 9, 1999. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
    9. ↑ "Men, Women Back Whitman Over Florio In Senate Race, Quinnipiac College Poll Finds; Bob Grant Would Cut Slightly Into Whitman Lead". Quinnipiac Poll. July 22, 1999. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
    10. ↑ Halbfinger, David M. (October 13, 2000). "Franks Accuses Corzine of Trying To Buy His Way Into Senate Seat". The New York Times .
    11. ↑ "Franks and Corzine Debate Race, Education and Disclosure". The New York Times . October 13, 2000.
    12. ↑ Halbfinger, David M. (March 30, 2000). "Corzine Assailed for Joke About Italian-Americans". New York Times. Retrieved July 29, 2008.
    13. ↑ Adubato, Steve. "Good Faith Politics". The Star-Ledger . Archived from the original on October 16, 2008. Retrieved July 20, 2008.
    14. ↑ Peterson, Iver (April 9, 2000). "Around Jon Corzine's Roots, a Casual Indifference to Ethnicity". The New York Times . Retrieved July 20, 2008.
    15. 1 2 Quinnipiac
    16. ↑ Quinnipiac
    17. ↑ Quinnipiac
    18. ↑ Quinnipiac
    19. 1 2 "Our Campaigns - NJ US Senate - D Primary Race - Jun 07, 2000".
    20. 1 2 Halbfinger, David M. "Fifth Republican Enters Race for the U.S. Senate". The New York TImes . Retrieved August 26, 2025.
    21. ↑ Kocieniewski, David (January 31, 2000). "In New Jersey, Both Parties Find Tumult in Senate Primaries". The New York Times . Retrieved August 26, 2025.
    22. ↑ Quinnipiac Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine
    23. ↑ Quinnipiac Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine
    24. ↑ Quinnipiac Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine
    25. ↑ "Former Rep. Bob Franks Dies at 58: Lost U.S. Senate Race but Ideas Triumphed by Gregory Hilton". April 11, 2010.
    26. ↑ "Franks Accuses Corzine of Trying To Buy His Way Into Senate Seat". The New York Times . October 13, 2000.
    27. ↑ "The High Price Of Chutzpah: Cheney And Corzine May Be Pushing The Ethical Envelope On Conflict-Of-Interest Rules. That's More Than Daring—It's -Just Plain Galling". Newsweek. Newsweek, Inc. August 28, 2000. Retrieved July 19, 2008.
    28. ↑ Derer, Mike (June 7, 2000). "Who Wants to Vote for a Multimillionaire?". Time. Time Inc. Archived from the original on November 22, 2010. Retrieved July 17, 2008.
    29. ↑ Morse, Jodie; Nadya Labi; Michel Orecklin (November 20, 2000). "New Faces In The Senate". Time. Time Inc. Archived from the original on November 22, 2010. Retrieved July 18, 2008.
    30. ↑ Hosenball, Mark (June 12, 2000). "The New Jersey Purchase: Jon Corzine's $36 Million Campaign For The Senate". Newsweek. Newsweek, Inc. Retrieved July 19, 2008.
    31. ↑ Brooks, David (December 25, 2000). "Surviving The Coming Clash: With The Left Feeling Frisky, Conservatives Need To Watch Their Step If They Want To Have Their Way. It's Time To Be Patient". Newsweek. Newsweek, Inc. Retrieved July 20, 2008.
    32. ↑ Ingle pp. 62–63.
    33. ↑ Jacob, Andrew (September 20, 2000). "Black Minister Criticized for Taking Corzine's Money". New York Times. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved August 27, 2008.
    34. ↑ Cardwell, Diane (April 10, 2010). "Robert Franks, Former New Jersey Congressman, Dies". The New York Times .
    35. ↑ Quinnipiac Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine
    36. ↑ Quinnipiac Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine
    37. ↑ Quinnipiac Archived 2014-05-18 at the Wayback Machine
    38. ↑ "Corzine Tops Franks Among New Jersey Likely Voters, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Wealthy Candidate Spending Is Non-Issue, Voters Say". Quinnipiac Poll. October 4, 2000. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
    39. ↑ "Poll Finds Corzine Spending is Not a Problem for Voters". The New York Times. October 18, 2000.
    40. ↑ "Franks Closes Gap With Corzine In New Jersey, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Most Voters Voice Concern With Corzine Spending". October 25, 2000. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
    41. ↑ "Corzine Leads Franks 47 - 39 In New Jersey, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Undecided Independents Are Key To Final Result". November 1, 2000. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
    42. ↑ "Corzine-Franks New Jersey Race Too Close To Call, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Gore Leads Bush 49-41 Percent". November 6, 2000. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
    43. ↑ Newman, Maria (November 10, 2000). "After His Defeat, Franks Looks to the Future". The New York Times .
    44. ↑ "Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives".

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