Diane Allen

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In 2002, Allen ran to unseat Democratic U.S. Senator Robert Torricelli. Early in the race, the favorite was Jim Treffinger, who had run in 2000. However, Treffinger was forced to drop out under an ethics cloud after the FBI raided his Newark office. The party leadership coalesced behind Doug Forrester, a multimillionaire businessman who pledged to personally fund his campaign. [2]

During the primary, Allen was endorsed by The New York Times. [2] She faced criticism from fellow Republicans for her Quaker faith and pacifism, which conflicted with the national mood following the September 11 attacks. [2]

Allen finished a close second to Forrester, who won the primary with 44.6% of the vote to Allen's 36.9%. [23] She carried every county in South Jersey except for Gloucester, home of third-place finisher State Senator John J. Matheussen, and Ocean. [2] Forrester lost the general election to Frank Lautenberg, who entered the race after Torricelli withdrew amid ethics concerns and poor polling.

Other offices

Senator Allen has served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1996, 2000, as well as in 2004 and 2012.

In 2008, Allen was a leading candidate to succeed Jim Saxton in the U.S. House. [2] [24] However, she announced on November 29, 2007 that she would not run for the seat, citing factionalism in the Burlington County Republican Party. [25]

In 2009, Allen was a leading candidate to join Chris Christie's ticket as the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor. Christie ultimately chose Monmouth County Sheriff Kim Guadagno instead. [2]

2021 lieutenant gubernatorial campaign

Republican nominee for Governor Jack Ciattarelli announced his selection of Allen as his running mate on August 4, 2021. Allen was an early supporter of Ciattarelli's campaign and supervised his campaign's anti-harassment policies. [2] The pair lost the general election to the incumbent Democratic ticket of Phil Murphy and Sheila Oliver. [26]

Election results

Diane Allen
Diane B. Allen with New Jersey National Guard (cropped).jpg
Allen in 2017
Member of the New Jersey Senate
from the 7th district
In office
January 13, 1998 January 9, 2018
1995 New Jersey Assembly election [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Diane Allen 22,242 27.7
Republican Carmine de Sopo 20,480 25.5
Democratic Steven M. Petrillo (incumbent)17,12921.3
Democratic Joseph P. Dugan17,01421.2
Independent George Guzdek1,1881.5
Independent Susan Normandin4530.5
Independent Charles L. Normandin3140.4
Independent Dixie Lee Patterson1,3861.7
Republican gain from Democratic
New Jersey State Senate elections, 1997 [14]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Diane Allen (incumbent) 30,875 53.7
Democratic Robert P. Broderick25,50144.3
Independent Norman E. Wahner1,1212.0
Republican gain from Democratic
New Jersey State Senate elections, 2001 [15]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Diane Allen (incumbent) 29,756 54.1
Democratic Lou Gallagher25,29345.9
Republican hold
New Jersey State Senate elections, 2003 [16]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Diane Allen (incumbent) 26,331 60.3
Democratic Diane F. Gabriel17,33139.7
Republican hold
New Jersey State Senate elections, 2007 [27]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Diane Allen (incumbent) 23,185 55.6
Democratic Richard S. Dennison, Jr.18,51144.4
Republican hold
New Jersey State Senate primary elections, 2011 [28]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Diane Allen (incumbent) 3,904 90.4
Republican Carol M. Lokan-Moore4169.6
Republican hold
New Jersey State Senate elections, 2011 [20]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Diane Allen (incumbent) 27,011 57.0
Democratic Gail Cook20,37043.0
Republican hold
New Jersey State Senate elections, 2013 [21]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Diane Allen (incumbent) 38,350 60.4
Democratic Gary Catrambone25,10639.6
Republican hold

Personal life

As of 2021, Allen and her husband, Sam, live in Edgewater Park Township. They have two children. [2] [29]

She is a Quaker. [2] Allen and her husband are members of Mt. Laurel Friends Meeting and Moorestown Friends Meeting, where she currently serves on the Ministry Committee.[ citation needed ]

In addition to her hang gliding and beauty pageant career, Allen is a judoka, national swimming champion, pilot, and sharpshooter. [2]

Health

On November 9, 2009, Allen announced that she had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of oral cancer. [30] Though doctors had initially thought that treatment would require removal of her tongue and that she would be unable to speak normally, surgery performed in 2010 did not greatly impair her speech, and she has since undergone radiation and laser treatments. [31]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Senator Allen's legislative web page Archived January 13, 2008, at the Wayback Machine , New Jersey Legislature. Accessed February 23, 2008.
  2. 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 Wildstein, David (August 2, 2021). "It's Jack and Diane: Ciattarelli picks Allen as Lt. Governor candidate". The New Jersey Globe.
  3. Catalini, Mike (November 4, 2021). "Phil Murphy narrowly reelected governor in New Jersey". Associated Press . Archived from the original on November 7, 2021. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  4. Silber, Zach. "Diane B. Allen (R-Burlington)", The New York Observer , February 10, 2011. Accessed August 9, 2019. "Born in New Jersey, she has lived in Burlington County for close to 50 years. Diane graduated from Moorestown High School as valedictorian."
  5. "KYW-TV News Alumni". Archived from the original on October 25, 2009. Retrieved October 9, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), KYW-TV. Retrieved July 6, 2006.
  6. "WCAU-TV News Alumni". Archived from the original on October 25, 2009. Retrieved July 9, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), WCAU. Retrieved July 6, 2006.
  7. "The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia - Diane Allen". Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia. 2005. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  8. "Back from surgery for oral cancer, Diane Allen still has a lot to say". Inside Jersey. August 17, 2010. Retrieved March 1, 2011. Allen grew up in Moorestown, a Burlington County town that was established as a Quaker enclave in the 1600s. Born to an engineer father and homemaker mother, Allen remembers stuffing envelopes as a kid for Republican candidates. Her foray into politics came in the early 1970s, when she ran for the Moorestown school board.
  9. "General Returns for the Office of General Assembly for Election Held November 7, 1995" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. December 4, 1995. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  10. 1 2 Official List Candidate Returns for State Senate For November 1995 General Election, New Jersey Department of State. Accessed August 25, 2017.
  11. Pristin, Terry. "New Jersey Daily Briefing;$1 Million Campaign Costs", The New York Times , March 13, 1996. Retrieved June 22, 2010.
  12. Staff. "Assembly Campaign Spending rises, especially in South Jersey. The Most Expensive Race Cost $1.5 million. A watchdog group says '93 Reforms didn't do the job.", The Philadelphia Inquirer , March 14, 1996. Accessed June 22, 2010. "The District 7 race in Burlington and Camden Counties, eventually won by the Republican ticket of Diane Allen and Carmine DeSopo, was the most expensive in the state, totaling $1.5 million, according to Upmeyer's analysis of campaign finance reports."
  13. Petersen, Melody. "The 1997 Elections: The Legislature; After Intense Fight, Republicans Fend Off Challenges to Their Majority in State Senate", The New York Times , November 5, 1997. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
  14. 1 2 Official List Candidate Returns for State Senate For November 1997 General Election, New Jersey Department of State. Accessed August 25, 2017.
  15. 1 2 Official List Candidate Returns for State Senate For November 2001 General Election, New Jersey Department of State. Accessed August 25, 2017.
  16. 1 2 Official List Candidate Returns for State Senate For November 2003 General Election, New Jersey Department of State, December 2, 2003. Accessed June 6, 2017.
  17. Reitmeyer, John. "Candidates for state Assembly, Senate and county offices file for June primary" Archived July 17, 2007, at WebCite , Burlington County Times , April 10, 2007. Retrieved April 11, 2007.
  18. "June 5, 2007 Primary Election Results". Archived from the original on April 25, 2008. Retrieved June 20, 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), Burlington County, New Jersey. Retrieved June 19, 2007.
  19. 7th Dist: Allen holds on to Senate seat, The Star Ledger , November 6, 2007
  20. 1 2 Official List Candidate Returns for State Senate For November 2011 General Election, New Jersey Department of State, December 14, 2011. Accessed January 7, 2012.
  21. 1 2 "Official List Candidates for State Senate For GENERAL ELECTION 11/05/2015 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. December 4, 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 4, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  22. Staff. "Diane Allen inducted as Chair of the National Foundation for Women Legislators" [ permanent dead link ], Burlington County Times , March 17, 2014. Accessed December 4, 2016.
  23. "Official List Candidates for US Senate For June 2002 Primary Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. July 23, 2002. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  24. Saxton, citing his health, to retire after this term Archived November 22, 2012, at the Wayback Machine , The Star Ledger , November 2007
  25. Allen says she won't run for Congress [ permanent dead link ], Burlington County Times , November 29, 2007 [ dead link ]
  26. Tully, Tracey; Corasaniti, Nick; Glueck, Katie (November 3, 2021). "Murphy Narrowly Wins Re-Election as New Jersey Governor". The New York Times.
  27. Official List Candidate Returns for State Senate For November 2007 General Election, New Jersey Department of State, December 3, 2007. Accessed June 5, 2017.
  28. Official List Candidate Returns for State Senate For June 2011 Primary Election, New Jersey Department of State. Accessed August 25, 2017.
  29. Senator Diane B. Allen, Project Vote Smart. Retrieved September 15, 2007.
  30. Hester, Sr., Tom. "State Senator Diane Allen diagnosed with aggressive cancer" Archived July 14, 2011, at the Wayback Machine , NewJerseyNewsroom.com, November 9, 2009. Accessed January 26, 2012.
  31. Staff. "Back from surgery for oral cancer, Diane Allen still has a lot to say", The Star-Ledger , August 17, 2010. Accessed January 26, 2012. "When state Sen. Diane Allen found out last November that she had late-stage oral cancer, doctors at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital told her they probably would have to remove a large portion of her tongue, leaving her unable to use her voice normally ever again."
Party political offices
Preceded by Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey
2021
Succeeded by