1971 New Jersey Senate election

1971 New Jersey Senate elections
November 2, 1971
All 40 seats in the New Jersey State Senate
21 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader Raymond Bateman J. Edward Crabiel
Party Republican Democratic
Leader's seat 8th: Somerset 7th: Middlesex
Last election 31 9
Seats before 29 9
Seats won 24 16
Seat change 5 7
Popular vote 919,262 902,180
Senate President before election

Raymond Bateman[1]
Republican

Elected Senate President

Raymond Bateman
Republican

The 1971 New Jersey State Senate election was the mid-term election of Republican William Cahill's term as Governor of New Jersey. Democrats picked up seven Senate seats. Democrats flipped Districts 2, 3B, 11B, 11D, 11E, 14A, 14B, and 14C. Republicans flipped District 6A.

Background

Reapportioning

See also: Reynolds v. Sims

Legislative districts were redrawn by a 10-member bipartisan New Jersey Apportionment Commission to reflect population changes following the 1970 U.S. Census. Senators generally (with some exceptions) ran At-Large countywide.

Until 1965, the New Jersey State Senate was composed of 21 senators with each county electing one senator. After the U.S. Supreme Court decision Reynolds v. Sims required legislative districts to be approximately equal in population (a principle known as "one man, one vote").[2] In 1965, the New Jersey Senate was increased to 29 members, with larger counties given multiple seats and some smaller counties sharing one or two senators.

The map was changed again in 1967, and again in 1971, as the state adjusted to the one man, one vote ruling. For the 1971 election, two seats were eliminated in District 11 and District 12 (Essex and Hudson counties, respectively). They were replaced by two new seats in the single-member District 4C and District 5 (Burlington and Monmouth counties, respectively). District 6 (now comprising Mercer and Hunterdon County) also switched from electing its senators at-large to electing them from two single-member districts because it became composed of more than one county.

The new districts were divided as follows:

District Counties #
1 Cape May and Cumberland 1
2 Atlantic 1
3A Salem and Gloucester (part) 1
3B Gloucester (part) and Camden (part) 1
3C Camden (part) 1
4A Ocean (part) 1
4B Burlington (part) and Ocean (part) 1
4C Burlington (part) 1
5 Monmouth 3
6A Hunterdon and Mercer (part) 1
6B Mercer (part) 1
7 Middlesex 3
8 Somerset 1
9 Union 3
10 Morris 2
11 Essex 5
12 Hudson 3
13 Bergen 5
14 Passaic 3
15 Warren and Sussex 1

Incumbents not running for re-election

Democratic

Republican

Incumbents defeated

Two incumbent Republican senators were defeated for re-election:[3]

One incumbent Republican Senator who was denied party support for another term ran in the general election as an Independent candidate and was defeated; Republicans held this seat:[4]

  • Thirteenth District: Willard Knowlton (R-Bergen), succeeded by Republican Harold C. Hollenbeck, an Assemblyman from Bergen County.

Open Seats

Sixteen incumbents did not seek re-election. Thirteen incumbent Republican senators did not seek re-election in 1971, and Democrats won six of those seats:[5]

  • First District: Robert E. Kay (R-Cape May), succeeded by Republican James Cafiero, an Assemblyman from Cape May County.
  • Third District, 3A: John L. White (R-Gloucester), succeeded by Republican James Turner, a former Gloucester County Freeholder.
  • Third District, 3B: Hugh A. Kelly (R-Camden), succeeded by Democrat Joseph Maressa, an attorney from Gloucester County.
  • Fourth District 4A: William Hiering (R-Ocean), succeeded by Republican John F. Brown, an Assemblyman from Ocean County.
  • Tenth District: Majority Leader Harry L. Sears (R-Morris), succeeded by Republican Peter W. Thomas, the Morris County Republican Chairman.
  • Eleventh District: Geraldo Del Tufo (R-Essex), succeeded by Democrat Wynona Lipman, an Essex County Freeholder. (Del Tufo instead ran successfully for the Essex County Board of Freeholders. Lipman became the first Black woman to serve in the State Senate.)
  • Eleventh District: David W. Dowd (R-Essex), succeeded by Democrat Frank J. Dodd, an Assemblyman from Essex County.
  • Eleventh District: Alexander Matturri (R-Essex). The Matturi seat was eliminated in redistricting and the Fifth District in Monmouth County gained a seat. Matturi was effectively succeeded by Republican Joseph Azzolina, an Assemblyman from Monmouth County.
  • Twelfth District: Frank Joseph Guarini (D-Hudson). The Guarini seat was eliminated in redistricting and the Fourth District, 4C in Burlington County gained a seat. Guarini was effectively succeeded by Democrat Edward J. Hughes, an industrialist and engineer from Burlington County.
  • Thirteenth District: Fairleigh Dickinson, Jr. (R-Bergen), succeeded by Republican Frederick Wendel, the Mayor of Oradell.
  • Fourteenth District: Frank Sciro (R-Passaic), succeeded by Democrat Joseph Lazzara, a Passaic County Freeholder.
  • Fourteenth District: Ira Schoem (R-Passaic), succeeded by Democrat William J. Bate, a Passaic County Freeholder.
  • Fourteenth District: Edward Sisco (R-Passaic), succeeded by Democrat Joseph Hirkala, an Assemblyman and the Passaic City Clerk.

One incumbent Republican Senator was elected to Congress in 1970 and resigned his State Senate seat in January 1971 to take his seats in the U.S. House of Representatives:[6]

  • Fourth District, 4B: Edwin B. Forsythe (R-Burlington), succeeded by Republican Assembly Speaker Barry T. Parker.

One incumbent Republican Senator resigned in 1970 to become a Judge. His seat was won in a November 1971 Special Election by a Democrat, but Republicans held the seat in the November 1971 General Election for a full term:

  • Ninth District: Nicholas LaCorte (R-Union), succeeded by Jerry Fitzgerald English (D-Union) from November 1971 to January 1972, and then by Jerome Epstein (R-Union).

One incumbent Democratic Senator was defeated for renomination in the June primary and Democrats held that seat:

  • Twelfth District: Frederick Hauser (D-Hudson), defeated by James P. Dugan, an Assemblyman from Hudson County.[7]

Two incumbent Democratic senators did not seek re-election in 1971. Democrats won one seat and Republicans won one seat:[8]

  • Sixth District, 6A: Richard J. Coffee (D-Mercer), succeeded by Republican William Schluter, an Assemblyman from Mercer County. (Coffee was elected At-Large in 1967; Schluter won the 6A seat, which now included all of Hunterdon and part of Mercer.)
  • Sixth District, 6B: Sido L. Ridolfi (D-Mercer), succeeded by Democrat Joseph P. Merlino, the Trenton City Attorney. (Ridolfi was elected At-Large in 1967; Merlino won the 6B seat in 1971.)

Summary of results by State Senate District

District Incumbent Party Elected Senator Party
District 1 Robert E. Kay Rep James Cafiero Rep
District 2 Frank S. Farley Rep Joseph McGahn Dem
District 3A John L. White Rep James M. Turner Rep
District 3B Hugh A. Kelly Rep Joseph Maressa Dem
District 3C John L. Miller Rep John L. Miller Rep
District 3D Frank C. Italiano Rep Frank C. Italiano Rep
District 4A William Hiering Rep John F. Brown Rep
District 4B Vacant[a] Barry T. Parker Rep
District 4C New seat Edward J. Hughes Dem
District 5 Richard Stout Rep Richard Stout Rep
Alfred Beadleston Rep Alfred Beadleston Rep
New seat Joseph Azzolina Rep
District 6[b] Richard J. Coffee Dem William Schluter Rep
Sido L. Ridolfi Dem Joseph P. Merlino Dem
District 7 John A. Lynch Sr. Dem John A. Lynch Sr. Dem
J. Edward Crabiel Dem J. Edward Crabiel Dem
Norman Tanzman Dem Norman Tanzman Dem
District 8 Raymond Bateman Rep Raymond Bateman Rep
District 9 Frank X. McDermott Rep Frank X. McDermott Rep
Matt Rinaldo Rep Matt Rinaldo Rep
Vacant[c] Jerome Epstein Rep
District 10 Joseph Maraziti Rep Joseph Maraziti Rep
Harry L. Sears Rep Peter W. Thomas Rep
District 11 James Wallwork Rep James Wallwork Rep
David W. Dowd Rep Frank J. Dodd Dem
Michael Giuliano Rep Michael Giuliano Rep
Milton Waldor Rep Ralph DeRose Dem
Geraldo Del Tufo Rep Wynona Lipman Dem
Alexander Matturri Rep Seat eliminated
District 12 Frederick Hauser Dem James P. Dugan Dem
William F. Kelly Jr. Dem William F. Kelly Jr. Dem
William Musto Dem William Musto Dem
Frank J. Guarini Dem Seat eliminated
District 13 Willard Knowlton Rep Harold Hollenbeck Rep
Joseph Woodcock Rep Joseph Woodcock Rep
Fairleigh Dickinson Jr. Rep Frederick Wendel Rep
Alfred Schiaffo Rep Alfred Schiaffo Rep
Garrett Hagedorn Rep Garrett Hagedorn Rep
District 14 Edward Sisco Rep Joseph Hirkala Dem
Ira Schoem Rep William J. Bate Dem
Frank Sciro Rep Joseph Lazzara Dem
District 15 Wayne Dumont Jr. Rep Wayne Dumont Jr. Rep
  1. ^ The seat was left vacant by the resignation of Edwin B. Forsythe, who was sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives in January 1971.
  2. ^ Split into Districts 6A and 6B.
  3. ^ The third Union seat was vacant after Nicholas LaCorte resigned in 1970. A special election was held simultaneously to complete the remainder of LaCorte's term (November 1971–January 1972) and was won by Democrat Jerry Fitzgerald English.

Close races

Seats where the margin of victory was under 10%:

  1. District 1, 1.6%
  2. District 3D, 1.6%
  3. District 3A, 0.02%
  4. District 4C, 3.1% gain
  5. District 5A, 4.2%
  6. District 5B, 4.2%
  7. District 5C, 2.8% gain
  8. District 7A, 7.2%
  9. District 7B, 6.8%
  10. District 7C, 7.0%
  11. District 9A, 5.6%
  12. District 9B, 2.9%
  13. District 9C, 1.1% gain
  14. District 13A, 2.2%
  15. District 13B, 2.3%
  16. District 13C, 2.1%
  17. District 13D, 2.0%
  18. District 13E, 2.3%
  19. District 14A, 6.0% gain
  20. District 14B, 4.9% gain
  21. District 14C, 4.8% gain

District 1

1971 New Jersey general election[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican James S. Cafiero 28,014 50.0
Democratic Paul R. Porreca 27,098 48.4
People's John W. Gotsch 867 1.5
Total votes 55,979 100.0

District 2

1971 New Jersey general election[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Joseph L. McGahn 39,257 58.1
Republican Frank S. Farley 27,509 40.7
Independent Charles Ross 840 1.2
Total votes 67,606 100.0

District 3

District 3A

1971 New Jersey general election[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican James M. Turner 26,424 50.010
Democratic Louis J. Damminger, Jr. 26,413 49.990
Total votes 52,837 100.0

District 3B

1971 New Jersey general election[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Joseph A. Maressa 27,347 56.3
Republican George E. Lord 21,266 43.7
Total votes 48,613 100.0

District 3C

1971 New Jersey general election[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican John L. Miller 28,345 57.2
Democratic Morton H. Rappaport 21,168 42.8
Total votes 49,513 100.0

District 3D

1971 New Jersey general election[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Frank C. Italiano 22,312 50.8
Democratic Thomas R. Bristow 21,615 49.2
Total votes 43,927 100.0

District 4

District 4A

1971 New Jersey general election[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican John F. Brown 30,272 53.4
Democratic John F. Russo 26,378 46.6
Total votes 56,650 100.0

District 4B

Special election, March 2, 1971[10]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Walter L. Smith 10,389 60.4
Democratic Charles B. Yates 6,798 39.6
Total votes 17,187 100.0
1971 New Jersey general election[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Barry T. Parker 22,929 62.5
Democratic Fred M. Detrick, Jr. 13,737 37.5
Total votes 36,666 100.0

District 4C

1971 New Jersey general election[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Edward J. Hughes, Jr. 24,043 51.1
Republican Walter L. Smith, Jr. 22,580 48.0
Socialist Labor Bernardo S. Doganiero 435 0.9
Total votes 47,058 100.0

District 5

1971 New Jersey general election[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Richard R. Stout 69,067 19.4
Republican Alfred N. Beadleston 68,555 19.3
Republican Joseph Azzolina 60,199 16.9
Democratic Vincent Miller 53,902 15.2
Democratic William Himelman 53,861 15.1
Democratic Walter Gehricke 50,201 14.1
Total votes 355,785 100.0

District 6

District 6A

1971 New Jersey general election[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican William E. Schluter 31,072 55.3
Democratic Robert R. Klein 25,091 44.7
Total votes 56,163 100.0

District 6B

1971 New Jersey general election[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Joseph P. Merlino 29,758 70.0
Republican Charles A. Delehey 12,740 30.0
Total votes 42,498 100.0

District 7

Districts 7A, B, and C

1971 New Jersey general election[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic John A. Lynch 94,832 20.4
Democratic J. Edward Crabiel 92,637 19.9
Democratic Norman Tanzman 92,450 19.8
Republican Leonard A. Tobias 61,672 13.2
Republican Francis J. Coury 61,043 13.1
Republican Charles C. Griffith 59,788 12.8
Americans For ERG Edward R. Gavarny 3,547 0.8
Total votes 465,969 100.0

District 8

1971 New Jersey general election[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Raymond H. Bateman 37,017 70.9
Democratic Benjamin Levine 15,167 29.1
Total votes 52,184 100.0

District 9

Districts 9, A, B, and C

Special election, November 2, 1971[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jerry F. English 73,314 50.8
Republican Van Dyke J. Pollitt 64,798 44.9
Independent Coalition Elmer L. Sullivan 6,305 4.4
Total votes 144,417 100.0
1971 New Jersey general election[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Matthew J. Rinaldo 93,608 20.6
Republican Francis X. McDermott 77,536 17.1
Republican Jerome M. Epstein 68,531 15.09
Democratic Carmine J. Liotta 68,131 15.00
Democratic Christopher Dietz 64,487 14.2
Democratic John T. Connor, Jr. 63,884 14.1
Independent Coalition Elmer L. Sullivan 6,451 1.4
Independent Coalition Arnold Gold 6,047 1.3
Independent Coalition Richard Avant 5,406 1.2
Total votes 454,081 100.0

District 10

1971 New Jersey general election[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Joseph J. Maraziti 63,773 33.3
Republican Peter W. Thomas 58,532 30.5
Democratic Garret A. Hobart IV 35,087 18.3
Democratic Frank J. Schweighardt 34,396 17.9
Total votes 191,788 100.0

District 11

Districts 11A-E

Special election, November 2, 1971[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Charles DeMarco 83,525 46.9
Republican Nicholas LaSpina 76,352 42.9
Essex Bi-Partisan Frank J. Messina 18,095 10.2
Total votes 177,972 100.0
1971 New Jersey general election[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Michael A. Giuliano 92,166 9.8
Democratic Ralph C. DeRose 91,380 9.7
Republican James H. Wallwork 88,632 9.5
Democratic Frank J. Dodd 86,041 9.18
Democratic Wynona M. Lipman 85,644 9.14
Republican Milton A. Waldor 84,736 9.04
Democratic Martin L. Greenberg 82,291 8.8
Republican Matthew G. Carter 77,418 8.3
Democratic Henry W. Smolen 76,190 8.1
Republican Frederic Remington 73,663 7.9
Essex Bi-Partisan John J. Giblin 21,688 2.3
Essex Bi-Partisan John F. Monica 21,072 2.2
Essex Bi-Partisan Sylvester L. Casta 19,015 2.0
Essex Bi-Partisan Joseph J. Bradley 16,348 1.7
Essex Bi-Partisan Richard P. Weitzman 15,733 1.7
Unity-Victory-Progress Joseph A. Santiago 5,483 0.6
Total votes 937,500 100.0

District 12

Districts 12A, B, and C

1971 New Jersey general election[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic William V. Musto 81,522 17.0
Democratic James P. Dugan 78,293 16.3
Democratic William F. Kelly, Jr. 76,177 15.9
Save Hudson County Patrick D. Conaghan 47,082 9.8
Save Hudson County Francis X. Hayes 47,036 9.8
Save Hudson County Anthony M. Defino 44,703 9.3
Republican Joseph J. Panepinto 33,985 7.1
Republican Cosmo Palmitessa 33,131 6.9
Republican Mario DeLuca 32,131 6.7
Honesty-Efficiency-Decency Richard D. McAleer 5,496 1.1
Total votes 479,556 100.0

District 13

Districts 13A-E

1971 New Jersey general election[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Harold C. Hollenbeck 158,615 11.3
Republican Joseph C. Woodcock, Jr. 157,280 11.2
Republican Garrett W. Hagedorn 153,203 10.9
Republican Alfred D. Schiaffo 151,806 10.8
Republican Frederick E. Wendel 150,962 10.8
Democratic John J. McCarthy 128,109 9.1
Democratic Raymond Garramone 125,154 8.9
Democratic Alfred W. Kiefer 124,083 8.8
Democratic Sidney Aglow 123,857 8.8
Democratic Lee M. Carlton 119,262 8.5
Nobody’s Rubber Stamp Willard B. Knowlton 11,668 0.8
Total votes 1,403,999 100.0

District 14

Districts 14A, B, and C

1971 New Jersey general election[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Joseph Hirkala 64,725 21.2
Democratic Joseph A. Lazzara 54,426 17.8
Democratic William J. Bate 54,149 17.7
Republican Alfred E. Fontanella 46,478 15.2
Republican Thomas W. E. Bowdler 39,545 12.9
Republican Henry Fette 39,406 12.9
Socialist Labor Robert Clement 3,645 1.2
Socialist Labor Josephine Clement 3,485 1.1
Total votes 305,859 100.0

District 15

1971 New Jersey general election[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Wayne Dumont, Jr. 28,041 66.6
Democratic Richard V. Laddey 14,072 33.4
Total votes 42,113 100.0

References

  1. ^ Sullivan, Ronald (March 24, 1971). "Hudson and Essex Losing Seats in Jersey's Senate". New York Times.
  2. ^ "JERSEY ORDERED TO REAPPORTION; Judge Finds Congressional Districts Unconstitutional". New York Times. May 21, 1965.
  3. ^ "Results of the General Election" (PDF). New Jersey Division of Elections. State of New Jersey. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  4. ^ "Results of the General Election" (PDF). New Jersey Division of Elections. State of New Jersey. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  5. ^ "Results of the General Election" (PDF). New Jersey Division of Elections. State of New Jersey. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  6. ^ "Results of the General Election" (PDF). New Jersey Division of Elections. State of New Jersey. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  7. ^ "Our Campaigns" (PDF).
  8. ^ "Results of the General Election" (PDF). New Jersey Division of Elections. State of New Jersey. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w "Results of the General Election Held on November 2, 1971" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 6, 2015. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
  10. ^ "GOP Wins N.J. Senate Race". The Record. March 3, 1971. p. 6. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
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