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1988 United States Senate election in New Jersey

Summary

The 1988 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held on November 8, 1988. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg won re-election to a second term with a margin of 8.37%. This is the last time that a Senate candidate was elected to the United States Senate in New Jersey at the same time that a presidential candidate of the opposite party won New Jersey.

1988 United States Senate election in New Jersey
← 1982 November 8, 1988 1994 →
 
Nominee Frank Lautenberg Pete Dawkins
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,599,905 1,349,937
Percentage 53.55% 45.18%
Lautenberg:      50–60%      60–70%      80–90%
Dawkins:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
U.S. senator before election

Frank Lautenberg
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Frank Lautenberg
Democratic

Background edit

Businessman Frank Lautenberg was elected in 1982 in a hard-fought, come-from-behind upset victory over U.S. Representative Millicent Fenwick. Given his narrow victory and low name recognition, New Jersey Republicans eagerly targeted his seat as a potential victory. Popular second-term Governor Thomas Kean led the efforts to recruit a challenger.[1]

Democratic primary edit

Candidates edit

Campaign edit

Senator Lautenberg formally launched his re-election campaign in April.[2] He ignored his primary opponents, instead focusing on the general election and Pete Dawkins.[3]

Results edit

1988 Democratic U.S. Senate primary[4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Frank Lautenberg (incumbent) 326,072 77.76%
Democratic Elnardo J. Webster 51,938 12.39%
Democratic Harold J. Young 41,303 9.85%
Total votes 419,313 100.00%

Republican primary edit

Candidates edit

Declined edit

Campaign edit

In 1987, Governor Thomas Kean recruited Pete Dawkins to move from New York City to Rumson, New Jersey in order to campaign as a Republican for Senate. Kean served as Dawkins's campaign chair.[5] Efforts to recruit Dawkins were paired with efforts to persuade Commissioner of Community Affairs Leonard S. Coleman Jr. against running; Coleman was a personal friend of the Governor and was the early favorite to challenge Lautenberg.[1][6]

Pete Dawkins announced his campaign on March 1 with the enthusiastic endorsement of Governor Kean. At his campaign announcement, Kean praised Dawkins as "the only West Point cadet in history to be the Captain of Cadets, president of his class, captain of the football team and finish in the top 5 percent of his class, and, by the way, pick up a Heisman Trophy and Rhodes Scholarship on the side." Dawkins pledged support for giving a presidential line-item veto and a "sweeping reform" of the federal budget process, while favoring budget cuts, including cuts to military spending, over tax increases.[7]

On April 19, President Reagan appeared and spoke at a pre-primary fundraising dinner for Dawkins in Washington D.C., where Dawkins presented Reagan with a football signed by many Heisman Trophy winners.[8]

Results edit

Dawkins was unopposed in the primary.

1988 Republican U.S. Senate primary[4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Pete Dawkins 155,886 100.00%
Total votes 155,886 100.00%

General election edit

Candidates edit

  • Pete Dawkins, financial executive and retired U.S. Army brigadier general (Republican)
  • Thomas A. Fiske (Socialist Workers)
  • Joseph F. Job, Bergen County Sheriff and candidate for U.S. Senate in 1970 (Independent)
  • Frank Lautenberg, incumbent U.S. Senator since 1983 (Democratic)
  • Jerry Zeldin (Libertarian)

Campaign edit

With no serious primary threat, Lautenberg and Dawkins targeted each other from early March. Both candidates being political moderates, the campaign quickly turned personal.[5] On the day of Dawkins's campaign announcement, Lautenberg pointed out that he was a lifelong New Jerseyan, while Dawkins had moved to the state to run for Senate. Dawkins responded, "The important thing is not where we were born, but who we are, what our vision for the state is, and how we intend to act in the United States Senate."[7] Lautenberg's carpetbagging accusation was a theme throughout the campaign.[9] Dawkins aimed to tie himself to the popular Governor Kean, while Lautenberg leaned on his relationship with New Jersey's more popular senior Senator, Bill Bradley.[5]

The campaign was full of political mudslinging. In addition to his carpetbagging accusation, Lautenberg's campaign also accused Dawkins's of lying about his war record.[10] Dawkins accused Lautenberg of running a smear campaign, called him a "swamp dog",[11] and criticized him for saying he voted eight times against a senatorial pay raise without mentioning the fact that he did vote once for the pay raise.[10]

Paul Begala and James Carville consulted for the Lautenberg campaign, while Roger Stone consulted for Dawkins. Stone called Dawkins “the biggest thing to hit New Jersey since Bill Bradley.”[6]

Polling edit

Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[b]		 Margin
of error 		Frank
Lautenberg (D) 		Pete
Dawkins (R) 		Other/
Undecided
Rutgers-Eagleton Poll Jan. 29–Feb. 8, 1988 575 LV ±4.2% 45% 16% 39%
Rutgers-Eagleton Poll May 18–26, 1988 611 LV ±4.0% 45% 28% 27%
Rutgers-Eagleton Poll September 16–22, 1988 765 LV ±3.5% 53% 32% 16%
Rutgers-Eagleton Poll October 17–25, 1988 774 RV ±3.5% 50% 38% 12%
627 LV ±4.0% 50% 39% 11%
Rutgers-Eagleton Poll November 3–6, 1988 1,183 RV ±2.9% 49% 38% 13%
954 LV ±3.3% 51% 39% 10%
  1. ^ Only top two candidates
  2. ^ Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear

Results edit

United States Senate election in New Jersey, 1988[12][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Frank Lautenberg (incumbent) 1,599,905 53.55%   2.61
Republican Pete Dawkins 1,349,937 45.18%   2.57
Independent Joseph F. Job 20,091 0.67% N/A
Libertarian Jerry Zeldin 12,354 0.41%   0.04
Socialist Workers Thomas A. Fiske 5,347 0.18%   0.01
Majority 249,968 8.37%
Total votes 2,987,634 100.00%
Democratic hold

By county edit

County Lautenberg % Lautenberg votes Dawkins % Dawkins votes Other % Other votes
Atlantic 54.7% 41,004 44.6% 33,417 0.7% 493
Bergen 52.6% 199,195 45.5% 172,257 1.9% 7,291
Burlington 52.0% 75,513 47.3% 68,657 0.6% 929
Camden 59.1% 110,718 40.1% 75,162 0.8% 1,438
Cape May 46.6% 19,720 52.8% 22,349 0.5% 223
Cumberland 55.4% 25,379 42.9% 19,680 1.7% 771
Essex 65.0% 170,591 32.4% 85,169 2.6% 6,855
Gloucester 53.4% 46,247 42.9% 39,232 1.7% 1,055
Hudson 61.7% 108,355 37.0% 65,092 1.3% 2,270
Hunterdon 41.1% 18,281 57.6% 25,615 1.2% 544
Mercer 61.8% 80,569 37.7% 49,122 0.6% 724
Middlesex 55.1% 141,067 43.8% 112,182 1.1% 2,796
Monmouth 50.8% 117,063 48.3% 111,318 0.8% 1,906
Morris 43.0% 79,237 56.4% 103,843 0.6% 1,057
Ocean 46.0% 84,812 53.2% 98,161 0.8% 1,512
Passaic 52.7% 77,827 45.0% 66,440 2.4% 3,512
Salem 48.8% 12,485 49.1% 12,562 2.1% 534
Somerset 46.4% 47,648 52.5% 53,969 1.1% 1,138
Sussex 38.4% 19,035 60.4% 29,909 1.2% 613
Union 55.0% 109,852 44.1% 88,027 0.9% 1,775
Warren 45.8% 15,307 53.2% 17,774 1.1% 356

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Sullivan, Joseph F. (March 29, 1987). "POLITICS; SENATE RACE IS BEGINNING TO WARM UP". The New York Times. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  2. ^ AP (April 26, 1988). "Lautenberg Opens Drive for Re-election". The New York Times. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  3. ^ Sullivan, Joseph F. (May 16, 1988). "Mud and Money Ready in Jersey Race". The New York Times. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  4. ^ a b "1988 U.S. Senate Primary Results" (PDF).
  5. ^ a b c Sullivan, Joseph F. (March 6, 1988). "THE REGION: The Dawkins Challenge; 2 American Dreams Are On Display in Jersey Race". The New York Times. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  6. ^ a b Wildstein, David (January 17, 2022). "New Jersey GOP could have had a Black senator 34 years ago, but they went in a different direction". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  7. ^ a b Sullivan, Joseph F. (March 1, 1988). "Dawkins Announces Race for Senate". The New York Times. p. B6. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  8. ^ "President Reagan's Remarks at Campaign Fundraising Reception for Pete Dawkins on April 19, 1988". YouTube.
  9. ^ Otterbourg, Robert (June 26, 1988). "NEW JERSEY OPINION; Carpetbagging is Not a Real Issue". The New York Times. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
  10. ^ a b Povich, Elaine S. (October 20, 1988). "New Jersey Senate Race A Mudslide". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
  11. ^ May, Clifford D. (October 26, 1988). "For Senate Rivals in Jersey, It's Personal". New York Times. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
  12. ^ "Our Campaigns - NJ US Senate Race - Nov 08, 1988".
  13. ^ "Votes Cast for United States Senator at the General Election held November 8, 1988" (PDF). NJ.gov. Retrieved September 6, 2023.

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