1978 United States Senate election in New Jersey
Appearance
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![]() County results Bradley:50–60%60–70%70–80% Bell:40–50%50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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Elections in New Jersey |
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The1978 United States Senate election in New Jerseywas held on November 7, 1978. Incumbent SenatorClifford P. Caseran for re-election to a fifth term in office, narrowly losing the Republican primary by anti-tax conservativeJeff Bell,who lost the general election toDemocratBill Bradley.Bell was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for this seat again in2014.
Primary electionswere held on June 6, 1978.[1]This was the first time Democrats won this seat since 1936, and the first time since 1938 that Democrats held both seats in the state.
Republican primary[edit]
Candidates[edit]
- Jeff Bell,political aide and speechwriter forRonald Reagan's 1976 presidential campaign
- Clifford P. Case,incumbentU.S. Senator
Results[edit]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/84/1978_United_States_Senate_Republican_primary_election_in_New_Jersey_results_map_by_county.svg/280px-1978_United_States_Senate_Republican_primary_election_in_New_Jersey_results_map_by_county.svg.png)
Bell
- 50-60%
- 60–70%
Case
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Jeff Bell | 118,555 | 50.74 | |
Republican | Clifford P. Case(incumbent) | 115,082 | 49.26 | |
Total votes | 233,637 | 100.00 |
Democratic primary[edit]
Candidates[edit]
- Wesley K. Bell, former Mayor ofStafford Township
- Bill Bradley,former professional basketball player
- Richard Leone,formerNew Jersey State Treasurer
- Alexander J. Menza,State SenatorfromHillside
- Kenneth C. McCarthy
- Ray Rollinson
Results[edit]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/1978_United_States_Senate_Democratic_primary_election_in_New_Jersey_results_map_by_county.svg/280px-1978_United_States_Senate_Democratic_primary_election_in_New_Jersey_results_map_by_county.svg.png)
Bradley
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
- 70–80%
Leone
- 40–50%
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Bill Bradley | 217,502 | 58.90 | |
Democratic | Richard Leone | 97,667 | 26.45 | |
Democratic | Alexander J. Menza | 32,386 | 8.77 | |
Democratic | Kenneth C. McCarthy | 9,524 | 2.58 | |
Democratic | Wesley K. Bell | 8,800 | 2.38 | |
Democratic | Ray Rollinson | 3,374 | 0.91 | |
Total votes | 369,253 | 100.00 |
General election[edit]
Candidates[edit]
- Jeff Bell, political aide and speechwriter forRonald Reagan's 1976 presidential campaign(Republican)
- Robert Bowen (Labor)
- Bill Bradley, former professional basketball player (Democratic)
- J.M. Carter (God We Trust)
- Alice Conner (Socialist Workers)
- Bill Gahres (Down With Lawyers)
- Paul Ferguson (Socialist Labor)
- Jasper C. Gould (Independent)
- Jack Moyers (Libertarian)
- Herbert H. Shaw,perennial candidate (Politicians are Crooks)
- William R. Thorn (Independent)
Polling[edit]
Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Bill Bradley (D) |
Jeffrey Bell (R) |
Other/ Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rutgers-Eagleton | May 7–16, 1978 | 793 RV | 36% | 17% | 47% |
Rutgers-Eagleton | Sept. 19–Oct. 1, 1978 | 883 RV | 49% | 24% | 27% |
Rutgers-Eagleton | October 23–29, 1978 | 946 RV | 50% | 32% | 18% |
510 LV | 51% | 40% | 9% |
- ^Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear
Hypothetical polling
- with Case
Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Clifford Case (R) |
Bill Bradley (D) |
Richard Leone (D) |
Alex Menza (D) |
Other/ Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rutgers-Eagleton | May 7–16, 1978 | 1007 A | ±4.0% | 37% | 27% | – | – | 36% |
44% | – | 24% | – | 32% | ||||
43% | – | – | 18% | 40% |
- with Bell
Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Jeffrey Bell (R) |
Richard Leone (D) |
Alex Menza (D) |
Other/ Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rutgers-Eagleton | May 7–16, 1978 | 620 LV | ±?% | 18% | 29% | – | 54% |
19% | – | 22% | 59% |
Results[edit]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Bill Bradley | 1,082,960 | 55.32% | ![]() | |
Republican | Jeff Bell | 844,200 | 43.13% | ![]() | |
Independent | Herbert H. Shaw | 4,736 | 0.24% | N/A | |
Independent | Bill Gahres | 3,817 | 0.20% | N/A | |
Libertarian | Jack Moyers | 3,809 | 0.20% | N/A | |
U.S. Labor | Robert Bowen | 3,656 | 0.19% | N/A | |
Independent | J.M. Carter | 3,618 | 0.19% | N/A | |
Independent | Jasper C. Gould | 2,955 | 0.15% | N/A | |
Independent | William R. Thorn | 2,776 | 0.14% | N/A | |
Socialist Labor | Paul Ferguson | 2,604 | 0.13% | ![]() | |
Socialist Workers | Alice Conner | 2,384 | 0.12% | N/A | |
Total votes | 1,957,515 | 100.00% | |||
DemocraticgainfromRepublican |
References[edit]
- ^abc"1978 Primary Election Results"(PDF).Secretary of State of New Jersey.1978. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on July 21, 2013.RetrievedNovember 12,2018.
- ^"1978 General Election Results"(PDF).Secretary of State of New Jersey.1978. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on March 5, 2016.RetrievedNovember 12,2018.