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1955 New Jersey Senate election

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The 1955 New Jersey State Senate elections were held on November 8.

1955 New Jersey Senate elections
← 1953 November 8, 1955 1957 →
10 of the 21 seats in the New Jersey State Senate
11 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party
 
Party Republican Democratic
Seats before 17 4
Seats won 14 7
Seat change Decrease 3 Increase 3
Seats up 9 1
Races won 6 4
Senate President before election


Republican

Elected Senate President


Republican

The elections took place midway through the first term of Governor Robert Meyner. Eleven of New Jersey's 21 counties held regular elections for Senator. The Democratic Party gained Camden, Essex and Salem counties.

Incumbents not running for re-election

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Democratic

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  • Bernard W. Vogel (Middlesex)

Republican

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Summary of results by county

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County Incumbent Party Elected Senator Party
Atlantic Frank S. Farley Rep No election
Bergen Walter H. Jones Rep No election
Burlington Albert McCay Rep Albert McCay Rep
Camden Bruce A. Wallace Rep Joseph W. Cowgill Dem
Cape May Anthony Cafiero Rep Charles W. Sandman Rep
Cumberland W. Howard Sharp Dem No election
Essex Mark Anton[a] Rep Donal C. Fox Dem
Gloucester Harold W. Hannold Rep Harold W. Hannold Rep
Hudson James F. Murray Jr. Dem No election
Hunterdon Wesley Lance Rep No election
Mercer Sido Ridolfi Dem No election
Middlesex Bernard W. Vogel Dem John A. Lynch Sr. Dem
Monmouth Richard R. Stout Rep Richard R. Stout Rep
Morris Thomas J. Hillery Rep No election
Ocean W. Steelman Mathis Rep No election
Passaic Frank W. Shershin Rep No election
Salem John M. Summerill Jr. Rep John A. Waddington Dem
Somerset Malcolm Forbes Rep Malcolm Forbes Rep
Sussex George B. Harper Rep No election
Union Kenneth Hand Rep Kenneth Hand Rep
Warren Wayne Dumont Rep Wayne Dumont Rep
  1. ^ Anton succeeded Senator Alfred C. Clapp, who resigned in 1953 after he was appointed to the New Jersey Superior Court.

Close races

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Seats where the margin of victory was under 10%:

  1. Camden, 0.26% gain
  2. Somerset, 0.94%
  3. Essex, 3.35% gain
  4. Salem, 6.14% gain
  5. Warren, 8.00%
  6. Union, 9.33%

Burlington

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1955 general election[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Albert McCay (incumbent) 24,219 55.77%
Democratic Edward J. Hulse 19,206 44.23%
Total votes 43,425 100.0%

Camden

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1955 general election[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Joseph W. Cowgill 54,683 50.02%
Republican William G. Rohrer 54,393 49.76%
Socialist Labor Robert G. Howell 240 0.22%
Total votes 109,316 100.0%

Cape May

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1955 general election[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Charles W. Sandman 12,747 73.82%
Democratic William E. Sturm 4,520 26.18%
Total votes 17,267 100.0%

Essex

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Republican primary

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Candidates

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  • Mark Anton, incumbent Senator since 1953 and founder of Suburban Propane Gas Company[2]
  • William O. Barnes, Assemblyman from South Orange[2]

Campaign

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Barnes challenged Anton and the county party establishment with a "Good Government" ticket that included four incumbent Assembly members.[2] They were defeated in a rancourous primary, and Barnes lost by about 3,222 votes.[2]

General election

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1955 general election[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Donal C. Fox 118,950 51.11%
Republican Mark Anton (incumbent) 111,141 47.76%
Independent James R. Golden 2,062 0.89%
Socialist Labor Frank DeGeorge 572 0.25%
Total votes 232,725 100.0%

Gloucester

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1955 general election[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Harold W. Hannold (incumbent) 20,658 56.75%
Democratic Thomas F. Connery Jr. 15,742 43.25%
Total votes 36,400 100.0%

Middlesex

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1955 general election[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic John A. Lynch 68,385 64.07%
Republican Joseph H. Edgar 38,356 35.93%
Total votes 106,741 100.0%

Monmouth

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1955 general election[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Richard R. Stout (incumbent) 43,889 64.09%
Democratic Thomas J. Smith 24,588 35.91%
Total votes 68,477 100.0%

Salem

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1955 general election[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic John A. Waddington 9,836 53.05%
Republican John M. Summerill Jr. (incumbent) 8,698 46.91%
Socialist Labor Marvin Ronis 6 0.03%
Total votes 18,540 100.0%

Somerset

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General election

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Candidates

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Campaign

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In a race later dubbed the "Battle of the Billionaires,"[3][4] Malcolm Forbes narrowly defeated Charles Engelhard.

The Democratic Party targeted Forbes in an effort to stave off a challenge to Governor Meyner in 1957. Forbes, who had already run for governor in 1953 and possessed a large fortune, was expected to be able to self-fund a serious challenge to Meyner. Thus, they recruited Engelhard, a wealthy industrialist who had been a major contributor to the Democratic Party.

Although state election disclosure laws at the time did not require candidates to report spending on their own behalf, some observers as of 2013 believed this to be the most expensive state legislative contest in history.[5] Engelhard spent freely to match Forbes. Forbes owned his own local newspaper, the Messenger Gazette, so Engelhard bought out the Somerville Star to serve as his campaign bulletin.[5] At one point during the campaign, Engelhard reportedly campaigned by sailing his yacht down the Raritan River wearing a white naval uniform.[5]

Results

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1955 general election[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Malcolm Forbes (incumbent) 19,981 50.47%
Democratic Charles W. Engelhard Jr. 19,611 49.53%
Total votes 39,592 100.0%

Forbes survived a challenge and recount.[5] Engelhard reportedly felt the loss was a blessing in disguise, as it allowed him to focus his efforts on his vast industrial empire. He later became the inspiration for the James Bond villain Auric Goldfinger.[6]

Forbes ran for Governor in 1957 and secured the Republican nomination but lost to Meyner by over 200,000 votes.

Union

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1955 general election[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Kenneth Hand (incumbent) 67,290 54.10%
Democratic Robert L. Sheldon 55,689 44.77%
Independent Harry Mopsick 1,413 1.14%
Total votes 124,392 100.0%

Warren

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1955 general election[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Wayne Dumont (incumbent) 12,075 54.00%
Democratic James C. Jamieson 10,286 46.00%
Total votes 22,361 100.0%

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Results of the General Election Held November 8th, 1955" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State.
  2. ^ a b c d "Anton Beats Barnes in Essex Race". Courier-Post. Associated Press. 20 Apr 1955. p. 43. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  3. ^ Wildstein, David. "Son of former Speaker dies". NewJerseyGlobe.com. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  4. ^ Wildstein, David. "Somerset hasn't elected a Democratic state senator since 1902". NewJerseyGlobe.com. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d Donohue, Joe. "LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS 2013: BIG SPENDING, LITTLE CHANGE PLUS A HISTORY OF SELF-FINANCING BY LEGISLATORS AND OTHERS" (PDF). ELEC. State of New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  6. ^ "Charles W. Engelhard Jr. Biography". allengelhard.com. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
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