1977_New_Jersey_State_Senate_election

1977 New Jersey State Senate elections
All 40 seats in the New Jersey State Senate; 21 seats needed for a majority
	Results by district; Democratic hold Democratic gain; Republican hold Republican gain
Senate President before election; Matthew Feldman; Democratic	Elected Senate President ; Joseph P. Merlino; Democratic

1977 New Jersey Senate election

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The 1977 New Jersey State Senate election coincided with Brendan Byrne's re-election to a second term as Governor of New Jersey.

Quick Facts All 40 seats in the New Jersey State Senate 21 seats needed for a majority, Majority party ...

The election coincided with Governor Brendan Byrne's re-election over Senator Raymond Bateman. Byrne narrowly survived a primary election which eliminated seven incumbent Democratic Senators. Despite the intra-party division and early polls indicating Byrne was an underdog in the general election, Byrne survived and the Democrats preserved their large majority in the Senate, losing just one seat on aggregate.^[1] This is the last time Democrats held a veto-proof majority in the chamber.

Democrats chose Joseph P. Merlino as the Senate President and Carmen Orechio as Majority Leader; Republicans named Garrett Hagedorn as Minority Leader.^[2]

Contents
Incumbents not running • Summary of results
By District: 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 • 29 • 30 • 31 • 32 • 33 • 34 • 35 • 36 • 37 • 38 • 39 • 40

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This article uses material from the Wikipedia article 1977_New_Jersey_State_Senate_election, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[3] Errichetti, who was also mayor of Camden, was chosen to succeed Senator John J. Horn in 1976. Horn joined Governor Byrne's cabinet as Commissioner of Labor and Industry.

[4] Senator Anne Clark Martindell resigned on May 17 to join the Jimmy Carter administration.

[1] [1]
Fitzgerald's New Jersey Legislative Manual. Joseph J. Gribbons. 1976.

[2] [2]
Fitzgerald's New Jersey Legislative Manual. Joseph J. Gribbons. 1978.

[:0-5] [3]
"Results of the General Election" (PDF). New Jersey Division of Elections. State of New Jersey. Retrieved December 4, 2014.

[6] [4]
Janson, Donald (March 5, 1977). "Perskie Likely to Oppose mcgahn in Senate Race". New York Times.

[:1-7] [5]
"Our Campaigns".

[:2-8] [6]
"Results of the Primary Election" (PDF). New Jersey Division of Elections. State of New Jersey. Retrieved December 4, 2014.

[9] [7]
NARVAEZ, ALFONSO A. (October 17, 1977). "Democrats Running Strong in Campaigns in 13th, 17th and 21st Districts". New York Times.

[:4-10] [8]
"Our Campaigns". Retrieved December 4, 2014.

[:5-11] [9]
"Our Campaigns". Retrieved December 4, 2014.

[:3-12] [10]
"Results of the General Election" (PDF). New Jersey Division of Elections. State of New Jersey. Retrieved December 4, 2014.

[13] [11]
NARVAEZ, ALFONSO A. (October 10, 1977). "G.O.P. Expected to Maintain Strength In Morris, Union and Essex Counties". New York Times.

[14] [12]
"Results of the General Election" (PDF). New Jersey Division of Elections. State of New Jersey. Retrieved December 4, 2014.

[Our_Campaigns-15] [13]
"Our Campaigns". Retrieved December 4, 2014.

[16] [14]
"Our Campaigns". Retrieved December 4, 2014.

[1977results-17] [15]
"Results of the General Election Held November 8, 1977" (PDF). Retrieved June 26, 2021.

[1977GenElec-18] [16]
"Candidates for the Offices of State Senate and General Assembly" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. 1977. p. 9. Retrieved July 26, 2015.

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District	Incumbent		Elected Senator
1st Legislative District	James Cafiero	Rep	James Cafiero	Rep
2nd Legislative District	Joseph McGahn	Dem	Steven P. Perskie	Dem
3rd Legislative District	Raymond Zane	Dem	Raymond Zane	Dem
4th Legislative District	Joseph A. Maressa	Dem	Joseph A. Maressa	Dem
5th Legislative District	Angelo Errichetti^{[lower-alpha 1]}	Dem	Angelo Errichetti	Dem
6th Legislative District	Alene Ammond	Dem	Lee B. Laskin	Rep
7th Legislative District	Edward J. Hughes	Dem	Charles B. Yates	Dem
8th Legislative District	Barry T. Parker	Rep	Barry T. Parker	Rep
9th Legislative District	John F. Russo	Dem	John F. Russo	Dem
10th Legislative District	Herbert J. Buehler	Dem	Brian T. Kennedy	Rep
11th Legislative District	Alfred N. Beadleston	Rep	S. Thomas Gagliano	Rep
12th Legislative District	Eugene J. Bedell	Dem	Eugene J. Bedell	Dem
13th Legislative District	Joseph P. Merlino	Dem	Joseph P. Merlino	Dem
14th Legislative District	Vacant^{[lower-alpha 2]}		Walter E. Foran	Rep
15th Legislative District	Wayne Dumont	Rep	Wayne Dumont	Rep
16th Legislative District	Raymond Bateman	Rep	John H. Ewing	Rep
17th Legislative District	John A. Lynch Sr.	Dem	William J. Hamilton	Dem
18th Legislative District	Bernard Dwyer	Dem	Bernard Dwyer	Dem
19th Legislative District	John Fay	Dem	Laurence Weiss	Dem
20th Legislative District	Alexander J. Menza	Dem	Anthony E. Russo	Dem
21st Legislative District	Thomas G. Dunn	Dem	John Gregorio	Dem
22nd Legislative District	Peter J. McDonough	Rep	Peter J. McDonough	Rep
23rd Legislative District	Stephen B. Wiley	Dem	John H. Dorsey	Rep
24th Legislative District	James P. Vreeland	Rep	James P. Vreeland	Rep
25th Legislative District	James Wallwork	Rep	James Wallwork	Rep
26th Legislative District	Frank J. Dodd	Dem	Frank J. Dodd	Dem
27th Legislative District	Carmen Orechio	Dem	Carmen Orechio	Dem
28th Legislative District	Martin L. Greenberg	Dem	Martin L. Greenberg	Dem
29th Legislative District	Wynona Lipman	Dem	Wynona Lipman	Dem
30th Legislative District	Anthony Imperiale	Ind	Frank E. Rodgers	Dem
31st Legislative District	James P. Dugan	Dem	Wally Sheil	Dem
32nd Legislative District	Joseph W. Tumulty	Dem	David Friedland	Dem
33rd Legislative District	William Musto	Dem	William Musto	Dem
34th Legislative District	Joseph Hirkala	Dem	Joseph Hirkala	Dem
35th Legislative District	Frank Davenport	Rep	Frank X. Graves Jr.	Dem
36th Legislative District	Anthony Scardino	Dem	Anthony Scardino	Dem
37th Legislative District	Matthew Feldman	Dem	Matthew Feldman	Dem
38th Legislative District	John Skevin	Dem	John Skevin	Dem
39th Legislative District	Raymond Garramone	Dem	Frank Herbert	Dem
40th Legislative District	Garrett Hagedorn	Rep	Garrett Hagedorn	Rep

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	James Cafiero (incumbent)	35,416	62.0%	3.7
	Democratic	Frank Kneiser	21,702	38.0%	3.7
Total votes			57,118	100.00%

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Steven P. Perskie	31,712	47.9%	7.2
	Republican	F. Frederick Perone	20,160	30.5%	14.4
	Re-Elect, Experience, Integrity	Joseph McGahn (incumbent)	14,288	21.6%	N/A
Total votes			66,160	100.00%

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Raymond Zane (incumbent)	37,199	65.8%	14.1
	Republican	Robert C. Hendrickson, Jr.	19,328	34.2%	14.1
Total votes			56,527	100.00%

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joseph A. Maressa (incumbent)	35,736	65.0%	1.2
	Republican	Walter C. Gebelein	19,248	35.0%	1.2
Total votes			54,984	100.00%

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Angelo Errichetti (incumbent)	27,352	69.4%	9.1
	Republican	Ernest J. Merlino	12,078	30.6%	6.2
Total votes			39,430	100.00%

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Lee B. Laskin	29,823	52.1	5.3
	Democratic	Victor Pachter	27,449	47.9	5.3
Total votes			57,272	100.00%

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Charles B. Yates	30,793	59.5%	1.6
	Republican	Michael J. Conda	20,971	40.5%	1.1
Total votes			51,764	100.00%

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Barry T. Parker (incumbent)	30,042	55.4%	2.6
	Democratic	Charles H. Ryan	24,168	44.6%	2.6
Total votes			54,210	100.00%

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John F. Russo (incumbent)	53,309	63.7%	9.2
	Republican	James J. Mancini	28,673	34.3%	11.2
	Libertarian	Leonard T. Flynn	1,153	1.4%	N/A
	Independent	Donald Knause	494	0.6%	N/A
Total votes			83,629	100.00%

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Brian T. Kennedy	29,059	54.3%	9.4
	Democratic	Herbert J. Buehler (incumbent)	23,990	44.8%	10.3
	Let's Work Together	Franco DiDomenica	502	0.9%	N/A
Total votes			53,551	100.00%

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	S. Thomas Gagliano	30,452	54.5%	0.4
	Democratic	Arthur Goldzweig	24,398	43.7%	2.2
	Libertarian	Anne Caroline Riecker	567	1.0%	N/A
	Independent	Joseph Rembisz, Jr.	477	0.9%	N/A
Total votes			55,894	100.00%

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Eugene J. Bedell (incumbent)	28,391	53.6%	5.2
	Republican	Joseph Azzolina	21,877	41.3%	6.1
	Independent	Eileen Lloyd	2,435	4.6%	N/A
	Libertarian	Jack Moyers	261	0.5%	N/A
Total votes			52,964	100.00%

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joseph P. Merlino (incumbent)	33,757	69.6%	4.8
	Republican	Harry L. Dearden	14,776	30.4%	4.8
Total votes			48,533	100.00%

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Walter E. Foran (incumbent)	33,556	56.8%	8.3
	Democratic	Peter J. Bearse	25,504	43.2%	8.3
Total votes			59,060	100.00%

1977 general election^[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	William J. Hamilton, Jr.	26,343	59.7%	11.0
	Republican	Peter J. Selesky	16,183	36.7%	8.3
	Independent Candidate	Walter Jinotti	985	2.2%	N/A
	Repeal Income Tax	Edward J. McGlynn	638	1.4%	N/A
Total votes			44,149	100.00%

1977 general election^[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Laurence S. Weiss	30,474	65.9%	12.7
	Republican	Raymond J. Freid	15,390	33.3%	11.9
	U.S. Labor	Michael R. Leppig	396	0.9%	N/A
Total votes			46,260	100.00%

1977 general election^[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Anthony E. Russo	30,057	50.8	5.5
	Republican	Frank X. McDermott	29,067	49.2	6.0
Total votes			59,124	100.00%

1977 general election^[16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John T. Gregorio	20,255	46.9%	15.8
	Re-elect Experience, Courage	Thomas G. Dunn (incumbent)	13,932	32.2%	N/A
	Republican	Robert T. Walsh	8,005	18.5%	16.0
	Repeal Income Tax	Rocco J. Gallo	1,023	2.4%	N/A
Total votes			43,215	100.00%

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Wayne Dumont (incumbent)	35,268	60.7%	5.7
	Democratic	Joseph J. Keslo	22,815	39.3%	5.7
Total votes			58,083	100.00%

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	John H. Ewing	38,772	65.2%	1.2
	Democratic	Kenneth L. Hetrick	20,654	34.8%	1.2
Total votes			59,426	100.00%

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Bernard J. Dwyer (incumbent)	34,144	57.6%	5.6
	Republican	S. Elliott Mayo	23,803	40.2%	3.4
	Independent	Edward R. Gavarny	1,281	2.2%	N/A
Total votes			59,228	100.00%

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Peter McDonough (incumbent)	28,669	55.2%	2.9
	Democratic	Harry P. Pappas	22,032	42.5%	5.2
	An Independent Choice	John J. Carone	1,198	2.3%	N/A
Total votes			51,899	100.00%

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	John H. Dorsey	30,882	54.3%	7.4
	Democratic	Stephen B. Wiley (incumbent)	25,981	45.7%	7.4
Total votes			56,863	100.0

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	James P. Vreeland	34,694	67.1%	14.5
	Democratic	Norma K. Herzfeld	17,036	32.9%	14.5
Total votes			51,730	100.00%

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	James Wallwork	35,517	60.6%	6.4
	Democratic	Lewis J. Paper	23,096	39.4%	6.4
Total votes			58,613	100.00%

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Frank J. Dodd	27,293	75.0%	0.1
	Republican	Nancy Jane Schron	8,847	24.3%	0.6
	Libertarian	Kenneth R. Kaplan	250	0.7%	N/A
Total votes			36,390	100.00%

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Carmen A. Orechio	25,773	50.9%	2.2
	Republican	John N. Dennis	24,855	49.1%	2.2
Total votes			50,628	100.00%

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Martin L. Greenberg	16,986	57.8%	2.5
	Republican	James A. Pindar	11,399	38.8%	2.0
	Income Tax Referendum	Nicholas T. Fernicola	770	2.6%	N/A
	Jobs, Equality, Peace	Charles E. Cascone	234	0.8%	N/A
Total votes			29,389	100.00%

1977_New_Jersey_State_Senate_election

Incumbents not running for re-election

Democratic

Republican

Summary of results by district

Close races

Incumbents defeated

In primary elections

Democratic

In general elections

Democratic

Independent

Open seats

Democratic holds

Democratic gains

Republican holds

Republican gains

District 1

District 2

District 3

District 4

District 5

District 6

District 7

District 8

District 9

District 10

District 11

District 12

District 13

District 14

District 15

District 16

District 17

District 18

District 19

District 20

District 21

District 22

District 23

District 24

District 25

District 26

District 27

District 28

District 29

District 30

District 31

District 32

District 33

District 34

District 35

District 36

District 37

District 38

District 39

District 40

References

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Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Wynona Lipman	16,037	90.6%	6.8
	Republican	Manuel Angel Colon	1,658	9.4%	6.8
Total votes			17,695	100.00%

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Frank E. Rodgers	20,081	48.0%	11.6
	Anti-Tax Candidate	Anthony Imperiale	14,771	35.3%	14.0
	Republican	Harry J. Romeo	6,946	16.6%	2.4
Total votes			41,798	100.00%

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Wally Sheil	26,872	70.6%	8.9
	Republican	Edward T. Magee	11,191	29.4%	8.9
Total votes			38,063	100.00%

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	David Friedland	26,813	67.5%	7.2
	Republican	Joseph W. Gallagher	11,817	29.8%	6.9
	Politicians Are Crooks	Herbert H. Shaw	1,082	2.7%	N/A
Total votes			39,712	'100.00%'

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	William Musto	25,270	71.8%	6.2
	Republican	Michael A. Litzas	7,244	20.6%	1.4
	Repeal Income Tax	William J. Meehan	1,719	4.9%	N/A
	For The People	Eulalio Jose Negrin	966	2.7%	N/A
Total votes			35,199	'100.00%'

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joseph Hirkala	28,628	69.6%	5.7
	Republican	Herman Schmidt	12,484	30.4%	5.7
Total votes			41,112	100.00

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Frank X. Graves Jr.	17,005	56.2%	6.3
	Republican	Alfred E. Fontanella	12,193	40.3%	9.8
	Tax Revolt Independent	Joseph S. Long	547	1.8%	N/A
	Independent Progressive Conservative	Roy L. Ward	500	1.7%	N/A
Total votes			30,245	'100.00%'

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Anthony Scardino	31,466	63.9%	1.9
	Republican	Harold A. Pareti	17,805	36.1%	0.7
Total votes			49,271	100.00%

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Matthew Feldman (incumbent)	31,945	59.0%	0.4
	Republican	William C. Clark	21,723	40.1%	0.7
	Communist	Magnus Nelson	492	0.9%	N/A
Total votes			54,160	'100.00%'

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John Skevin (incumbent)	24,629	56.1%	1.5
	Republican	Frank A. Buono, Jr.	19,289	43.9%	1.5
Total votes			43,918	'100.00%'