2002 United States Senate election in New Jersey
The 2002 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held on November 5, 2002. The race was to originally feature Democrat Robert Torricelli against former West Windsor Township mayor Douglas Forrester, who had won the Republican nomination. Torricelli had won the seat when former Senator Bill Bradley elected not to run for a fourth term in 1996.
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Torricelli, however, had been the target of an ethics probe and eventually dropped out of the race in late September 2002. Democrats sought to replace him with Frank Lautenberg, who had been the state's senior senator before retiring from New Jersey's other Senate seat at the end of the 106th United States Congress.
After legal proceedings aimed at forcing Torricelli's name to remain on the ballot were filed by Forrester's campaign, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that Lautenberg could remain on the ballot.
In the general election, Lautenberg defeated Forrester by a 9.9% margin, winning a fourth, non-consecutive term as a U.S. senator. At 78, Lautenberg became the oldest non-incumbent to win a Senate election.[1] Lautenberg became the state's junior senator for the second time when he was sworn in on January 3, 2003. (Jon Corzine, who was elected to Lautenberg's old Senate seat, became the senior senator in 2003 as Lautenberg's previous eighteen years in the Senate were not counted as he was starting over.)
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Robert Torricelli, incumbent U.S. Senator
Although Torricelli would later withdraw from the race, he was unopposed for the Democratic nomination on June 4.
Republican primary
Candidates
- Diane Allen, State Senator
- Doug Forrester, former Mayor of West Windsor
- John J. Matheussen, State Senator
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Doug Forrester | 97,275 | 44.56% | |
| Republican | Diane Allen | 80,476 | 36.87% | |
| Republican | John J. Matheussen | 40,549 | 18.58% | |
| Total votes | 218,300 | 100.00% | ||
General election
Campaign
Torricelli dropped out of the race on September 30 due to ethical problems and poor poll numbers against Forrester, a relatively unknown opponent.[3] The New Jersey Democratic Party convinced the retired Lautenberg to join the race after Torricelli dropped out. In the case of The New Jersey Democratic Party v. Samson, 175 N.J. 178 (2002), Forrester sued to stop Democratic Party efforts to have Lautenberg replace Torricelli. The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled unanimously on October 2 that the party could switch Lautenberg's name in for Sen. Torricelli's on the ballot.[4] Forrester received the endorsement of President George W. Bush.[5]
- Complete video of debate, September 5, 2002
- Complete video of debate, September 12, 2002
- Complete video of debate, October 30, 2002
- Complete video of debate, November 2, 2002
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[6] | Lean D | November 4, 2002 |
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[lower-alpha 1] |
Margin of error |
Bob Torricelli (D) |
Doug Forrester (R) |
Other / Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quinnipiac[7] | March 2002 | 1,005 RV | ±3.1% | 51% | 27% | 21% |
| Quinnipiac[8] | June 2002 | ? | ? | 44% | 36% | 20% |
| Rutgers-Eagleton | June 5–9, 2002 | 626 RV | ±4.0% | 43% | 29% | 21% |
| Quinnipiac[8] | July 31–August 6, 2002 | 978 RV | ±3.3% | 37% | 37% | 26% |
| Torricelli internal[8] | August 2002 | ? LV | ? | 40% | 40% | 20% |
| Forrester internal[8] | August 19, 2002 | ? LV | ? | 35% | 47% | 18% |
| SurveyUSA[8] | August 21, 2002 | 978 RV | ±3.3% | 37% | 48% | 15% |
| Rutgers-Eagleton | September 3–8, 2002 | 537 LV | ±4.0% | 37% | 33% | 30% |
| Rutgers-Eagleton | September 18–25, 2002 | 547 RV | 34% | 41% | 26% | |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[lower-alpha 1] |
Margin of error |
Frank Lautenberg (D) |
Doug Forrester (R) |
Other / Undecided |
| Rutgers-Eagleton | October 3–6, 2002 | 530 LV | ±4.5% | 42% | 37% | 21% |
| Rutgers-Eagleton | October 13–17, 2002 | 793 RV | ±3.5% | 44% | 35% | 22% |
| NYT–CBS News[9] | October 19–24, 2002 | 772 RV | ±? | 46% | 39% | 21%[lower-alpha 2] |
| SurveyUSA | October 27–29, 2002 | 732 (LV) | ± 3.7% | 51% | 41% | 8% |
| Rutgers-Eagleton | October 27–31, 2002 | 909 RV | ±3.5% | 51% | 34% | 14% |
| 458 LV | ±3.5% | 52% | 40% | 8% |
- with Diane Allen
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Robert Torricelli (D) |
Diane Allen (R) |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quinnipiac[7] | March 2002 | 1,005 RV | ±3.1% | 49% | 30% | 21% |
- with Guy Gregg
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Robert Torricelli (D) |
Guy Gregg (R) |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quinnipiac[7] | March 2002 | 1,005 RV | ±3.1% | 52% | 26% | 22% |
- with John Mattheussen
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Robert Torricelli (D) |
John Mattheussen (R) |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quinnipiac[7] | March 2002 | 1,005 RV | ±3.1% | 52% | 28% | 20% |
- with James Treffinger
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Robert Torricelli (D) |
James Treffinger (R) |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quinnipiac[7] | March 2002 | 1,005 RV | ±3.1% | 51% | 27% | 22% |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Frank Lautenberg | 1,138,193 | 53.88% | ||
| Republican | Doug Forrester | 928,439 | 43.95% | ||
| Green | Ted Glick | 24,308 | 1.15% | ||
| Libertarian | Elizabeth Macron | 12,558 | 0.59% | ||
| Conservative | Norman E. Wahner | 6,404 | 0.30% | ||
| Socialist | Greg Pason | 2,702 | 0.13% | ||
| Total votes | 2,112,604 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
See also
Notes
- Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear - 5% were for "other candidates."
References
- Would Ted Strickland be the oldest freshman senator ever elected? Here's his competition.. Vox. 25 February 2015.
- "NJ US Senate - R Primary". OurCampaigns.
- https://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/torricelli_09-30-02.html%5B%5D
- https://www.pbs.org/newshour/vote2002/races/nj_senate.html%5B%5D
- Remarks by the President at Doug Forrester for Senate Event, White House press release dated September 23, 2002
- "Senate Races". www.centerforpolitics.org. November 4, 2002. Archived from the original on November 18, 2002. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
- Peterson, Iver (10 Mar 2002). "Latest Polling Figures Give Diane Allen a Ray of Hope". The New York Times. p. NJ2.
- Mansnerus, Laura (22 Aug 2002). "Polls Suggest Torricelli Has An Even Race". The New York Times. p. B1.
- Kocieniewski, David; Connelly, Marjorie (26 Oct 2002). "Democrats Stronger with Lautenberg, Poll Shows". The New York Times. p. B1.