1990 United States Senate election in New Jersey explained

Election Name:1990 United States Senate election in New Jersey
Country:New Jersey
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:1984 United States Senate election in New Jersey
Previous Year:1984
Next Election:1996 United States Senate election in New Jersey
Next Year:1996
Election Date:November 6, 1990
Image1:File:BillBradley (cropped).jpg
Nominee1:Bill Bradley
Party1:Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:977,810
Percentage1:50.44%
Nominee2:Christine Todd Whitman
Party2:Republican Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:918,874
Percentage2:47.40%
U.S. Senator
Before Election:Bill Bradley
Before Party:Democratic Party (United States)
After Election:Bill Bradley
After Party:Democratic Party (United States)

The 1990 New Jersey United States Senate election was held on November 6, 1990, to select the Class 2 U.S. Senator from the state of New Jersey. Democratic U.S. Senator Bill Bradley decided to seek re-election and narrowly edged out little-known Republican Christine Todd Whitman.[1]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Declined

Campaign

The New Jersey Republican Party struggled to recruit a candidate to oppose Bradley, a widely popular incumbent with financial resources in a state that had not elected a Republican to the Senate since 1972,[3] although incumbent Republican President George H. W. Bush had carried the state by a wide margin in 1988 and remained highly popular.[3] The two most commonly mentioned candidates were Christine Todd Whitman, the president of the state board of public utilities, and State Senator Leanna Brown, who had raised her profile through her involvement in Jim Courter's 1989 gubernatorial campaign. Brown removed herself from consideration on February 24, leaving Whitman as the likely nominee.[2]

Bradley was expected to outspend the Republican nominee four-to-one and even Whitman admitted that the goal of the Republican campaign was not winning, but rather "show[ing] there are good credible candidates... to show there is life after Tom Kean."[4] Whitman, the daughter of former party chair Webster B. Todd, resigned from the public utilities board on March 5 and announced she would face Bradley with the support of the state party on March 13. In doing so, Whitman passed up the opportunity to run for an open U.S. House seat vacated by Jim Courter.[3] Acknowledging the uphill battle Whitman faced, Somerset party chair Jack Penn compared her odds to those of Buster Douglas, a 42:1 underdog who had knocked out Mike Tyson one month earlier.[3]

Results

General election

Candidates

Campaign

U.S. Senator Bill Bradley didn't realize he was in danger of losing re-election and the New Jersey voters' anger over taxes and economy until the week prior to the election.

In the early part of the campaign, Bradley already had a major image problem; he was comfortably ahead in the polls, so his staffers told him to play it safe. He aired television advertisements of himself walking on the beach, shooting a perfect shot on the court, and sitting back in his office with his basketball shoes on his desk. The advertisements backfired as voters were turned off and thought that he wasn't taking his job seriously, especially at a time when voters were suffering.

Another major problem with Bradley was how Democratic Governor Jim Florio implemented a $2.8 billion tax increase, hurting the state's economy. In addition, Bradley refused to answer questions pertaining to Florio's tax policies.

After Bradley realized he was in trouble, he released negative advertisements attacking Whitman's own record on taxes, accusing her of favoring tax increases when she was a Somerset County Freeholder. Bradley's image may have been further damaged by his newer advertisements.[5]

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
Bill
Bradley (D)
Christine
Whitman (R)
Other/
Undecided
Rutgers-Eagleton[6] July 2–10, 1990616 LV±4.0% align=center64%17%19%
Rutgers-EagletonSep. 24–Oct. 2, 1990613 LV±4.0% align=center56%26%18%
Rutgers-EagletonOctober 16–22, 1990532 LV±4.5% align=center62%26%12%
Rutgers-EagletonOctober 27–31, 1990987 LV±3.2% align=center55%27%18%
466 PV±4.5% align=center50%33%17%

Results

Results by County

CountyBradley votesBradley %Whitman votesWhitman %Other votesOther %
Atlantic27.90558.08%19,48140.54%6621.38%
Bergen121,02049.24%121,60049.47%3,1801.29%
Burlington46,91249.33%46,28748.67%1,9012.00%
Camden72,32856.78%52,79041.44%2,2631.78%
Cape May16,62754.11%13,52844.02%5731.86%
Cumberland18,18656.82%12,76539.89%1,0533.29%
Essex93,05261.09%56,72237.24%2,5391.67%
Gloucester35,37957.01%25,37440.89%1,3072.11%
Hudson65,24265.62%32,31132.50%1,8771.89%
Hunterdon10,84936.11%18,30960.94%8862.95%
Mercer45,03652.28%39,57045.94%1,5351.78%
Middlesex80,08049.49%77,16547.69%4,5532.81%
Monmouth74,93447.62%80,12650.92%2,2981.46%
Morris46.92840.71%66,36957.57%1,9831.72%
Ocean54,71439.90%76,94856.12%5,5473.98%
Passaic46.58%40,31243,86750.69%2,3572.72%
Salem10,08653.99%7,99942.82%5963.19%
Somerset27,50840.30%38,42656.30%2,3203.40%
Sussex12.81438.45%19,78959.37%7262.18%
Union66,71652.11%57,62845.38%3,1842.51%
Warren11,72248.72%11,82049.12%5202.16%

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 1990 . Dendy . Dallas L. . PDF.
  2. News: Brown decides against a run for U.S. Senate. 24 Feb 1990. subscription. 14 Oct 2022. Daily Record. O'Dea. Colleen. 3.
  3. News: GOP'S Whitman to Face Sen. Bradley. Hester. Tom. 13 Mar 1990. subscription. 14 Oct 2022. Central Jersey Home News. 3.
  4. News: BPU's Whitman considers challenging Bradley. 25 Feb 1990. Serrill. Ted. subscription. 14 Oct 2022. Central Jersey Home News. 13.
  5. News: THE 1990 ELECTIONS: What Went Wrong?; Bradley Says He Sensed Voter Fury but It Was Too Late to do Anything. The New York Times. 8 November 1990. King. Wayne.
  6. https://eagletonpoll.parc.us.com/client/index.html#/search Rutgers-Eagleton