The 1996 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held on November 5, 1996. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Bill Bradley decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth term. The seat was won by Democratic congressman

Robert Torricelli Robert Guy Torricelli (born August 27, 1951), is an American attorney and former politician. A Democrat, Torricelli served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey's 9th district from 1983 to 1997 and as a United States s ...

Democratic primary

Candidates

, U.S. Representative from Englewood

Declined

* Bill Bradley, incumbent Senator since 1979

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

* Richard DuHaime, Passaic County Freeholder * Dick LaRossa, State Senator from Ewing *

Dick Zimmer Richard Alan Zimmer (born August 16, 1944) is an American Republican Party (United States), Republican Party politician from New Jersey, who served in both houses of the New Jersey Legislature and in the United States House of Representatives. H ...

, U.S. Representative from Delaware Township

Campaign

Zimmer was the front-runner from the start, getting endorsements from Republican leaders across the state, including Gov. Christine Todd Whitman. Both DuHaime, a

pro-life Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respon ...

candidate, and La Rossa, a pro-gun candidate, attempted to portray Zimmer as too liberal, but Zimmer largely ignored his opponents and won the primary easily.

Results

General election

Candidates

(D), U.S. Representative *

(R), U.S. Representative

Campaign

Democratic U.S. Representative

won his party's primary unopposed, and Republican U.S. Representative

won his party's nomination easily. Torricelli defeated Zimmer in the general election by 10 points, while President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

simultaneously carried New Jersey by almost 18% in his reelection bid. Third-party and independent candidates carried 4.8% of the vote. Like other Democratic candidates around the country, Torricelli tried to tie "Zig-Zag Zimmer" to House Speaker Newt Gingrich and attacked him for flip flopping on his positions on issues like Medicare, gun control and an increase in the minimum wage during the campaign. Zimmer tried to cast his opponent as a tax-and-spend liberal with ethical flaws. Military morale was also a part of the campaign.

Polling

Results

References

{{United States elections, 1996

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

1996

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declined

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Campaign

Results

General election

Candidates

Campaign

Polling

Results

See also

References