The 2008 congressional elections in New Jersey were held on November 4, 2008 to determine who would represent the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

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 ...

in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

. New Jersey has thirteen seats in the House, apportioned according to the

2000 United States Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 ce ...

. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; those elected serve din the

111th Congress The 111th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government from January 3, 2009, until January 3, 2011. It began during the last weeks of the George W. Bush administration, with th ...

from January 4, 2009 until January 3, 2011. The election coincided with the 2008 U.S. presidential election. The statewide party primary elections were held June 3, 2008. District 3 was the only seat which changed party (from open Republican to Democratic), although CQ Politics had forecasted districts 3, 5 and 7 to be at some risk for the incumbent party.

Overview

District 1

This district contains all or parts of

Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

, Camden and

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

counties.

Candidates

Rob Andrews Robert Ernest Andrews (born August 4, 1957) is an American politician who served as a U.S. representative for from 1990 to 2014. The district included most of Camden County and parts of Burlington County and Gloucester County. Early life, ...

(Democratic), incumbent U.S. Representative since 1990 * Dale Glading (Republican), founder of Saints Prison Ministry

Election

Incumbent Democrat Rob Andrews, in a surprise move on April 2, 2008, announced that he would be challenging incumbent Sen.

Frank Lautenberg Frank Raleigh Lautenberg (; January 23, 1924 June 3, 2013) was an American businessman and Democratic Party politician who served as United States Senator from New Jersey from 1982 to 2001, and again from 2003 until his death in 2013. He was orig ...

in the Democratic primary in June. His House seat, which is reliably Democratic (

CPVI The Cook Partisan Voting Index, abbreviated Cook PVI, CPVI, or PVI, is a measurement of how strongly a List of United States congressional districts, United States congressional district or U.S. state leans toward the Democratic Party (United Sta ...

: D+14), thus became an open seat. The filing deadline for primary candidates was April 7, leaving only a few days for candidates to declare. Andrews' wife, Camille Andrews, won the Democratic primary for his seat in the House, while Andrews himself was beaten by Lautenberg in the Senate primary. After this defeat, Rob Andrews decided to run for re-election to his House seat; Camille withdrew her candidacy on September 3, and Rob Andrews announced that on September 4 that he would take her place as the Democratic candidate. He maintained that his wife had not been merely a placeholder candidate and said that he had only decided to run for re-election a week before he announced it; according to Andrews, his change of heart was a result of personal reflection.

Results

District 2

This district lies in the southern part of the state, containing all or portions of

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, Camden,

Cape May Cape May consists of a peninsula and barrier island system in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is roughly coterminous with Cape May County, New Jersey, Cape May County and runs southwards from the New Jersey mainland, separating Delaware Bay fro ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

and Salem counties.

Candidates

* Dave Kurkowski (Democratic), City Councilman from Cape May *

Frank LoBiondo Frank Alo LoBiondo (: born May 12, 1946) is an American businessman and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1995 to 2019. He is a member of the Republican Party. He represented all of Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and ...

(Republican), incumbent U.S. Representative since 1995

Results

Campaign contributions
from

OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP). ...

District 3

This district contains all or portions of

, Camden and

Ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...

counties.

Candidates

John Adler John Herbert Adler (August 23, 1959April 4, 2011) was an American lawyer, politician and a member of the Democratic Party who served for one term as the U.S. representative for from 2009 until 2011. He lost his 2010 congressional election to f ...

(Democratic), New Jersey State Senator *

Chris Myers Chris Myers (born ) is an American sportscaster. He has covered the Super Bowl, the World Series, the NBA Finals, the NCAA Final Four, The Masters, the U.S. Open, the Triple Crown, the Olympics, and the Daytona 500. Early life and career ...

(Republican), Mayor of Medford

Election

Incumbent Republican

Jim Saxton Hugh James Saxton (born January 22, 1943) is an American politician from New Jersey. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he represented parts of Burlington County, New Jersey, Burlington, Ocean County, New Jersey, ...

announced that he would retire at the end of his term. A mid-September internal poll by McLaughlin & Associates showed Myers defeating Adler by a margin of 33% to 29%, with a plurality of voters - 37% - undecided. The poll attributed Myers' lead to a general dissatisfaction among voters towards Adler's negative ads and negative mailers from various political committees supporting the Democrat. It also indicated that Adler's low approval ratings were partially due to the perception that he is a "career politician" and the fact that he is an Ivy League-educated lawyer. Adler's association with unpopular Democratic Gov.

Jon Corzine Jon Stevens Corzine ( ; born January 1, 1947) is an American financial executive and retired politician who served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from 2001 to 2006 and the 54th governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. Corzine ran fo ...

also hurt him, while Myers was helped from his endorsement by incumbent Rep. Jim Saxton, who held a 53 percent favorable rating. However, later polls indicated that the race was too close to call.

Results

Campaign contributions
from

District 4

This district lies in the central part of the state, including all or portions of

Burlington County Burlington County is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The county is the largest by area in New Jersey. Its county seat is Mount Holly.

Mercer Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader ...

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...

and

counties.

Candidates

* Chris Smith (Republican), incumbent U.S. Representative (1981) * Josh Zeitz (Democratic), author, teacher, and historian

Results

Campaign contributions
from

District 5

This district contains most of the Northern New Jersey

Skylands Region The Skylands Region (or simply known as Skylands) is a region New Jersey located in the Northern and Central part of the state. It is one of six tourism regions established by the New Jersey State Department of Tourism; the others are Gateway ...

of Sussex and Warren counties and stretches along the New York border into Northern Passaic and Bergen Counties, including the townships of

Paramus Paramus ( Waggoner, Walter H ''The New York Times'', February 16, 1966. Accessed October 16, 2018. "Paramus – pronounced puh-RAHM-us, with the accent on the second syllable – may have taken its name from 'perremus' or 'perymus,' Indian for ...

and Ridgewood.

Candidates

Scott Garrett Ernest Scott Garrett (born July 9, 1959) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for , serving from 2003 to 2017. He is a member of the Republican Party. He previously served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1990 to 200 ...

(Republican), incumbent U.S. Representative since 2003 *

Dennis Shulman Dennis G. Shulman (born May 19, 1950) is a clinical psychologist, psychotherapist, author, teacher, public speaker, and ordained rabbi. In 2008, Shulman was the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic nominee for the United States House of Repr ...

(Democratic), psychologist, public speaker, and rabbi

Election

Republican incumbent

had been elected by safe margins in the past but in 2006 he only won by 10 points against Paul Aronsohn, the smallest margin of his career. Garrett was the only incumbent in the state thought to possibly be at risk.

Results

Campaign contributions
from

District 6

This district lies in the east-central part of the state, including all or portions of

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

and

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

counties.

Candidates

* Robert McLeod (Republican), municipal judge *

Frank Pallone Frank Joseph Pallone Jr. (; born October 30, 1951) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for , serving since 1988. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 3rd district from 1988 to 1 ...

(Democratic), incumbent U.S. representative since 1988

Results

Campaign contributions
from

District 7

The incumbent, Republican Representative Mike Ferguson, announced on November 19, 2007, that he would not seek re-election, citing family obligations.Chebium, Raju
"Ferguson won't seek reelection to Congress"
, ''

Home News Tribune The ''Central New Jersey Home News Tribune'' is a Daily newspaper serving Middlesex County, New Jersey. The paper has an average daily weekday circulation of about 49,000. The newspaper is the result of the 1995 merger of ''The Home News'' of ...

'', November 19, 2007. Accessed November 19, 2007. "Rep. Mike Ferguson, R-Warren Township, said today he won’t seek reelection next year to a fifth term… The next elections are in November 2008; Stender is again a Democratic candidate for the 7th district seat Ferguson currently occupies."

Candidates

* Dean Greco (Independent), Clinton Township schoolteacher * Michael P. Hsing (Independent), Bridgewater Township councilman *

Leonard Lance Leonard John Lance (born June 25, 1952) is an American politician and attorney who served as the U.S. representative for , from 2009 to 2019. He ran for re-election in 2018, but was defeated by Democrat Tom Malinowski. He is a member of the Rep ...

(Republican),

State Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

and former Minority Leader *

Linda Stender Linda Stender (born July 25, 1951) is an American Democratic Party politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2002 to 2016, where she represented the 22nd legislative district. She ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the United ...

(Democratic), New Jersey Assemblywoman and 2006 Democratic nominee for New Jersey's 7th Congressional district

Eliminated in Republican primary

A.D. Amar A. D. Amar (Amar Dev Amar) is an Indian Americans, Indian-American scholar, researcher, author and educator of knowledge in organizations. Since 2001, he has been working to compile knowledge from academic, business, and millennia-year-old manuscr ...

, professor at

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan un ...

Kate Whitman Annis Kate Whitman Annis (born ) is an American ice hockey executive, currently serving as executive director of the Devils Youth Foundation, the youth outreach arm of the New Jersey Devils. She previously served as executive of operations for W Hocke ...

, former

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player and daughter of former

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Christine Todd Whitman Christine Temple Whitman (née Todd; born September 26, 1946) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001 and as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in the administration o ...

*Kelly Hatfield, former Summit County Council President *

(Republican),

and former Minority Leader *

Martin L. Marks Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austral ...

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of Scotch Plains *Thomas Roughneen, former Assistant Prosecutor in both

and Essex counties

Election

The district was considered to lean Republican, but the 2008 election was expected to be highly competitive, considering the closeness of the previous election. Lance and Stender debated each other twice during the campaign. In September, they met in Scotch Plains for a debate hosted at the Jewish Community Campus of Central New Jersey. The candidates met in October in

Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These invention ...

for a second debate, which was televised on

News 12 New Jersey News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to events. New ...

. Both major-party candidates campaigned with prominent politicians of their party in the months before the election. Lance campaigned with then U.S. President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

and former

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

Governor

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...

. Stender campaigned with former U.S. 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 ...

and U.S. House of Representatives majority leader

Steny Hoyer Steny Hamilton Hoyer (born June 14, 1939) is an American politician and attorney serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for since 1981 and as House majority leader, House Majority Leader since 2019. A Democrat ...

District 8

This district lies in the north-east part of the state, including all or portions of

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

and

Passaic Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 70,537, ranking as the 16th largest municipality in New Jersey and an increase of 656 from the 69,7 ...

counties.

Candidates

* Roland Straten (Republican), engineer and

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

veteran *

Bill Pascrell Jr. William James Pascrell Jr. (born January 25, 1937) is an American politician who is the U.S. representative for , having served in this position since January 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and a native of Paterson, New Jersey, Pascr ...

(Democratic), incumbent U.S. Representative since 1997

Results

Campaign contributions
from

District 9

This district lies in the north-east part of the state, including all or portions of

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

and

Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Henry Hudson, English explorer * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudso ...

and

counties.

Candidates

* Vincent Micco (Republican),

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

veteran *

Steve Rothman Steven Richard Rothman (born October 14, 1952) is an American former jurist and politician who served as the U.S. representative for New Jersey's 9th congressional district, serving for 16 years from January 3, 1997, to January 3, 2013. Rothman w ...

(Democratic), incumbent U.S. Representative since 1997

Results

Campaign contributions
from

District 10

This district lies in the north-east part of the state, including all or portions of

and

counties. Republicans again failed to nominate a candidate to oppose Payne, but the Socialist Workers Party nominated Michael Taber, an editor.

Candidates

Donald M. Payne Donald Milford Payne (July 16, 1934 – March 6, 2012) was an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 1989 until his death. He was a member of the Democratic Party. The district encompassed most of the city of Newark ...

(Democratic), incumbent U.S. Representative since 1989

Results

Campaign contributions
from

District 11

This district lies in the north-central part of the state, including all or portions of

Morris Morris may refer to: Places Australia *St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Manitob ...

and

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

counties.

Candidates

Rodney Frelinghuysen Rodney Procter Frelinghuysen (born April 29, 1946) is an American former politician and lobbyist who served as the U.S. representative for from 1995 to 2019. The district includes most of Morris County, an affluent suburban county west of New ...

(Republican), incumbent U.S. Representative since 1995 * Tom Wyka (Democratic), information technology manager and 2006 Democratic nominee for New Jersey's 11th Congressional district

Results

Campaign contributions
from

District 12

This district lies in the central part of the state, including all or portions of Hunterdon,

and

counties.

Candidates

* Alan Bateman (Republican), deputy mayor of Holmdel Township *

Rush Holt Jr. Rush Dew Holt Jr. (born October 15, 1948) is an American scientist and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1999 to 2015. He is a member of the Democratic Party and son of former West Virginia U.S. Senator Rush D. Holt Sr. ...

(Democratic), incumbent U.S. representative since 1999

Results

Campaign Contributions
fro
OpenSecrets.org

District 13

This district lies in the north-east part of the state, including all or portions of

and

counties.

Candidates

Albio Sires Albio B. Sires (; born January 26, 1951) is a Cuban-born American businessman and politician who has served as the U.S. representative for since 2006. The district, numbered as the from 2006 to 2013, includes most of northern and eastern Jerse ...

(Democratic), incumbent U.S. Representative since 2006 * Joseph Turula, former Pompton Lakes councilman and lawyer

Results

Campaign contributions
from

References

External links

Division of Elections
from the ''New Jersey Secretary of State''
U.S. Congress candidates for New Jersey
at

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in si ...

New Jersey U.S. House Races
from ''2008 Race Tracker''
Campaign contributions for New Jersey congressional races
from

{{2008 United States elections

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...