The 2008 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator

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 ...

won re-election to a fifth, non-consecutive term, defeating former Republican congressman

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

. Zimmer had also been the nominee for this seat in

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

Background

In November 2006, Senator Lautenberg had the lowest approval rating of any Democrat running for re-election in 2008 (with 39% approving and 45% disapproving), with his approval improving only slightly to 42% as of September 2007. In the same September 2007 poll conducted by the

Quinnipiac University Polling Institute The Quinnipiac University Poll is a public opinion polling center based at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. It surveys public opinion in Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, ...

, voters surveyed decided that Lautenberg does not deserve re-election (46% to 36%) and that he is too old to effectively serve another six years in the Senate (54% to 40%)."Voters still say Lautenberg is too old"
PolitickerNJ.com, September 25, 2007. Accessed April 8, 2008. Poll results suggested that given the right formula, this could have been a surprise upset race in November 2008. "The poll shows that Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who many voters say is too old to run for another term, would be vulnerable to a strong Republican candidate next year," according to Quinnipiac pollster Clay Richards. The first poll conducted after the primaries (Rasmussen Reports, June 4, 2008) showed a tighter than expected race between Lautenberg and Zimmer, with the two candidates in a virtual tie. However, the prevailing political climate at the time of the election was also a major factor. Voter anger was targeted against the GOP, and many Democrats once considered vulnerable managed to hold on.

Democratic primary

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, ...

, U.S. Representative from Haddon Heights *

Donald Cresitello Donald Cresitello is an American politician who served as the mayor of Morristown, New Jersey from 1977 to 1981 and again from 2006 to 2010. Career U.S. Senate Cresitello launched a campaign for 1982 United States Senate election in New Jersey. ...

, Mayor of Morristown *

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...

U.S. Senator 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 powe ...

Polling

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Joseph Pennacchio Joseph Pennacchio (born May 27, 1955) is an American Republican Party politician, who has served in the New Jersey Senate since January 8, 2008, where he represents the 26th Legislative District. Pennacchio has served in the Senate as the Dep ...

, State Senator from

Rockaway Township Rockaway Township is a township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township's population was 25,341, reflecting an increase of 1,185 (+4.9%) from the 24,156 counted in the 2010 Census. Rockaw ...

Murray Sabrin Murray Sabrin (born December 21, 1946) is a professor of finance in the Anisfield School of Business at Ramapo College and a perennial candidate for public office in New Jersey. Family, education, and affiliations Sabrin was born in Bad Wörish ...

, professor at Ramapo College and perennial candidate *

, former U.S. Representative and nominee for the U.S. Senate in

Withdrew

*Anne Evans Estabrook, real estate developer * Andrew Unanue, former

Goya Foods Goya Foods, Inc. is an American producer of a brand of foods sold in the United States and many Spanish-speaking countries. It has facilities in the United States, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Spain. It is under third-generation ownersh ...

executive (endorsed Zimmer)

Declined

* Kip Bateman, State Senator from Neshanic Station

Results

Official results, New Jersey Division of Elections
PDF
July 11, 2008)

General election

Candidates

Major

, incumbent U.S. Senator *

, former U.S. Representative

Minor

Jeff Boss Jeffrey Harlan Boss (born May 20, 1963) is an American conspiracy theorist.Ginsberg, Johanna (May 28, 2009)"Conspiracy theorist eyes governorship" ''New Jersey Jewish News''. Retrieved August 9, 2012. He was an independent candidate for President ...

(I) * Daryl Mikell Brooks (I) * J.M. Carter (I) * Carl Peter Klapper (Write In)Populist Write-In Candidate for Senate, Carl Peter Klapper, Advocates Adjustable Equity Mortgages, Third Bank of the US to solve financial crisis
/ref> * Sara Lobman (Socialist Workers) * Jason Scheurer (Libertarian)2008 General Election Candidate Certification
, New Jersey Division of Elections. Accessed September 28, 2008

Debates

On October 29, 2008, a debate between Lautenberg and Zimmer was held on the radio station NJ 101.5. On November 1, 2008, the two candidates debated for the second time on

New Jersey Network The New Jersey Network (NJN) was a network of public television and radio stations serving the U.S. state of New Jersey. NJN was a member of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) for television and the National Public Radio (NPR) for radio, b ...

, in the only televised debate agreed to by the Lautenberg campaign.Schwaneberg, Robert
Lautenberg, Zimmer agree to debate on Nov. 1
''

The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to ''The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of wh ...

'', October 1, 2008.

Predictions

Polling

Results

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. Senate
from

CQ Politics Congressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is part of a privately owned publishing company called CQ Roll Call that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress. CQ was acquired by the Economist Group and combined ...

New Jersey U.S. Senate
from ''OurCampaigns.com''
New Jersey U.S. Senate race
from ''2008 Race Tracker''
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). ...

Zimmer (R) vs Lautenberg (D-i)
graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com * ''Official campaign websites'' (Archived) *
Frank Lautenberg
Democratic nominee *
Dick Zimmer
Republican nominee *
Jason Scheurer
Libertarian candidate *
Daryl Mikell Brooks
Independent candidate {{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; ...

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 ...

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 ...

Background

Democratic primary

Candidates

Polling

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Withdrew

Declined

Results

General election

Candidates

Major

Minor

Debates

Predictions

Polling

Results

See also

References

External links