The 2012 United States Senate election in New Jersey took place on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the 2012 U.S. presidential election as well as other elections to the

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 ...

and

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Bob Menendez won re-election to a second full term. He was the first Democratic Senate candidate to carry Somerset County since Bill Bradley in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

. This is the only time since

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

that a candidate for this seat received over 55% of the vote. This election marked the first time that someone won this seat by double digits since 1976 as well.

Background

Bob Menendez became the first Hispanic-American U.S. senator to represent New Jersey in January 2006 when former U.S. senator

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 ...

appointed him to the seat after having resigned to become governor of New Jersey, following his election in November 2005. In November 2006, after a tough and painful election, Menendez defeated Republican state senator Thomas Kean, Jr. with 53.3% of the vote.

Democratic primary

Candidates

* Bob Menendez, incumbent U.S. Senator

Polling

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

* David Brown, inventor * Joe Kyrillos, State Senator * Bader Qarmout, businessman and adjunct professor at the County College of Morris * Joseph Rudy Rullo, businessman

Withdrew

* Ian Linker, attorney * Anna Little, former mayor of

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...

and candidate for NJ-06 in 2010

Declined

Diane Allen Diane B. Allen (born March 8, 1948) is an American politician and television journalist. A member of the Republican Party, she represented the 7th legislative district in the New Jersey Assembly from 1996 to 1998 and New Jersey Senate from 1998 ...

, state senator, candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2002 and former news broadcaster *

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Christie, who was born in N ...

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official r ...

and former

U.S. Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

* John Crowley,

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used ...

executive * Michael Doherty, state senator * Tim Smith, financial services firm executive and member of the Roxbury Township Council * Jay Webber, State Assemblyman and former

New Jersey Republican State Committee The New Jersey Republican State Committee (NJGOP) is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in New Jersey. It was founded in 1880 and is currently led by Bob Hugin. Current leadership * Bob Hugin, Chairman * Lynda A. Pagliughli, V ...

chairman

Polling

Results

General election

Candidates

* Bob Menendez ( Democratic), incumbent U.S. Senator * Joe Kyrillos (

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

), state senator * Inder "Andy" Soni (America First) * Ken Wolski (

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combi ...

), medical marijuana activist and former nurse * Gwen Diakos (Jersey Strong Independents), civilian defense contractor * Kenneth R. Kaplan ( Libertarian), commercial real estate broker * Eugene Martin LaVergne (Independent) * Daryl Mikell Brooks (Reform Nation), activist * Robert "Turk" Turkavage (Responsibility Fairness Integrity), former

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

agent * Greg Pason (

Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

), National Secretary of the

Socialist Party USA The Socialist Party USA, officially the Socialist Party of the United States of America,"The article of this organization shall be the Socialist Party of the United States of America, hereinafter called 'the Party'". Art. I of th"Constitution o ...

and perennial candidate * J. David Dranikoff (Totally Independent Candidate), businessman

Debates

Three debates were scheduled. The first debate took place on October 4, 2012, at

Montclair State University Montclair State University (MSU) is a public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, the second largest public university in New ...

. Menendez and Kyrillos participated. The second took place on October 10 at NJ 101.5 studios, Trenton NJ The third was to take place on October 17 at Mercer County Community College ;External links
Complete video of debate
October 4, 2012 - C-SPAN
Complete video of debate
October 13, 2012 - C-SPAN

Fundraising

Top contributors

Top industries

Contributors by Industry (opensecrets.org)
/ref>

Predictions

Polling

Results

References

External links

New Jersey Division of Elections

Campaign contributions
at

OpenSecrets.org 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). ...

Outside spending
at Sunlight Foundation
Candidate issue positions
at On the Issues ;Official campaign websites (Archived)
Ken Kaplan for U.S. Senate

Gwen Diakos for U.S. Senate

Joe Kyrillos for U.S. Senate

Bob Menendez for U.S. Senate

Greg Pason for U.S. Senate
{{2012 United States elections

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

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 ...

Senate

Background

Democratic primary

Candidates

Polling

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

Withdrew

Declined

Polling

Results

General election

Candidates

Debates

Fundraising

Top contributors

Top industries

Predictions

Polling

Results

See also

References

External links