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 ori ...

won re-election to a fifth, non-consecutive term, defeating former Republican congressman Dick Zimmer, who was also the nominee for this seat in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

. This election, alongside the concurrent Senate election in Minnesota, was the last U.S. Senate election in which both major party candidates were Jewish.

Background

In November 2006, Senator Lautenberg had the lowest approval rating of any Democratic incumbent running for re-election in 2008 (with 39% of respondents approving and 45% disapproving), with his approval improving only slightly to 42% as of September 2007. In September 2007, his approval had improved slightly to 42%, but 46% of respondents in the same survey believed that Lautenberg did not deserve re-election (against 36% who believed he did) and 54% believed that he was too old to effectively serve another six-year term in the Senate."Voters still say Lautenberg is too old"
PolitickerNJ.com, September 25, 2007. Accessed April 8, 2008. However, the prevailing political climate at the time of the election was also a major factor. Voter anger was directed against the Republican Party, 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. He is a membe ...

, U.S. Representative from Haddon Heights * Donald Cresitello, mayor of Morristown *

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

Polling

Results

Results by county

Republican primary

Candidates

* Joseph Pennacchio, state senator from Rockaway Township * Murray Sabrin, professor at

Ramapo College Ramapo College of New Jersey (RCNJ) is a Public university, public liberal arts college in Mahwah, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. As of the fall 2021 semester, there were a total of 5,732 students enro ...

and perennial candidate * Dick Zimmer, 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 a private company, private American multinational corporation, multinational producer and distributor of foods and beverages sold in the United States and many Spanish-speaking countries. The company operates facilities in the ...

executive (''endorsed Zimmer'')

Declined

* Kip Bateman, state senator from Neshanic Station *

Mehmet Oz Mehmet Cengiz Oz ( ; ; born June 11, 1960), also known as Dr. Oz (), is an American television presenter, physician, author, educator and government official serving as the 17th administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services sinc ...

, cardiologist

Results

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

Results by county

General election

Candidates

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

, perennial candidate and conspiracy theorist (Independent)2008 General Election Candidate Certification
, New Jersey Division of Elections. Accessed September 28, 2008 * Daryl Mikell Brooks (Independent) * J.M. Carter (Independent) * Carl Peter Klapper (Independent; ''write-in'') *

, incumbent U.S. Senator (Democratic) * Sara Lobman (Socialist Workers) * Jason Scheurer (Libertarian) * Dick Zimmer, former U.S. Representative (Republican)

Debates

The first poll conducted after the primaries showed a tighter than expected race between Lautenberg and Zimmer, with the two candidates in a virtual tie. 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, 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'' was the largest circulation newspaper in New Jersey. It is based in Newark, New Jersey. The newspaper ceased print publication on February 2, 2025, but continues to publish a digital edition. In 2007, ''The Star-Ledger''s ...

'', 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 an American 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 offic ...

New Jersey, U.S. Senate
from

CQ Politics ''Congressional Quarterly'', or ''CQ'', is an American publication that is part of the privately owned publishing company CQ Roll Call, which covers the United States Congress. ''CQ'' was formerly acquired by the U.K.-based The Economist Group, ...

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 and publishes data on campaign finance and lobbying, including a revolving door database which documents the individuals who have worked in both the public sector an ...

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 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

Background

Democratic primary

Candidates

Polling

Results

Results by county

Republican primary

Candidates

Withdrew

Declined

Results

Results by county

General election

Candidates

Debates

Predictions

Polling

Results

See also

References

External links