1977 New Jersey Senate election

The 1977 New Jersey State Senate election coincided with Brendan Byrne's re-election to a second term as Governor of New Jersey.

1977 New Jersey State Senate elections

← 1973 November 8, 1977 1981 →
All 40 seats in the New Jersey State Senate 21 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party Third party   Leader Matthew Feldman James Cafiero Party Democratic Republican Independent Leader's seat 37th 1st Last election 29 10 1 Seats before 28 10 1 Seats won 27 13 0 Seat change 1 3 1
Results by district      Democratic hold      Democratic gain      Republican hold      Republican gain
Senate President before election Matthew Feldman Democratic Elected Senate President Joseph P. Merlino Democratic

The election coincided with Governor Brendan Byrne's re-election over Senator Raymond Bateman. Byrne narrowly survived a primary election which eliminated seven incumbent Democratic Senators. Despite the intra-party division and early polls indicating Byrne was an underdog in the general election, Byrne survived and the Democrats preserved their large majority in the Senate, losing just one seat on aggregate.^[1] This is the last time Democrats held a veto-proof majority in the chamber.

Democrats chose Joseph P. Merlino as the Senate President and Carmen Orechio as Majority Leader; Republicans named Garrett Hagedorn as Minority Leader.^[2]

Contents Incumbents not running • Summary of results By District: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31 • 32 • 33 • 34 • 35 • 36 • 37 • 38 • 39 • 40

Incumbents not running for re-election

Democratic

• John A. Lynch Sr. (District 17)
• Alexander J. Menza (District 20) (ran for U.S. Senator)
• Raymond Garramone (District 39) (ran for Governor)

Republican

• Alfred N. Beadleston (District 11)
• Raymond Bateman (District 16) (ran for Governor)
• Frank Davenport (District 35)

Summary of results by district

District	Incumbent	Party		Elected Senator	Party
1st Legislative District	James Cafiero		Rep	James Cafiero		Rep
2nd Legislative District	Joseph McGahn		Dem	Steven P. Perskie		Dem
3rd Legislative District	Raymond Zane		Dem	Raymond Zane		Dem
4th Legislative District	Joseph A. Maressa		Dem	Joseph A. Maressa		Dem
5th Legislative District	Angelo Errichetti[a]		Dem	Angelo Errichetti		Dem
6th Legislative District	Alene Ammond		Dem	Lee B. Laskin		Rep
7th Legislative District	Edward J. Hughes		Dem	Charles B. Yates		Dem
8th Legislative District	Barry T. Parker		Rep	Barry T. Parker		Rep
9th Legislative District	John F. Russo		Dem	John F. Russo		Dem
10th Legislative District	Herbert J. Buehler		Dem	Brian T. Kennedy		Rep
11th Legislative District	Alfred N. Beadleston		Rep	S. Thomas Gagliano		Rep
12th Legislative District	Eugene J. Bedell		Dem	Eugene J. Bedell		Dem
13th Legislative District	Joseph P. Merlino		Dem	Joseph P. Merlino		Dem
14th Legislative District	Vacant[b]			Walter E. Foran		Rep
15th Legislative District	Wayne Dumont		Rep	Wayne Dumont		Rep
16th Legislative District	Raymond Bateman		Rep	John H. Ewing		Rep
17th Legislative District	John A. Lynch Sr.		Dem	William J. Hamilton		Dem
18th Legislative District	Bernard Dwyer		Dem	Bernard Dwyer		Dem
19th Legislative District	John Fay		Dem	Laurence Weiss		Dem
20th Legislative District	Alexander J. Menza		Dem	Anthony E. Russo		Dem
21st Legislative District	Thomas G. Dunn		Dem	John Gregorio		Dem
22nd Legislative District	Peter J. McDonough		Rep	Peter J. McDonough		Rep
23rd Legislative District	Stephen B. Wiley		Dem	John H. Dorsey		Rep
24th Legislative District	James P. Vreeland		Rep	James P. Vreeland		Rep
25th Legislative District	James Wallwork		Rep	James Wallwork		Rep
26th Legislative District	Frank J. Dodd		Dem	Frank J. Dodd		Dem
27th Legislative District	Carmen Orechio		Dem	Carmen Orechio		Dem
28th Legislative District	Martin L. Greenberg		Dem	Martin L. Greenberg		Dem
29th Legislative District	Wynona Lipman		Dem	Wynona Lipman		Dem
30th Legislative District	Anthony Imperiale		Ind	Frank E. Rodgers		Dem
31st Legislative District	James P. Dugan		Dem	Wally Sheil		Dem
32nd Legislative District	Joseph W. Tumulty		Dem	David Friedland		Dem
33rd Legislative District	William Musto		Dem	William Musto		Dem
34th Legislative District	Joseph Hirkala		Dem	Joseph Hirkala		Dem
35th Legislative District	Frank Davenport		Rep	Frank X. Graves Jr.		Dem
36th Legislative District	Anthony Scardino		Dem	Anthony Scardino		Dem
37th Legislative District	Matthew Feldman		Dem	Matthew Feldman		Dem
38th Legislative District	John Skevin		Dem	John Skevin		Dem
39th Legislative District	Raymond Garramone		Dem	Frank Herbert		Dem
40th Legislative District	Garrett Hagedorn		Rep	Garrett Hagedorn		Rep

1. Errichetti, who was also mayor of Camden, was chosen to succeed Senator John J. Horn in 1976. Horn joined Governor Byrne's cabinet as Commissioner of Labor and Industry.
2. Senator Anne Clark Martindell resigned on May 17 to join the Jimmy Carter administration.

Close races

Seats where the margin of victory was under 10%:

1. District 27, 1.8%
2. District 20, 1.6%
3. District 6, 4.2%
4. District 39, 5.6%
5. District 23, 8.6%
6. District 10, 9.5%

Incumbents defeated

In primary elections

Democratic

• District 2: Joseph McGahn (Atlantic) lost party support to Steven P. Perskie, an Assemblyman from Atlantic County.^[3][4][5]
• District 6: Alene Ammond (Camden) lost the primary to Victor Pachter.^[6]
• District 7: Edward J. Hughes (Burlington) lost the primary to Charles B. Yates.^[6]
• District 19: John Fay (Middlesex) lost the primary to Laurence Weiss.^[6]
• District 21: Thomas Dunn (Union) lost party support to John Gregorio, an Assemblyman from Union County and mayor of Linden.^[3][7][5]
• District 31: James P. Dugan (Hudson) lost the primary to Wally Sheil, the President of Hudson County Community College.^[6][8]
• District 32: Joseph W. Tumulty (Hudson) lost the primary to David Friedland, a former Assemblyman from Hudson County.^[6][9]

In general elections

Democratic

• District 10: Herbert Buehler (Monmouth) lost to Republican Brian Kennedy, a former Assemblyman from Monmouth County.^[10]
• District 23: Stephen Wiley (Morris) lost to Republican John H. Dorsey, an Assemblyman from Morris County.^[10][11]

Independent

• District 2: After losing the Democratic primary, Senator Joseph McGahn ran as an independent in the general election; he finished third behind Perskie and Republican F. Frederick Perone.
• District 21: After losing the Democratic primary, Senator Thomas Dunn ran as an independent in the general election; he finished second behind Gregorio.
• District 30: Anthony Imperiale (Essex) was defeated by Democrat Frank E. Rodgers, the mayor of Harrison.^[12]

Open seats

Democratic holds

• District 17: John A. Lynch Sr. (Middlesex) retired. Speaker of the Assembly William J. Hamilton won the open seat.
• District 20: Alexander J. Menza (Union) retired to run for U.S. Senator. Union Township councilman Anthony E. Russo won the open seat.
• District 39: Raymond Garramone (Bergen) retired to run for Governor. Former Bergen County Freeholder Frank Herbert won the open seat.

Democratic gains

• District 35: Republican Frank Davenport did not seek re-election. Frank X. Graves Jr., the mayor of Paterson, defeated former Assemblyman Alfred Fontanella.^[13]

Republican holds

• District 11: Alfred N. Beadleston (Monmouth) retired. Former Monmouth County Surrogate S. Thomas Gagliano won the open seat.
• District 17: Raymond Bateman (Somserset) retired to run for Governor. Assemblyman John H. Ewing won the open seat.

Republican gains

• District 6: Alene Ammond (Camden) lost the Democratic primary to Victor Pachter; Pachter lost the general election to Republican Lee Laskin, a former Assemblyman.^[6][14]
• District 14: Anne Clark Martindell (Mercer) was appointed U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand in May, leaving her seat vacant; Republican Walter E. Foran, an Assemblyman from Hunterdon County, won the open seat.

District 1

New Jersey general election, 1977^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	James Cafiero (incumbent)	35,416	62.0%	3.7
	Democratic	Frank Kneiser	21,702	38.0%	3.7
Total votes			57,118	100.00%

District 2

New Jersey general election, 1977^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Steven P. Perskie	31,712	47.9%	7.2
	Republican	F. Frederick Perone	20,160	30.5%	14.4
	Re-Elect, Experience, Integrity	Joseph McGahn (incumbent)	14,288	21.6%	N/A
Total votes			66,160	100.00%

District 3

New Jersey general election, 1977^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Raymond Zane (incumbent)	37,199	65.8%	14.1
	Republican	Robert C. Hendrickson, Jr.	19,328	34.2%	14.1
Total votes			56,527	100.00%

District 4

New Jersey general election, 1977^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joseph A. Maressa (incumbent)	35,736	65.0%	1.2
	Republican	Walter C. Gebelein	19,248	35.0%	1.2
Total votes			54,984	100.00%

District 5

New Jersey general election, 1977^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Angelo Errichetti (incumbent)	27,352	69.4%	9.1
	Republican	Ernest J. Merlino	12,078	30.6%	6.2
Total votes			39,430	100.00%

District 6

New Jersey general election, 1977^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Lee B. Laskin	29,823	52.1	5.3
	Democratic	Victor Pachter	27,449	47.9	5.3
Total votes			57,272	100.00%

District 7

New Jersey general election, 1977^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Charles B. Yates	30,793	59.5%	1.6
	Republican	Michael J. Conda	20,971	40.5%	1.1
Total votes			51,764	100.00%

District 8

New Jersey general election, 1977^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Barry T. Parker (incumbent)	30,042	55.4%	2.6
	Democratic	Charles H. Ryan	24,168	44.6%	2.6
Total votes			54,210	100.00%

District 9

New Jersey general election, 1977^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John F. Russo (incumbent)	53,309	63.7%	9.2
	Republican	James J. Mancini	28,673	34.3%	11.2
	Libertarian	Leonard T. Flynn	1,153	1.4%	N/A
	Independent	Donald Knause	494	0.6%	N/A
Total votes			83,629	100.00%

District 10

New Jersey general election, 1977^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Brian T. Kennedy	29,059	54.3%	9.4
	Democratic	Herbert J. Buehler (incumbent)	23,990	44.8%	10.3
	Let's Work Together	Franco DiDomenica	502	0.9%	N/A
Total votes			53,551	100.00%

District 11

New Jersey general election, 1977^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	S. Thomas Gagliano	30,452	54.5%	0.4
	Democratic	Arthur Goldzweig	24,398	43.7%	2.2
	Libertarian	Anne Caroline Riecker	567	1.0%	N/A
	Independent	Joseph Rembisz, Jr.	477	0.9%	N/A
Total votes			55,894	100.00%

District 12

New Jersey general election, 1977^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Eugene J. Bedell (incumbent)	28,391	53.6%	5.2
	Republican	Joseph Azzolina	21,877	41.3%	6.1
	Independent	Eileen Lloyd	2,435	4.6%	N/A
	Libertarian	Jack Moyers	261	0.5%	N/A
Total votes			52,964	100.00%

District 13

New Jersey general election, 1977^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joseph P. Merlino (incumbent)	33,757	69.6%	4.8
	Republican	Harry L. Dearden	14,776	30.4%	4.8
Total votes			48,533	100.00%

District 14

New Jersey general election, 1977^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Walter E. Foran (incumbent)	33,556	56.8%	8.3
	Democratic	Peter J. Bearse	25,504	43.2%	8.3
Total votes			59,060	100.00%

District 15

New Jersey general election, 1977^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Wayne Dumont (incumbent)	35,268	60.7%	5.7
	Democratic	Joseph J. Keslo	22,815	39.3%	5.7
Total votes			58,083	100.00%

District 16

1977 general election^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	John H. Ewing	38,772	65.2%	1.2
	Democratic	Kenneth L. Hetrick	20,654	34.8%	1.2
Total votes			59,426	100.00%

District 17

1977 general election^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	William J. Hamilton, Jr.	26,343	59.7%	11.0
	Republican	Peter J. Selesky	16,183	36.7%	8.3
	Independent Candidate	Walter Jinotti	985	2.2%	N/A
	Repeal Income Tax	Edward J. McGlynn	638	1.4%	N/A
Total votes			44,149	100.00%

District 18

1977 general election^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Bernard J. Dwyer (incumbent)	34,144	57.6%	5.6
	Republican	S. Elliott Mayo	23,803	40.2%	3.4
	Independent	Edward R. Gavarny	1,281	2.2%	N/A
Total votes			59,228	100.00%

District 19

1977 general election^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Laurence S. Weiss	30,474	65.9%	12.7
	Republican	Raymond J. Freid	15,390	33.3%	11.9
	U.S. Labor	Michael R. Leppig	396	0.9%	N/A
Total votes			46,260	100.00%

District 20

1977 general election^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Anthony E. Russo	30,057	50.8	5.5
	Republican	Frank X. McDermott	29,067	49.2	6.0
Total votes			59,124	100.00%

District 21

1977 general election^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John T. Gregorio	20,255	46.9%	15.8
	Re-elect Experience, Courage	Thomas G. Dunn (incumbent)	13,932	32.2%	N/A
	Republican	Robert T. Walsh	8,005	18.5%	16.0
	Repeal Income Tax	Rocco J. Gallo	1,023	2.4%	N/A
Total votes			43,215	100.00%

District 22

1977 general election^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Peter McDonough (incumbent)	28,669	55.2%	2.9
	Democratic	Harry P. Pappas	22,032	42.5%	5.2
	An Independent Choice	John J. Carone	1,198	2.3%	N/A
Total votes			51,899	100.00%

District 23

1977 general election^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	John H. Dorsey	30,882	54.3%	7.4
	Democratic	Stephen B. Wiley (incumbent)	25,981	45.7%	7.4
Total votes			56,863	100.0

District 24

1977 general election^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	James P. Vreeland	34,694	67.1%	14.5
	Democratic	Norma K. Herzfeld	17,036	32.9%	14.5
Total votes			51,730	100.00%

District 25

1977 general election^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	James Wallwork	35,517	60.6%	6.4
	Democratic	Lewis J. Paper	23,096	39.4%	6.4
Total votes			58,613	100.00%

District 26

1977 general election^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Frank J. Dodd	27,293	75.0%	0.1
	Republican	Nancy Jane Schron	8,847	24.3%	0.6
	Libertarian	Kenneth R. Kaplan	250	0.7%	N/A
Total votes			36,390	100.00%

District 27

1977 general election^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Carmen A. Orechio	25,773	50.9%	2.2
	Republican	John N. Dennis	24,855	49.1%	2.2
Total votes			50,628	100.00%

District 28

1977 general election^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Martin L. Greenberg	16,986	57.8%	2.5
	Republican	James A. Pindar	11,399	38.8%	2.0
	Income Tax Referendum	Nicholas T. Fernicola	770	2.6%	N/A
	Jobs, Equality, Peace	Charles E. Cascone	234	0.8%	N/A
Total votes			29,389	100.00%

District 29

1977 general election^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Wynona Lipman	16,037	90.6%	6.8
	Republican	Manuel Angel Colon	1,658	9.4%	6.8
Total votes			17,695	100.00%

District 30

1977 general election^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Frank E. Rodgers	20,081	48.0%	11.6
	Anti-Tax Candidate	Anthony Imperiale	14,771	35.3%	14.0
	Republican	Harry J. Romeo	6,946	16.6%	2.4
Total votes			41,798	100.00%

District 31

1977 general election^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Wally Sheil	26,872	70.6%	8.9
	Republican	Edward T. Magee	11,191	29.4%	8.9
Total votes			38,063	100.00%

District 32

1977 general election^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	David Friedland	26,813	67.5%	7.2
	Republican	Joseph W. Gallagher	11,817	29.8%	6.9
	Politicians Are Crooks	Herbert H. Shaw	1,082	2.7%	N/A
Total votes			39,712	'100.00%'

District 33

1977 general election^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	William Musto	25,270	71.8%	6.2
	Republican	Michael A. Litzas	7,244	20.6%	1.4
	Repeal Income Tax	William J. Meehan	1,719	4.9%	N/A
	For The People	Eulalio Jose Negrin	966	2.7%	N/A
Total votes			35,199	'100.00%'

District 34

1977 general election^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joseph Hirkala	28,628	69.6%	5.7
	Republican	Herman Schmidt	12,484	30.4%	5.7
Total votes			41,112	100.00

District 35

1977 general election^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Frank X. Graves Jr.	17,005	56.2%	6.3
	Republican	Alfred E. Fontanella	12,193	40.3%	9.8
	Tax Revolt Independent	Joseph S. Long	547	1.8%	N/A
	Independent Progressive Conservative	Roy L. Ward	500	1.7%	N/A
Total votes			30,245	'100.00%'

District 36

1977 general election^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Anthony Scardino	31,466	63.9%	1.9
	Republican	Harold A. Pareti	17,805	36.1%	0.7
Total votes			49,271	100.00%

District 37

1977 general election^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Matthew Feldman (incumbent)	31,945	59.0%	0.4
	Republican	William C. Clark	21,723	40.1%	0.7
	Communist	Magnus Nelson	492	0.9%	N/A
Total votes			54,160	'100.00%'

District 38

1977 general election^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John Skevin (incumbent)	24,629	56.1%	1.5
	Republican	Frank A. Buono, Jr.	19,289	43.9%	1.5
Total votes			43,918	'100.00%'

District 39

1977 general election^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Frank Herbert	28,658	52.8%	1.5
	Republican	John W. Markert	25,582	47.2%	1.5
Total votes			54,240	100.00%

District 40

1977 general election^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Garrett W. Hagedorn (incumbent)	29,689	57.8%	1.6
	Democratic	Anthony D. Andora	21,009	40.9%	2.9
	Independent Middle America	Victor E. Virgens	664	1.3%	N/A
Total votes			51,362	'100.00%'

References

1. Fitzgerald's New Jersey Legislative Manual. Joseph J. Gribbons. 1976.
2. Fitzgerald's New Jersey Legislative Manual. Joseph J. Gribbons. 1978.
3. "Results of the General Election" (PDF). New Jersey Division of Elections. State of New Jersey. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
4. Janson, Donald (March 5, 1977). "Perskie Likely to Oppose mcgahn in Senate Race". New York Times.
5. "Our Campaigns".
6. "Results of the Primary Election" (PDF). New Jersey Division of Elections. State of New Jersey. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
7. NARVAEZ, ALFONSO A. (October 17, 1977). "Democrats Running Strong in Campaigns in 13th, 17th and 21st Districts". New York Times.
8. "Our Campaigns". Retrieved December 4, 2014.
9. "Our Campaigns". Retrieved December 4, 2014.
10. "Results of the General Election" (PDF). New Jersey Division of Elections. State of New Jersey. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
11. NARVAEZ, ALFONSO A. (October 10, 1977). "G.O.P. Expected to Maintain Strength In Morris, Union and Essex Counties". New York Times.
12. "Results of the General Election" (PDF). New Jersey Division of Elections. State of New Jersey. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
13. "Our Campaigns". Retrieved December 4, 2014.
14. "Our Campaigns". Retrieved December 4, 2014.
15. "Results of the General Election Held November 8, 1977" (PDF). Retrieved June 26, 2021.
16. "Candidates for the Offices of State Senate and General Assembly" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. 1977. p. 9. Retrieved July 26, 2015.