1987 New Jersey Senate election

The 1987 New Jersey State Senate elections were held on November 3.

1987 New Jersey Senate elections

← 1983 November 3, 1987 1991 →
All 40 seats in the New Jersey State Senate 21 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader John F. Russo Party Democratic Republican Leader's seat 10th Last election 23 17 Seats before 23 17 Seats won 24 16 Seat change 1 1
Results by district      Democratic hold      Democratic gain      Republican hold
Senate President before election John F. Russo Democratic Elected Senate President John F. Russo Democratic

The election took place mid-way through the second term of Governor Thomas Kean. The elections were marked by extreme stability; only one seat, that of Peter P. Garibaldi, did not return its incumbent Senator. Multiple Senators were re-elected unopposed.

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

Every incumbent Senator ran for re-election.

Summary of results by State Senate district

District	Incumbent	Party		Elected Senator	Party
1st Legislative District	James R. Hurley		Rep	James R. Hurley		Rep
2nd Legislative District	William Gormley		Rep	William Gormley		Rep
3rd Legislative District	Raymond Zane		Dem	Raymond Zane		Dem
4th Legislative District	Daniel Dalton		Dem	Daniel Dalton		Dem
5th Legislative District	Walter Rand		Dem	Walter Rand		Dem
6th Legislative District	Lee Laskin		Rep	Lee Laskin		Rep
7th Legislative District	Catherine A. Costa		Dem	Catherine A. Costa		Dem
8th Legislative District	C. William Haines[a]		Rep	C. William Haines		Rep
9th Legislative District	Leonard T. Connors		Rep	Leonard T. Connors		Rep
10th Legislative District	John F. Russo		Dem	John F. Russo		Dem
11th Legislative District	Frank Pallone		Dem	Frank Pallone		Dem
12th Legislative District	S. Thomas Gagliano		Rep	S. Thomas Gagliano		Rep
13th Legislative District	Richard Van Wagner		Dem	Richard Van Wagner		Dem
14th Legislative District	Francis J. McManimon		Dem	Francis J. McManimon		Dem
15th Legislative District	Gerald R. Stockman		Dem	Gerald R. Stockman		Dem
16th Legislative District	John H. Ewing		Rep	John H. Ewing		Rep
17th Legislative District	John A. Lynch Jr.		Dem	John A. Lynch Jr.		Dem
18th Legislative District	Peter P. Garibaldi		Rep	Thomas H. Paterniti		Dem
19th Legislative District	Laurence Weiss		Dem	Laurence Weiss		Dem
20th Legislative District	Raymond Lesniak		Dem	Raymond Lesniak		Dem
21st Legislative District	C. Louis Bassano		Rep	C. Louis Bassano		Rep
22nd Legislative District	Donald DiFrancesco		Rep	Donald DiFrancesco		Rep
23rd Legislative District	Dick Zimmer[b]		Rep	Dick Zimmer		Rep
24th Legislative District	Wayne Dumont		Rep	Wayne Dumont		Rep
25th Legislative District	John H. Dorsey		Rep	John H. Dorsey		Rep
26th Legislative District	Leanna Brown		Rep	Leanna Brown		Rep
27th Legislative District	Richard Codey		Dem	Richard Codey		Dem
28th Legislative District	Ronald Rice[c]		Dem	Ronald Rice		Dem
29th Legislative District	Wynona Lipman		Dem	Wynona Lipman		Dem
30th Legislative District	Carmen Orechio		Dem	Carmen Orechio		Dem
31st Legislative District	Edward T. O'Connor Jr.		Dem	Edward T. O'Connor Jr.		Dem
32nd Legislative District	Thomas F. Cowan		Dem	Thomas F. Cowan		Dem
33rd Legislative District	Christopher Jackman		Dem	Christopher Jackman		Dem
34th Legislative District	Joseph Bubba		Rep	Joseph Bubba		Rep
35th Legislative District	Frank X. Graves Jr.		Dem	Frank X. Graves Jr.		Dem
36th Legislative District	Gabriel M. Ambrosio[d]		Dem	Gabriel M. Ambrosio		Dem
37th Legislative District	Matthew Feldman		Dem	Matthew Feldman		Dem
38th Legislative District	Paul Contillo		Dem	Paul Contillo		Dem
39th Legislative District	Gerald Cardinale		Rep	Gerald Cardinale		Rep
40th Legislative District	Henry McNamara[e]		Rep	Henry McNamara		Rep

1. Haines won a 1984 special election to complete the term of Jim Saxton, who resigned to take a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
2. Zimmer won a March special election to complete the unexpired term of Senator Walter E. Foran, who died in December 1986.
3. Rice won a special November 1986 election to complete the unexpired term of John P. Caufield, who died in August 1986.
4. Ambrosio won a March special election to complete the unexpired term of Joseph Hirkala, who died in January.
5. McNamara won a November 1985 special election to complete the unexpired term of Senator Garrett Hagedorn, who died in August 1985.

Close races

Seats where the margin of victory was under 10%:

1. District 13, 2.0%
2. District 36, 2.4%
3. District 38, 5.2%
4. District 25, 5.4%
5. District 30, 5.9%
6. District 1, 6.8%
7. District 6, 6.4%
8. District 21, 7.6%
9. District 34, 7.8%

District 1

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	James R. Hurley (incumbent)	29,272	53.4%	6.4
	Democratic	Donald H. Rainear	25,512	46.6%	6.4
Total votes			54,784	100.00%

District 2

1987 general election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	William Gormley (incumbent)	30,665	73.4%	16.6
	Democratic	William J. Polistina	11,119	26.6%	14.4
Total votes			41,784	100.00%

District 3

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Raymond Zane (incumbent)	32,720	63.0%	0.0
	Republican	John A. Ward	19,224	37.0%	0.0
Total votes			51,944	100.00%

District 4

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Daniel Dalton (incumbent)	24,574	58.9%	5.0
	Republican	William F. Thomson	17,148	41.1%	5.0
Total votes			41,722	100.00%

District 5

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Walter Rand (incumbent)	24,784	68.3%	2.3
	Republican	Mary Jo Tate	11,477	31.7%	2.3
Total votes			36,261	100.00%

District 6

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Lee B. Laskin (incumbent)	31,162	53.2%	10.1
	Democratic	Maria Barnaby Greenwald	27,444	46.8%	10.1
Total votes			58,606	100.00%

District 7

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Catherine A. Costa (incumbent)	27,244	63.4%	0.3
	Republican	James A. Bristow	15,745	36.6%	0.3
Total votes			42,989	100.00%

District 8

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	C. William Haines (incumbent)	28,731	66.5%	5.2
	Democratic	James B. Smith	14,444	33.5%	5.2
Total votes			43,175	100.00%

District 9

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Leonard T. Connors (incumbent)	35,456	64.0%	0.7
	Democratic	Joan M. Tredy	19,964	36.0%	0.7
Total votes			55,420	100.00%

District 10

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John F. Russo (incumbent)	30,655	58.4%	4.9
	Republican	Tom Blomquist	21,876	41.6%	4.9
Total votes			52,531	100.00%

District 11

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Frank Pallone (incumbent)	28,223	60.1%	9.7
	Republican	Gerri Chappell Popkin	18,751	39.9%	8.6
Total votes			46,974	100.00%

District 12

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	S. Thomas Gagliano (incumbent)	31,188	67.6%	16.7
	Democratic	Bernard B. Finan	14,965	32.4%	16.7
Total votes			46,153	100.00%

District 13

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Richard Van Wagner (incumbent)	24,155	51.0%	3.1
	Republican	Joseph Azzolina	23,244	49.0%	3.1
Total votes			47,399	100.00%

District 14

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Francis J. McManimon (incumbent)	30,873	64.2%	0.7
	Republican	Michael S. Richmond	17,222	35.8%	0.7
Total votes			48,095	100.00%

District 15

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Gerald R. Stockman (incumbent)	29,747	71.0%	3.7
	Republican	Norbert E. Donelly	12,132	29.0%	3.7
Total votes			41,879	100.00%

District 16

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	John H. Ewing (incumbent)	28,433	70.7%	3.3
	Democratic	Frank M. Reskin	11,764	29.3%	3.3
Total votes			40,197	100.00%

District 17

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John A. Lynch Jr. (incumbent)	18,585	63.4%	1.9
	Republican	James J. Spera	10,729	36.6%	1.9
Total votes			29,314	100.00%

District 18

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Thomas H. Paterniti	30,790	59.2%	12.5
	Republican	Peter P. Garibaldi (incumbent)	21,253	40.8%	7.1
Total votes			52,043	100.00%

District 19

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Laurence S. Weiss (incumbent)	25,997	58.3%	0.7
	Republican	John G. O’Sullivan	18,570	41.7%	0.7
Total votes			44,567	100.00%

District 20

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Raymond Lesniak (incumbent)	23,183	100.00%	35.5
Total votes			23,183	100.00%

District 21

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	C. Louis Bassano (incumbent)	28,663	53.8%	3.3
	Democratic	Anthony E. Russo	24,656	46.2%	3.3
Total votes			53,319	100.00%

District 22

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Donald DiFrancesco (incumbent)	27,502	67.5%	0.9
	Democratic	Thomas J. Gartland	13,267	32.5%	0.9
Total votes			40,769	100.00%

District 23

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Dick Zimmer (incumbent)	27,699	100.00%	19.1
Total votes			27,699	100.00%

District 24

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Wayne Dumont	34,617	100.0%	24.4
Total votes			34,617	100.00%

District 25

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	John H. Dorsey (incumbent)	20,463	52.7%	12.7
	Democratic	Gordon MacInnes	18,381	47.3%	12.7
Total votes			38,844	100.00%

District 26

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Leanna Brown (incumbent)	25,260	74.1%	5.9
	Democratic	Helen Litwin	8,839	25.9%	5.9
Total votes			34,099	100.00%

District 27

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Richard Codey (incumbent)	17,064	76.4%	1.2
	Republican	Felix (Phil) Graziano	5,270	23.6%	1.2
Total votes			22,334	100.00%

District 28

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Ronald Rice (incumbent)	10,327	77.3%	3.2
	Republican	Michael J. Volk	3,040	22.7%	11.5
Total votes			13,367	100.00%

District 29

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Wynona M. Lipman (incumbent)	10,678	100.0%	14.5
Total votes			10,678	100.00%

District 30

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Carmen A. Orechio (incumbent)	20,949	50.1%	3.7
	Republican	Thomas P. Zampino	18,455	44.2%	0.0
	Independent	John W. Kinder	2,371	5.7%	N/A
Total votes			41,775	100.00%

District 31

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Edward T. O'Connor Jr. (incumbent)	22,980	78.1%	2.6
	Republican	William V. Connelly	6,437	21.9%	2.6
Total votes			29,417	100.00%

District 32

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Thomas F. Cowan (incumbent)	27,065	66.4%	2.6
	Republican	Charles J. Catrillo	13,241	32.5%	0.1
	Politicians Are Crooks	Herbert H. Shaw	451	1.1%	2.5
Total votes			40,757	100.00%

District 33

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Christopher Jackman (incumbent)	19,944	60.6%	5.9
	Republican	Ronald Dario	12,668	38.5%	5.0
	"Pride-Responsibility"	Hector Morales	282	0.9%	N/A
Total votes			32,894	100.00%

District 34

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Joseph Bubba (incumbent)	24,622	53.9%	2.9
	Democratic	Donald P. Hetchka	21,053	46.1%	2.9
Total votes			45,675	100.00%

District 35

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Frank X. Graves Jr. (incumbent)	21,793	100.00%	25.7
Total votes			21,793	100.00%

District 36

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Gabriel M. Ambrosio (incumbent)	22,746	51.2%	8.4
	Republican	Kathleen A. Donovan	21,716	48.8%	8.4
Total votes			44,462	100.00%

District 37

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Matthew Feldman (incumbent)	31,342	66.6%	2.3
	Republican	Shel Haas	15,731	33.4%	2.3
Total votes			47,073	100.00%

District 38

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Paul Contillo (incumbent)	23,574	52.6%	1.9
	Republican	Louis F. Kosco	21,206	47.4%	1.9
Total votes			44,780	100.00%

District 39

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Gerald Cardinale (incumbent)	31,585	67.1%	15.9
	Democratic	Louis B. Redisch	15,499	32.9%	15.9
Total votes			47,084	100.00%

District 40

New Jersey general election, 1987^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Henry McNamara	29,365	71.9%	3.2
	Democratic	Terry R. Driller	11,453	28.1%	3.2
Total votes			40,818	100.00%

References

1. "Candidates for the Offices of State Senate and General Assembly" (PDF). Retrieved June 26, 2021.