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| Turnout | 70%[1] ( 15pp) | ||||||||||||||||
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 County results Congressional district resultsCorzine: 40-50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Franks: 40-50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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The2000 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held on November 7, 2000. IncumbentDemocratic U.S. SenatorFrank Lautenberg retired rather than seeking a fourth term. Democratic nomineeJon Corzine, former CEO ofGoldman Sachs, defeated theRepublican U.S. RepresentativeBob Franks in a close election.
For most of the prior years, the election was expected to pit the incumbent, Lautenberg, against popular Republican governorChristine Todd Whitman. Lautenberg unexpectedly announced his retirement from the Senate in February 1999, leaving the race open. Whitman announced in April that she would form a campaign committee to enter the race in earnest; however, she stunned political observers in September 1999 by announcing that she would withdraw from the race, citing fundraising concerns.
Primary elections were held on June 7. Corzine defeated former GovernorJim Florio in the Democratic primary by a wide margin after a hard-fought campaign in which Corzine spent over $35 million of his own money. Franks narrowly defeated State SenatorWilliam Gormley to capture the Republican nomination.
In the general election, Corzine continued to spend freely to advertise his campaign and establish political support. Ultimately, he defeated Franks by approximately three percent of the total vote.
Incumbent U.S. senatorFrank R. Lautenberg was electedin 1982 in an upset victory over RepresentativeMillicent Fenwick. In his two re-election bids, Lautenberg beat Pete Dawkinsin 1988 by a 54%-46% margin and held back a challenge from Assembly SpeakerChuck Haytaian by a smaller margin of 50%-47%in 1994. New Jersey had not elected a Republican to the United States Senate since 1972.
For most of 1998 and 1999, speculation on the race centered on popular Republican governorChristine Todd Whitman, who had run a surprisingly strong campaign for the state's other Senate seat in 1990 and was widely expected to challenge Lautenberg for re-election. After a February 1999 poll by theQuinnipiac University Polling Institute indicated that Whitman would defeat Lautenberg by a wide margin, as would former Republican governor Tom Kean, Lautenberg unexpectedly announced that he would retire rather than seek a fourth term in office, leaving the seat open.[2][3] In her initial response to the announcement, Whitman told reporters that she was "seriously considering all of [her] options."[2]
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Christine Whitman (R) | Tom Kean (R) | Frank Lautenberg (D) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quinnipiac[4] | April 15–20, 1998 | 860 RV | ±3.3% | 44% | – | 45% | 11% |
| Rutgers-Eagleton[5][not specific enough to verify] | January 7–13, 1999 | 623 RV | ±4.0% | 40% | – | 42% | 18% |
| Quinnipiac[6] | February 3–8, 1999 | 860 RV | ±3.3% | 50% | – | 41% | 9% |
| – | 46% | 42% | 12% |
Lautenberg later regretted his decision not to run[citation needed] andwas elected to New Jersey's other Senate seat in 2002 after his former colleague, SenatorRobert Torricelli, prematurely ended his re-election campaign in disgrace.
Whitman filed a campaign committee with theFederal Election Commission on April 8, 1999 in order to raise funds for a potential race. In her announcement, Whitman said, "This is not anexploratory committee. This is a campaign committee. I am obviously very serious about contemplating this run and moving forward." She emphasized that she would focus on "being governor" and refrain from campaign until 2000.[7] Her campaign committee was chaired by prominent fundraisersLewis Eisenberg and Candace Straight, and Whitman was also expected to rely on her large family fortune to fund her campaign.[7]
Despite her large lead in all public opinion polling, Whitman stunned observers herself by announcing on September 8, 1999 that she no longer planned to run for the vacant seat. At a public news conference at theNew Jersey State House, she said that she had made the decision while on a recent family vacation after determining that the race would be "a distraction from finishing the work New Jersey voters had asked me to complete."[8] She also cited her concerns regarding "the amount of money that needs to be raised and just the time that it takes to do it."[8] Privately, Whitman had reportedly factored in the burden of outspendingJon Corzine, who had promised to spend any amount necessary to win the race and had a personal fortune estimated at over $300 million and had already given his campaign $500,000 in direct funding.[8] Whitman advisers were reportedly surprised by the decision, since she had raised approximately $2.3 million since her committee was announced. She explicitly denied rumors that she had withdrawn due to health concerns or in order to be nominated for vice president of the United States as a running mate toGeorge W. Bush. Bush publicly expressed his surprised and regret at her withdrawal.[8]
The Whitman announcement immediately reversed the outlook for the two major political parties. Republicans admitted that the decision left them without a clear front-runner for the nomination, while the two Democratic candidates, Corzine andJim Florio, predicted that the Democratic primary would determine the election.[8]Paul von Zielbauer ofThe New York Times noted that despite her wide lead in all polling, Whitman had won her two campaigns for governor by narrow margins and had never been on the ballot in a presidential election year, when Democratic voters typically turned out in larger numbers, and growing scrutiny of the use ofracial profiling by theNew Jersey State Police may have contributed to her decision not to run.[8]
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Christine Whitman (R) | Jim Florio (D) | Frank Pallone (D) | Thomas Byrne (D) | Jon Corzine (D) | Bob Grant (I) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quinnipiac[6] | March 23–29, 1999 | 984 RV | ±3.1% | 51% | 35% | – | – | – | – | 14% |
| 50% | – | 29% | – | – | – | 21% | ||||
| Rutgers-Eagleton[5][not specific enough to verify] | April 28–May 6, 1999 | 623 RV | ±4.0% | 46% | 39% | – | – | – | – | 15% |
| 46% | – | 35% | – | – | – | 18% | ||||
| 46% | – | – | 34% | – | – | 20% | ||||
| Quinnipiac[9] | June 2–7, 1999 | 1,109 RV | ±2.9% | 50% | 38% | – | – | – | – | 12% |
| Quinnipiac[10] | July 13–20, 1999 | 1,082 RV | ±3.0% | 52% | 35% | – | – | – | – | 13% |
| 46% | 32% | – | – | – | 11% | 11% | ||||
| 56% | – | – | – | 22% | – | 22% | ||||
| 52% | – | – | – | 17% | 11% | 21% |
Following Lautenberg's announced retirement, several candidates publicly considered campaigns. The leading contender was U.S. representativeBob Menendez, who had considered campaigns for Senate in 1996 and governor in 1997 before ultimately declining to run. Menendez had recently been elected to House leadership and had raised $1.5 million in anticipation of Lautenberg's retirement, though he had stopped his fundraising efforts in 1998 in an effort to preserve party unity.[2][3] However, Menendez did not enter the race.
The field ultimately narrowed toJim Florio, the former governor who had been defeated by Whitman in 1993, andJon Corzine, a formerGoldman Sachs executive who spent freely to secure the nomination. Privately, party leaders questioned the desirability of running Florio, since they preferred to support a new face for the nomination.[2]
Corzine spent $35 million of his fortunes into this primary election alone.[11][12]
During the campaign, Corzine made a number of controversialoff-color statements. Emanuel Alfano, chairman of the Italian-American One Voice Committee, claimed that when introduced to a man with an Italian name who said he was in the construction business, Corzine quipped, "Oh, you makecement shoes!" Alfano also reported that when introduced to a lawyer named David Stein, Corzine said, "He's not Italian, is he? Oh, I guess he's your Jewish lawyer who is here to get the rest of you out of jail."[13] Corzine denied mentioning religion, but did not deny the quip about Italians, claiming that some of his own ancestors were probably Italian or maybe French.[14][15]
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | James Florio | Jon Corzine | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quinnipiac[16] | July 13–20, 1999 | 1,082 RV | ± 3.0% | 55% | 19% | 26% |
| Quinnipiac[16] | February 16–21, 2000 | 374 RV | ± 5.1% | 57% | 22% | 21% |
| Quinnipiac[17] | March 21–27, 2000 | 400 RV | ± 4.9% | 50% | 26% | 24% |
| Quinnipiac[18] | May 1–8, 2000 | 347 RV | ± 5.3% | 33% | 48% | 19% |
| Quinnipiac[19] | May 17–23, 2000 | 371 LV | ± 5.1% | 30% | 56% | 14% |
Corzine was endorsed by State SenatorsRaymond Zane,Wayne Bryant, andJohn Adler. He was also endorsed by U.S. RepresentativeBob Menendez and U.S. SenatorRobert Torricelli.
Florio was endorsed by theNew Jersey Democratic Party, AssemblymanJoseph Doria and State SenatorJohn A. Lynch Jr.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jon Corzine | 251,216 | 57.96% | |
| Democratic | James Florio | 182,212 | 42.04% | |
| Total votes | 433,428 | 100.00% | ||
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Murray Sabrin | Bob Franks | James Treffinger | William Gormley | Brian Kennedy | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quinnipiac[23] | March 21–27, 2000 | 348 RV | ± 5.3% | 5% | 14% | 7% | 9% | 6% | 59% |
| Quinnipiac[24] | May 1–8, 2000 | 311 RV | ± 5.6% | 5% | 18% | 8% | 14% | - | 55% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Steve Forbes | Murray Sabrin | Bob Franks | James Treffinger | William Gormley | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quinnipiac[25] | February 16–21, 2000 | 307 RV | ± 5.6% | 33% | 4% | 8% | 5% | 10% | 40% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bob Franks | 98,370 | 35.7% | |
| Republican | William Gormley | 94,010 | 34.1% | |
| Republican | James W. Treffinger | 48,674 | 17.7% | |
| Republican | Murray Sabrin | 34,629 | 12.6% | |
| Total votes | 275,683 | 100.00% | ||
Franks, a moderate Republican,[26] attacked Corzine for "trying to buy the election and of advocating big-government spending programs that the nation can ill afford." Corzine accused Franks of wanting to "dismantle" theSocial Security system because he supported GovernorGeorge W. Bush'spartial privatization plan.[27]
During the campaign, Corzine refused to release hisincome tax return records. He claimed an interest in doing so, but he cited aconfidentiality agreement with Goldman Sachs. Skeptics argued that he should have followed the example of his predecessorRobert Rubin, who converted hisequity stake into debt upon leaving Goldman.[28]
Corzine campaigned for state government programs includinguniversal health care, universalgun registration, mandatory public preschool, and more taxpayer funding for college education.[29][30] He pushedaffirmative action andsame-sex marriage.[31]David Brooks considered Corzine so liberal that although his predecessor was also a Democrat, his election helped shift the Senate to the left.[32]
Corzine was accused of exchanging donations to black ministers for their endorsements after a foundation controlled by him and his wife donated $25,000 to an influential black church.[33] Rev. Reginald T. Jackson, the director of the Black Ministers Council, and a notable advocate againstracial profiling against minority drivers in traffic stops, was criticized for endorsing Corzine after receiving a large donation from the then candidate.[34]
Franks generally trailed Corzine in the polls until the final week, when he pulled even in a few polls. Corzine spent $63 million, while Franks spent only $6 million.[35]
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Jon Corzine (D) | Bob Franks (R) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rutgers-Eagleton[5][not specific enough to verify] | September 15–21, 1999 | 560 LV | ±4.0% | 24% | 30% | 47% |
| Rutgers-Eagleton[5][not specific enough to verify] | February 28–March 9, 2000 | 626 LV | ±4.0% | 24% | 25% | 51% |
| Rutgers-Eagleton[5][not specific enough to verify] | June 8–13, 2000 | 579 RV | ±4.0% | 43% | 33% | 23% |
| 442 LV | ±5.0% | 43% | 36% | 20% | ||
| Quinnipiac[36] | June 20–26, 2000 | 1,004 RV | ± 3.1% | 46% | 26% | 28% |
| Quinnipiac[37] | July 19–24, 2000 | 910 RV | ± 3.3% | 50% | 30% | 20% |
| Quinnipiac[38] | August 18–22, 2000 | 802 RV | ± 3.5% | 43% | 35% | 22% |
| Rutgers-Eagleton[5][not specific enough to verify] | September 6–13, 2000 | 670 RV | ±4.0% | 47% | 32% | 21% |
| 542 LV | ±4.5% | 45% | 36% | 19% | ||
| Quinnipiac[39] | September 26–Oct. 1, 2000 | 820 LV | ± 3.4% | 48% | 34% | 18% |
| 1,045 RV | ± 3.0% | 44% | 30% | 20% | ||
| Rutgers-Eagleton[5][40] | October 12–15, 2000 | 482 RV | ±4.5% | 45% | 33% | 22% |
| 367 LV | ±5.5% | 45% | 37% | 18% | ||
| Quinnipiac[41] | October 18–23, 2000 | 909 LV | ± 3.3% | 46% | 41% | 13% |
| Rutgers-Eagleton[5] | October 23–26, 2000 | 432 LV | ±4.5% | 46% | 37% | 17% |
| Quinnipiac[42] | October 24–30, 2000 | 793 LV | ± 3.5% | 47% | 39% | 14% |
| Quinnipiac[43] | November 1–5, 2000 | 770 LV | ± 3.4% | 43% | 45% | 12% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Bob Franks (R) | Bill Gormley (R) | Jim Treffinger (R) | Jim Florio (D) | Frank Pallone (D) | Thomas Byrne (D) | Jon Corinze (D) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rutgers-Eagleton[5] | September 15–21, 1999 | 560 RV | ±4.0% | 31% | – | – | – | – | 29% | – | 41% |
| – | 31% | – | – | – | – | 24% | 45% | ||||
| 34% | – | – | 41% | – | – | – | 26% | ||||
| – | 33% | – | 41% | – | – | – | 18% | ||||
| – | – | 33% | 41% | – | – | – | 18% | ||||
| Rutgers-Eagleton[5] | February 28–March 9, 2000 | 626 RV | ±4.0% | – | 27% | – | – | – | – | 23% | 50% |
| – | 21% | – | – | – | – | 24% | 55% | ||||
| 33% | – | – | 36% | – | – | – | 31% | ||||
| – | 32% | – | 37% | – | – | – | 31% | ||||
| – | – | 31% | 36% | – | – | – | 33% |
Despite being heavily outspent, Franks lost by only three percentage points, doing better that year than Republican GovernorGeorge W. Bush in thepresidential election, who obtained just 40.29% of the vote in the state.[44]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jon Corzine | 1,511,237 | 50.11% |  0.18 | |
| Republican | Bob Franks | 1,420,267 | 47.10% | 0.08 | |
| Green | Bruce Afran | 32,841 | 1.09% | N/A | |
| Reform | Pat DiNizio | 19,312 | 0.64% | N/A | |
| Libertarian | Emerson Ellett | 7,241 | 0.24% | +.44% | |
| Independent | Dennis A. Breen | 6,061 | 0.20% | N/A | |
| Trust in God | J.M. Carter | 5,657 | 0.19% | N/A | |
| Conservative | Lorraine LaNeve | 3,836 | 0.13% | N/A | |
| Socialist | Gregory Pason | 3,365 | 0.11% | 0.35 | |
| Socialist Workers | Nancy Rosenstock | 3,309 | 0.11% | 0.07 | |
| God Bless Jersey | George Gostigian | 2,536 | 0.08% | N/A | |
| Majority | 90,970 | 3.01% | −.26% | ||
| Total votes | 3,015,662 | 100.0% | N/A | ||
| Democratichold | |||||
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Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
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Official campaign websites (archived)
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