2008 United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey

2008 United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey
All 13 New Jersey seats to the United States House of Representatives
	Results:; Democratic hold Democratic gain; Republican hold ;

The 2008 congressional elections in New Jersey were held on November 4, 2008 to determine who would represent the state of New Jersey in the United States House of Representatives. New Jersey has thirteen seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States census. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; those elected serve din the 111th Congress from January 4, 2009 until January 3, 2011. The election coincided with the 2008 U.S. presidential election.

The statewide party primary elections were held June 3, 2008.

District 3 was the only seat which changed party (from open Republican to Democratic), although CQ Politics had forecasted districts 3, 5 and 7 to be at some risk for the incumbent party. This is the last time that any district saw one party run uncontested, in this case, the 10th.

Overview

United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey, 2008^[1]
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats	+/–
	Democratic	1,911,827	55.61%	8	1
	Republican	1,461,820	42.52%	5	1
	Green	12,554	0.37%	0
	Libertarian	1,600	0.05%	0
	Constitution	1,551	0.05%	0
	Independents	48,628	1.41%	0
Totals		3,437,980	100.00%	13	—

District 1

This district contains all or parts of Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties.

Candidates

Rob Andrews (Democratic), incumbent U.S. Representative since 1990
Dale Glading (Republican), founder of Saints Prison Ministry

Election

Incumbent Democrat Rob Andrews, in a surprise move on April 2, 2008, announced that he would be challenging incumbent Sen. Frank Lautenberg in the Democratic primary in June.^[2] His House seat, which is reliably Democratic (CPVI: D+14), thus became an open seat. The filing deadline for primary candidates was April 7, leaving only a few days for candidates to declare.

Andrews' wife, Camille Andrews, won the Democratic primary for his seat in the House, while Andrews himself was beaten by Lautenberg in the Senate primary. After this defeat, Rob Andrews decided to run for re-election to his House seat; Camille withdrew her candidacy on September 3, and Rob Andrews announced that on September 4 that he would take her place as the Democratic candidate. He maintained that his wife had not been merely a placeholder candidate and said that he had only decided to run for re-election a week before he announced it; according to Andrews, his change of heart was a result of personal reflection.^[3]

Results

New Jersey's 1st congressional district election, 2008
	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Rob Andrews (incumbent)	206,453	72.40
Republican	Dale Glading	74,001	25.95
Independents		4,703	1.65

District 2

This district lies in the southern part of the state, containing all or portions of Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May: Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties.

Candidates

Dave Kurkowski (Democratic), City Councilman from Cape May
Frank LoBiondo (Republican), incumbent U.S. Representative since 1995

Results

New Jersey's 2nd congressional district election, 2008
	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Frank LoBiondo (incumbent)	167,701	59.06
Democratic	David Kurkowski	110,990	39.09
Independents		5,274	1.86

Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets

District 3

This district contains all or portions of Burlington, Camden and Ocean counties.

Candidates

John Adler (Democratic), New Jersey State Senator
Chris Myers (Republican), Mayor of Medford

Election

Incumbent Republican Jim Saxton announced that he would retire at the end of his term.^[4] A mid-September internal poll by McLaughlin & Associates showed Myers defeating Adler by a margin of 33% to 29%, with a plurality of voters - 37% - undecided.^[5] The poll attributed Myers' lead to a general dissatisfaction among voters towards Adler's negative ads and negative mailers from various political committees supporting the Democrat. It also indicated that Adler's low approval ratings were partially due to the perception that he is a "career politician" and the fact that he is an Ivy League-educated lawyer. Adler's association with unpopular Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine also hurt him, while Myers was helped from his endorsement by incumbent Rep. Jim Saxton, who held a 53 percent favorable rating.^[6] However, later polls indicated that the race was too close to call.

Results

New Jersey's 3rd congressional district election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Adler	166,390	52.08
	Republican	Chris Myers	153,122	47.92

Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets

District 4

This district lies in the central part of the state, including all or portions of Burlington County, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean counties.

Candidates

Chris Smith (Republican), incumbent U.S. Representative (1981)
Josh Zeitz (Democratic), author, teacher, and historian

Results

New Jersey's 4th congressional district election, 2008
	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Chris Smith (incumbent)	202,972	66.21
Democratic	Josh Zeitz	100,036	32.63
Green	Steven Welzer	3,543	1.16

Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets

District 5

This district contains most of the Northern New Jersey Skylands Region of Sussex and Warren counties and stretches along the New York border into Northern Passaic and Bergen Counties, including the townships of Paramus and Ridgewood.

Candidates

Scott Garrett (Republican), incumbent U.S. Representative since 2003
Dennis Shulman (Democratic), psychologist, public speaker, and rabbi

Election

Republican incumbent Scott Garrett had been elected by safe margins in the past but in 2006 he only won by 10 points against Paul Aronsohn, the smallest margin of his career. Garrett was the only incumbent in the state thought to possibly be at risk.

Results

New Jersey's 5th congressional district election, 2008
	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Scott Garrett (incumbent)	172,653	55.87
Democratic	Dennis Shulman	131,033	42.40
Green	Ed Fanning	5,321	1.72

Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets

District 6

This district lies in the east-central part of the state, including all or portions of Middlesex, Monmouth, Somerset and Union counties.

Candidates

Robert McLeod (Republican), municipal judge
Frank Pallone (Democratic), incumbent U.S. representative since 1988

Results

New Jersey's 6th congressional district election, 2008
	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Frank Pallone (incumbent)	164,077	66.95
Republican	Robert McLeod	77,469	31.61
Regular Independent	Herb Tarbous	3,531	1.44

Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets

District 7

The incumbent, Republican Representative Mike Ferguson, announced on November 19, 2007, that he would not seek re-election, citing family obligations.^[7]

Candidates

Dean Greco (Independent), Clinton Township schoolteacher
Michael P. Hsing (Independent), Bridgewater Township councilman
Leonard Lance (Republican), State Senator and former Minority Leader
Linda Stender (Democratic), New Jersey Assemblywoman and 2006 Democratic nominee for New Jersey's 7th Congressional district

Eliminated in Republican primary

A.D. Amar, professor at Seton Hall University
Kate Whitman Annis, former ice hockey player and daughter of former Governor Christine Todd Whitman
Kelly Hatfield, former Summit County Council President
Leonard Lance (Republican), State Senator and former Minority Leader
Martin L. Marks, Mayor of Scotch Plains
Thomas Roughneen, former Assistant Prosecutor in both Union and Essex counties

Election

The district was considered to lean Republican, but the 2008 election was expected to be highly competitive, considering the closeness of the previous election.

Lance and Stender debated each other twice during the campaign. In September, they met in Scotch Plains for a debate hosted at the Jewish Community Campus of Central New Jersey. The candidates met in October in Edison for a second debate, which was televised on News 12 New Jersey.

Both major-party candidates campaigned with prominent politicians of their party in the months before the election. Lance campaigned with then U.S. President George W. Bush and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. Stender campaigned with former U.S. president Bill Clinton and U.S. House of Representatives majority leader Steny Hoyer.

New Jersey's 7th congressional district election, 2008
	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Leonard Lance	148,461	50.22
Democratic	Linda Stender	124,818	42.22
Independents		22,349	7.56

District 8

This district lies in the north-east part of the state, including all or portions of Essex and Passaic counties.

Candidates

Roland Straten (Republican), engineer and U.S. Navy veteran
Bill Pascrell Jr. (Democratic), incumbent U.S. Representative since 1997

Results

New Jersey's 8th congressional district election, 2008
	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Bill Pascrell (incumbent)	159,279	71.11
Republican	Roland Straten	63,107	28.17
Libertarian	Derek DeMarco	1,600	0.71

Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets

District 9

This district lies in the north-east part of the state, including all or portions of Bergen and Hudson and Passaic counties.

Candidates

Vincent Micco (Republican), U.S. Army veteran
Steve Rothman (Democratic), incumbent U.S. Representative since 1997

Results

New Jersey's 9th congressional district election, 2008
	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Steve Rothman (incumbent)	151,182	67.53
Republican	Vincent Micco	69,503	31.04
Independent/Progressive	Michael Perrone Jr.	3,200	1.43

Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets

District 10

This district lies in the north-east part of the state, including all or portions of Essex, Hudson and Union counties. Republicans again failed to nominate a candidate to oppose Payne, but the Socialist Workers Party nominated Michael Taber, an editor.

Candidates

Donald M. Payne (Democratic), incumbent U.S. Representative since 1989

Results

New Jersey's 10th congressional district election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Donald M. Payne (incumbent)	169,945	98.92
	Socialist Workers Party	Michael Taber	1,848	1.08

Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets

District 11

This district lies in the north-central part of the state, including all or portions of Essex, Morris, Passaic, Somerset and Sussex counties.

Candidates

Rodney Frelinghuysen (Republican), incumbent U.S. Representative since 1995
Tom Wyka (Democratic), information technology manager and 2006 Democratic nominee for New Jersey's 11th Congressional district

Results

New Jersey's 11th congressional district election, 2008
	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Rodney Frelinghuysen (incumbent)	189,696	61.84
Democratic	Tom Wyka	113,510	37.01
For The People	Chandler Tedholm	3,526	1.15

Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets

District 12

This district lies in the central part of the state, including all or portions of Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth and Somerset counties.

Candidates

Alan Bateman (Republican), deputy mayor of Holmdel Township
Rush Holt Jr. (Democratic), incumbent U.S. representative since 1999

Results

New Jersey's 12th congressional district election, 2008
	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Rush Holt Jr. (incumbent)	193,732	63.12
Republican	Alan Bateman	108,400	35.32
Common Sense Ideas	David Corsi	4,802	1.56

Campaign Contributions from OpenSecrets.org

District 13

This district lies in the north-east part of the state, including all or portions of Essex, Hudson, Middlesex and Union counties.

Candidates

Albio Sires (Democratic), incumbent U.S. Representative since 2006
Joseph Turula, former Pompton Lakes councilman and lawyer

Results

New Jersey's 13th congressional district election, 2008
	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Albio Sires (incumbent)	206,453	75.36
Republican	Joseph Turula	34,375	21.74
Independents		4,636	2.90

Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets

References

^ 2008 Election Statistics
^ David W. Chen, Lautenberg to face Primary Challenge The New York Times, April 2, 2008
^ "Wife bows out, so Rep. Andrews can run", UPI, September 4, 2008.
^ philly.com
^ "Poll: Myers, Adler in close race for 3rd District seat (phillyBurbs.com) | Burlington County Times". Archived from the original on September 18, 2008. Retrieved September 16, 2008.
^ Campaign | The Hill
^ Chebium, Raju. "Ferguson won't seek reelection to Congress" Archived 2008-02-29 at archive.today, Home News Tribune, November 19, 2007. Accessed November 19, 2007. "Rep. Mike Ferguson, R-Warren Township, said today he won’t seek reelection next year to a fifth term… The next elections are in November 2008; Stender is again a Democratic candidate for the 7th district seat Ferguson currently occupies."

External links

Division of Elections from the New Jersey Secretary of State
U.S. Congress candidates for New Jersey at Project Vote Smart
New Jersey U.S. House Races from 2008 Race Tracker
Campaign contributions for New Jersey congressional races from OpenSecrets

Preceded by 2006 elections	United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey 2008	Succeeded by 2010 elections

[1] 2008 Election Statistics

[2] David W. Chen, Lautenberg to face Primary Challenge The New York Times, April 2, 2008

[3] "Wife bows out, so Rep. Andrews can run", UPI, September 4, 2008.

[4] y.com

[5] "Poll: Myers, Adler in close race for 3rd District seat (phillyBurbs.com) | Burlington County Times". Archived from the original on September 18, 2008. Retrieved September 16, 2008.

[6] Campaign | The Hill

[7] Chebium, Raju. "Ferguson won't seek reelection to Congress" Archived 2008-02-29 at archive.today, Home News Tribune, November 19, 2007. Accessed November 19, 2007. "Rep. Mike Ferguson, R-Warren Township, said today he won’t seek reelection next year to a fifth term… The next elections are in November 2008; Stender is again a Democratic candidate for the 7th district seat Ferguson currently occupies."

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