1954 United States Senate election in New Jersey
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 County results Case: 50–60% 60–70% Howell: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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The 1954 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held on November 2, 1954. Republican U.S Representative Clifford P. Case defeated Democratic U.S. Representative Charles R. Howell with 48.66% of the vote.
This election was decided by the fewest votes (3,507) and narrowest percentage margin (0.19%) in New Jersey history.
Background
[edit]During the 1950s, New Jersey was considered a political battleground and microcosm of national politics. As a heavily industrialized state with a substantial organized labor movement, the state tended to favor the Democratic Party, which centered on the declining political machine which had been led for many years by Jersey City boss Frank Hague. However, in the 1952 election of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the professional class of New York City and Philadelphia commuters scored a major victory for the Republican Party.[1] A smaller element of Republicans, who supported Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin in his crusade against communism, centered on Hudson County.[1]
In 1953, the Republican Party lost the New Jersey gubernatorial election for the first time since 1940.[1]
Republican primary
[edit]Candidates
[edit]- Clifford Case, U.S. Representative from Rahway
Declined
[edit]- Robert C. Hendrickson, incumbent Senator since 1949
Results
[edit]Case was unopposed for the Republican nomination.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Clifford Case | 336,514 | 100.00% | |
| Total votes | 336,514 | 100.00% | ||
Democratic primary
[edit]Candidates
[edit]- Charles R. Howell, U.S. Representative from Pennington
Results
[edit]Howell was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Charles R. Howell | 230,250 | 100.00% | |
| Total votes | 230,250 | 100.00% | ||
General election
[edit]Candidates
[edit]- George Breitman (Socialist Workers)
- Clifford P. Case, U.S. Representative from Rahway (Republican)
- Fred A. Hartley Jr., former U.S. Representative from Kearney (write-in)
- Charles R. Howell, U.S. Representative from Pennington (Democratic)
- Henry B. Krajewski, pig farmer and candidate for President in 1952 and Governor in 1953 (American Third Party)
- Albert Ronis (Socialist Labor)
Campaign
[edit]In the first weeks of the campaign, Case's car was sideswiped near Vineland and he was knocked unconscious.[1]
Corruption scandals played a major role in the campaign. While traditionally, Republicans and reformers had opposed the Hague machine as the seat of corruption in New Jersey, recent scandals in the Republican Party and the reform reputation of Governor Robert B. Meyner had flipped the issue on Case.[1]
During the campaign, Case openly criticized Senator Joseph McCarthy, and pledged to vote against seating McCarthy on any committee with investigative functions.[3] McCarthy's supporters called him "a pro-Communist Republicrat" and "Stalin's choice for Senator."[4] The Newark Star-Ledger quoted former Communist Party leader Bella Dodd as saying that Case's sister Adelaide was "an active member of several Communist front groups." It was later revealed, however, that the Adelaide Case in question was not the candidate's sister but a college professor who had died in 1948.[5][6]
In September, a conservative faction within the Republican Party led by James P. Selvage, a former press agent for the National Association of Manufacturers, unsuccessfully appealed to President Eisenhower and Senator H. Alexander Smith to force Case off the ballot, charging that he was both a weak candidate and too liberal for the Republican Party, citing his associations with the Congress of Industrial Organizations and the Americans for Democratic Action.[1] In response, however, Eisenhower and Vice President Richard M. Nixon endorsed Case at a visit to the White House.[1][7] The Selvage faction proposed a write-in campaign for former U.S. Representative Fred A. Hartley, Jr., co-author of the Taft-Hartley Act.[1]
Results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Clifford P. Case | 861,528 | 48.66% |  1.33
| |
| Democratic | Charles R. Howell | 858,158 | 48.47% |  1.17
| |
| Independent | Henry B. Krajewski | 35,421 | 2.00% | N/A | |
| Independent | Fred A. Hartley, Jr. (write-in) | 7,025 | 0.40% | N/A | |
| Socialist Labor | Albert Ronis | 4,832 | 0.27% | 0.06
| |
| Socialist Workers | George Breitman | 3,590 | 0.20% | 0.23
| |
| Republican hold | Swing | ||||
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h TIME (October 18, 1954). "NEW JERSEY: A Political Microcosm". TIME. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
- ^ a b "1954 Primary Results" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State.
- ^ Current Biography. H.W. Wilson Company. 1956.
- ^ McFadden, Robert D. (March 7, 1982). "Ex-Senator Clifford P. Case, 77, Is Dead". The New York Times.
- ^ Back in the Gutter". Time, October 25, 1954. Accessed June 8, 2008.
- ^ "McCarthyism's Effects In New Jersey". The New York Times, June 28, 1992. Accessed June 8, 2008.
- ^ "Clifford P. Case II". Rutgers University.
- ^ "NJ US Senate". Retrieved February 26, 2020.