1928 United States Senate election in New Jersey explained

Election Name:1928 United States Senate election in New Jersey
Country:New Jersey
Flag Year:1896
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:1922 United States Senate election in New Jersey
Previous Year:1922
Next Election:1934 United States Senate election in New Jersey
Next Year:1934
Election Date:November 6, 1928
Nominee1:Hamilton Fish Kean
Party1:Republican Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:841,752
Percentage1:57.87%
Nominee2:Edward I. Edwards
Party2:Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:608,623
Percentage2:41.84%
Map Size:280px
Senator
Before Election:Edward I. Edwards
Before Party:Democratic Party (United States)
After Election:Hamilton Fish Kean
After Party:Republican Party (United States)

The United States Senate election of 1928 in New Jersey was held on November 6, 1928. Incumbent Democratic Senator Edward I. Edwards ran for re-election to a second term in office, but was defeated by Hamilton Fish Kean in a landslide. This was the third of four straight elections to this seat in which the incumbents were defeated.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Senator Edwards was unopposed for the re-nomination.

Republican primary

Candidates

Campaign

In June 1924, former Senator Joseph Frelinghuysen declined to run for the U.S. Senate and announced his intention to run in this election instead.[2]

In June 1927, party chair and former Governor Edward C. Stokes entered the race after failing to convince Frelinghuysen and Hamilton Fish Kean to step aside for a compromise candidate. Frelinghuysen derided Stokes for having no particular candidate in mind.[3]

Kean formally announced his entry into the race on January 19, claiming that President Calvin Coolidge had advised him to run.[4]

Lillian Feickert and Edward W. Gray ran peripheral campaigns focused on the issue of prohibition; Feickert supported prohibition and Gray was opposed. Feickert ran as the sole "dry" candidate.[5]

Campaign spending

In February, Frelinghuysen claimed that other candidates were spending too freely and risking an investigation by James Reed's Senate committee on campaign spending, which had begun investigations into the elections of William Scott Vare and Frank L. Smith. (Both would ultimately be expelled.) Most observers took this as an attack on Kean.[6]

Kean, Frelinghuysen, and Stokes were all called to testify before the Reed committee in early June. Both Kean and Frelinghuysen testified that they donated the maximum $50,000 to their campaigns and did not accept outside funding; Kean repudiated charges from the committee that he had issued a "blank check."

Kean claimed $49,366.30 in spending. Frelinghuysen claimed $48,774.97. Stokes testified that he had raised 16,355, of which he contributed $3,000 personally. He claimed to have spent only $14,609.[7]

Results

On election night, the results were too close to call.[8]

Robert Carey, a reformist Jersey City judge who lost the Republican nomination for Governor to Morgan F. Larson, quickly alleged that many Hudson County Democrats had voted in the Republican primary for Larson and Stokes as part of a deal with Democratic boss Frank Hague. Carey demanded an investigation by the state Attorney General, which Kean and Frelinghuysen seconded.[8]

Results by county

CountyKean%Stokes%Frelinghuysen%Feickert%Gray%Total
Atlantic22,67270%5,25816%2,6008%9543%9063%32,390
Bergen13,10731%5,56613%17,35541%2,5606%3,3498%41,937
Burlington5,12527%6,19833%5,08827%1,5688%1,0516%19,030
Camden27,09552%9,41618%11,06621%2,6105%1,8734%52,060
Cape May4,02155%1,67823%94813%4807%2373%7,364
Cumberland1,4689%10,25462%3,31420%1,0636%4173%16,516
Essex22,27429%19,92626%26,55934%3,2724%5,8067%77,837
Gloucester3,80125%3,10520%7,49549%6584%3582%15,417
Hudson9,04919%26,37354%9,80820%1,4153%2,0704%48,715
Hunterdon70718%1,27432%1,59940%3018%1073%3,988
Mercer1,7538%14,96671%2,96614%9114%6253%21,221
Middlesex5,65027%7,44835%5,97228%1,2476%8144%21,131
Monmouth8,09143%4,08822%4,54724%1,1626%8815%18,769
Morris3,75422%5,50233%7,59145%1,5889%1,0296%16,847
Ocean3,04040%1,37218%2,11628%3405%6609%7,528
Passaic16,26744%7,80721%9,46126%1,2343%1,8345%36,603
Salem1,25825%1,89637%1,25825%58511%1092%5,106
Somerset1,09312%1,25713%5,76462%8709%3394%9,323
Sussex53621%74729%89234%2379%1847%2,596
Union15,40942%6,25317%9,93327%2,6147%2,1416%36,350
Warren85920%1,73941%1,10826%3609%1694%4,235

Aftermath

The primary left a lasting rift in the state Republican Party. At the party convention weeks later, Stokes denounced "payroll politicians" and unsuccessfully called for a resolution to bar candidates from spending except on specific items, which he claimed would prevent the nomination from being "purchased."[9] Frelinghuysen also demanded an investigation of Carey's charges against Hague, denouncing "those who pretended to be loyal Republicans but who traded with the Democratic bosses."[9]

Frelinghuysen finally endorsed Kean in September, citing his friendship with Herbert Hoover and his support for the "progressive policies" of the Coolidge administration.[10] He ran for Senate again in 1930 but finished a distant third in the primary to Dwight Morrow.

General election

Candidates

Results

See also

References


Notes and References

  1. Web site: Results of the Primary Election May 15th, 1928. Secretary of the State of New Jersey. 18 Aug 2021.
  2. News: The New York Times. subscription. 25 Apr 2022. FRELINGHUYSEN OUT OF RACE THIS YEAR: Defeated United States Senator Will Run Again in 1928, It Is Announced.. 29 Jun 1924. 10.
  3. News: The New York Times. subscription. 25 Apr 2022. FRELINGHUYSEN HITS STOKES PEACE PLAN. 30. 22 Jun 1927.
  4. News: The New York Times. subscription. 25 Apr 2022. KEAN ENTERS RACE FOR JERSEY SENATE. 2. 20 Jan 1928.
  5. News: The New York Times. subscription. 25 Apr 2022. WOMAN IN RACE FOR U.S. SENATE. 140. 15 Apr 1928.
  6. News: The New York Times. subscription. 25 Apr 2022. BIG FUNDS SCORED BY FRELINGHUYSEN: Candidate Warns Senate Inquiry Into Primary Expenditures in Jersey Is Possible. 3. 22 Feb 1928.
  7. News: The New York Times. subscription. 25 Apr 2022. STOKES LAYS DEFEAT TO RIVALS' SPENDING. 7. 6 Jun 1928.
  8. News: KEAN HOLDS LEAD BY NARROW MARGIN IN JERSEY PRIMARY. The New York Times. subscription. 25 Apr 2022. 16 May 1928. 1.
  9. News: REPUBLICANS FAIL TO HEAL JERSEY RIFT. The New York Times. subscription. 25 Apr 2022. 8. 30 May 1928.
  10. News: The New York Times. subscription. 25 Apr 2022. FRELINGHUYSEN FOR KEAN. 4. 11 Sep 1928.