2000 United States Senate election in New Jersey

The 2000 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held on November 7, 2000. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg retired rather than seeking a fourth term. Democratic nominee Jon Corzine, former CEO of Goldman Sachs, defeated the Republican U.S. Representative Bob Franks in a close election.

Primary elections were held on June 7. Corzine defeated former Governor Jim 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 Senator William Gormley to capture the Republican nomination.

Background
Incumbent Senator Frank R. Lautenberg was first elected in 1982 in an upset victory over Representative Millicent Fenwick. In his two re-election bids, Lautenberg beat Pete Dawkins in 1988 by a 54%-46% margin and held back a challenge from Assembly Speaker Chuck Haytaian by a smaller margin of 50%-47% in 1994.

In 2000, popular Governor of New Jersey Christine Todd Whitman was expected to challenge Lautenberg, and opinion polls showed Lautenberg losing by a large margin to Whitman or popular former Governor Thomas Kean. Lautenberg announced his retirement, but both Whitman and Kean declined to run for the Senate. Lautenberg later regretted his decision and was elected to New Jersey's other Senate seat in 2002 after his colleague, Senator Robert Torricelli, was involved in a campaign finance scandal and prematurely ended his re-election campaign in disgrace.

Candidates

 * Jon Corzine, former CFO and senior partner of Goldman Sachs
 * James Florio, former Governor of New Jersey and U.S. Representative from Camden

Withdrew

 * Frank Lautenberg, incumbent Senator since 1982

Declined

 * Thomas Byrne, former chair of the New Jersey Democratic Committee
 * Frank Pallone, U.S. Representative from Long Branch

Campaign
Corzine spent $35 million of his fortunes into this primary election alone.

During the campaign, Corzine made some controversial off-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 make cement 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." 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.

Governor Florio was unpopular during his tenure in office. He signed a $2.8 Billion tax increase in 1990, which resulted in Republicans winning control of the legislature in 1991, and his reelection loss in the 1993 gubernatorial election to Christine Todd Whitman.

Endorsements
Corzine was endorsed by State Senators Raymond Zane, Wayne Bryant, and John Adler. He was also endorsed by U.S. Representative Bob Menendez and U.S. Senator Robert Torricelli.

Florio was endorsed by the New Jersey Democratic Party, Assemblyman Joseph Doria and State Senator John A. Lynch Jr.

Candidates

 * William Gormley, State Senator from Mays Landing
 * Bob Franks, U.S. Representative from Summit
 * Murray Sabrin, Libertarian nominee for Governor in 1997
 * James Treffinger, Essex County Executive and former Mayor of Verona

Declined

 * Steve Forbes, publisher of Forbes and candidate for President in 1996 (ran for President)
 * Frank LoBiondo, U.S. Representative from Ventnor City
 * Christine Todd Whitman, Governor of New Jersey since 1994

Candidates

 * Bruce Afran (Green)
 * Dennis A. Breen (Independent)
 * J.M. Carter (Trust In God)
 * Jon Corzine, former CFO of Goldman Sachs (Democratic)
 * Pat DiNizio, lead singer of The Smithereens (Reform)
 * Emerson Ellett (Libertarian)
 * Bob Franks, U.S. Representative from Summit (Republican)
 * George Gostigian (God Bless NJ)
 * Lorraine LaNeve (Conservative)
 * Gregory Pason (Socialist)
 * Nancy Rosenstock (Socialist Workers)

Campaign
Franks, a moderate Republican, 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" the Social Security system because he supported Governor George W. Bush's partial privatization plan.

During the campaign, Corzine refused to release his income tax return records. He claimed an interest in doing so, but he cited a confidentiality agreement with Goldman Sachs. Skeptics argued that he should have followed the example of his predecessor Robert Rubin, who converted his equity stake into debt upon leaving Goldman.

Corzine campaigned for state government programs including universal health care, universal gun registration, mandatory public preschool, and more taxpayer funding for college education. He pushed affirmative action and same-sex marriage. David Brooks considered Corzine so liberal that although his predecessor was also a Democrat, his election helped shift the Senate to the left.

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. Rev. Reginald T. Jackson, the director of the Black Ministers Council, and a notable advocate against racial profiling against minority drivers in traffic stops, was criticized for endorsing Corzine after receiving a large donation from the then candidate.

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.

Debates

 * Complete video of debate, October 7, 2000
 * Complete video of debate, October 8, 2000
 * Complete video of debate, October 13, 2000
 * Complete video of debate, October 20, 2000

Polling

 * with Christine Todd Whitman


 * with Jim Florio


 * Corzine vs. Gormley


 * Corzine vs. Treffinger


 * Franks vs. Byrne

Results
Despite being heavily outspent, Franks lost by only three percentage points, doing better that year than Republican Governor George W. Bush in the presidential election, who obtained just 40.29% of the vote in the state.

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

 * Bergen (largest municipality: Hackensack)
 * Burlington (largest municipality: Evesham Township)