The 1965 New Jersey Senate elections were held on November 2.
The elections were the first held after the Supreme Court's Reynolds v. Sims decision, which held that New Jersey's single-seat county apportionment was unconstitutional. The ruling forced New Jersey to grant multiple seats to its largest counties (and eventually, switch to single-member districts that did not follow county lines).
The election also coincided with a landslide re-election victory for Democratic governor Richard J. Hughes. The result was a majority for the Democratic Party, the first since 1915.
Background Reapportioning
Until 1965, the New Jersey State Senate was composed of 21 senators, with each county electing one senator. After the U.S. Supreme Court decision Reynolds v. Sims required legislative districts to be approximately equal in population (a principle known as "one man, one vote"), New Jersey entered a decade-long period of reapportionment.
The overall effect of the reapportioning was to reduce representation for rural counties and increase representation for more populous urban counties, bringing the per person population closer to parity.
In 1965, the Senate was increased to 29 members, with larger counties given multiple seats and some smaller counties sharing one or two senators:
County1965 District#∆Atlantic12 1Cape MayGloucesterCumberland21 1SalemCamden32 1Burlington41Monmouth52OceanMercer61Middlesex72 1Hunterdon81 1SomersetUnion92 1Morris102 1SussexWarrenEssex114 3Hudson123 2Bergen134 3Passaic142 1
Incumbents not running for re-election Democratic Robert H. Weber (District 2) (managed John Waddington's campaign)
Republican Charles W. Sandman (District 1) (ran for Governor) W. Steelman Mathis (District 5) Wayne Dumont (District 10) (ran for Governor)
Summary of results by State Senate District CountyIncumbentPartyNew DistrictElected SenatorPartyAtlanticFrank S. FarleyRepDistrict 1John E. HuntRepCape MayCharles W. SandmanRepFrank S. FarleyRepGloucesterJohn E. HuntRepSeat eliminatedCumberlandRobert H. WeberDemDistrict 2John A. WaddingtonDemSalemJohn A. WaddingtonDemSeat eliminatedCamdenFrederick J. ScholzRepDistrict 3Frederick J. ScholzRepNew seatA. Donald BigleyDemBurlingtonEdwin B. ForsytheRepDistrict 4Edwin B. ForsytheRepMonmouthRichard R. StoutRepDistrict 5Richard R. StoutRepOceanW. Steelman MathisRepWilliam T. HieringRepMercerSido L. RidolfiDemDistrict 6Sido L. RidolfiDemMiddlesexJohn A. LynchDemDistrict 7John A. LynchDemNew seatJ. Edward CrabielDemHunterdonVacantDistrict 8William E. OzzardRepSomersetWilliam E. OzzardRepSeat eliminatedUnionNelson F. StamlerRepDistrict 9Nelson F. StamlerRepNew seatMildred Barry HughesDemMorrisThomas J. HilleryRepDistrict 10Thomas J. HilleryRepSussexVacantMilton WoolfendenRepWarrenWayne DumontRepSeat eliminatedEssexC. Robert SarconeRepDistrict 11Nicholas FernicolaDemNew seatMacyln GoldmanDemNew seatJohn J. GiblinDemNew seatHutchins IngeDemHudsonWilliam F. KellyDemDistrict 12William MustoDemNew seatWilliam F. KellyDemNew seatFrank GuariniDemBergenPierce H. Deamer Jr.RepDistrict 13Ned ParsekianDemNew seatMatt FeldmanDemNew seatJeremiah F. O'ConnorDemNew seatAlfred W. KieferDemPassaicAnthony J. GrossiDemDistrict 14Anthony J. GrossiDemNew seatJoseph M. KeeganDem
Close races Districts where the difference of total votes between the top two parties was under 10%:
gain D
gain D gain gain
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
District 14
References