1970 United States Senate election in New Jersey

Background

Harrison Williams was first elected to the United States Senate in 1958; he narrowly defeated Hoboken mayor John Grogan in the Democratic primary and U.S. representative Robert Kean in the general election. He was re-elected in a landslide in 1964.

In 1968, Williams was formally censured by the New Jersey chapter of the NAACP after he addressed their annual convention drunk. After the censure, leaders in both parties saw Williams as politically vulnerable, with Republicans hoping to gain his seat and Middlesex County Democratic boss David Wilentz weighing replacing him on the ballot.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Frank Joseph Guarini, state senator from Hudson County
• Harrison A. Williams, incumbent U.S. senator since 1959

Campaign

Guarini ran as the candidate of the powerful Hudson County machine.

In a May interview with The New York Times, Williams confessed to past struggles resulting from alcoholism and said that he had been sober for eighteen months, shortly after his disastrous NAACP speech. The interview prompted Guarini campaign manager Arthur J. Sills to claim the party should not "risk" supporting a former alcoholic. Sills was rebuked by most of the party leadership in New Jersey, including former governor Richard J. Hughes, under whom Sills had served as Attorney General. Hughes praised Williams's courage, and he denounced Guarini as "someone who crawled out of the woodwork" and Sills for trying to inject “the meanest kind of issue” into the race. Hughes further suggested Sills, who used a wheelchair due to polio, “ought to be the last man in the world to hurt anybody with a disease, illness or handicap.”

Of all primary candidates in either party, Williams took the strongest stance against American involvement in the Vietnam War; he called for unilateral withdrawal within one year. Guarini also supported withdrawal but contended that the United States should have gone into Vietnam to win instead of “tying the generals' hands.”

Williams received the unified support of organized labor late in the campaign. After Senator Ralph Yarborough unexpectedly lost the Democratic primary in Texas to Lloyd Bentsen on May 2, Williams became the potential next chair of the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare. As a result, national labor unions flooded New Jersey with donations and volunteers in support of Williams.

Results

Williams won the primary easily; he nearly finished even with Guarini in Hudson County.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Joseph T. Gavin
• Nelson G. Gross, chair of the New Jersey Republican State Committee and former assemblyman from Saddle River
• James A. Quaremba, Ridgewood attorney

Declined

• Joseph Maraziti, State Senator from Morris County

Campaign

Nelson Gross resigned his position as party chairman on April 9 to enter the race for Senate with the full-backing of Governor William T. Cahill. Cahill's support discouraged any serious contenders from challenging Gross in the primary. Gross also had the support of President Richard Nixon. As a member of the New Jersey delegation to the 1968 Republican National Convention, Gross had flipped from favorite son Clifford Case to support Nixon and helped secure his nomination.

Gross was nonetheless privately criticized as a poor choice by some Republicans due to his ongoing investigation by the United States Department of Justice for involvement with a Mafia-backed labor union. The investigation was led by U.S. Attorney Frederick Bernard Lacey, who had been personally recommended to the Nixon administration by Senator Clifford Case. Case and Gross had been on uneven terms since Gross undermined Case's "favorite son" status at the 1968 Republican National Convention by bringing Bergen County delegates into the Nixon column.

On the war issue, Gross advocated for congressional restriction on the American incursion into Cambodia, but withheld calling for unilateral withdrawal, pending a fact-finding trip he pledged to take after the primary. Quaremba defended the Nixon administration's policy.

Quaremba emphasized his Italian ancestry in the campaign.

Joseph Gavin did not campaign actively. He ran only to provide a Senate heading on the ballot line for Assemblyman Walter T. Smith, who was running for the U.S. House of Representatives.

By the end of the campaign, observers said that Gross had an "insurmountable" lead over Quaremba. He largely ignored Quaremba's campaign and spent the final week of the primary filming television ads for the general election.

Results

Although Gross won the primary easily, his margin was less than expected by many observers. Republican officials attributed the large vote against him to his position on the Vietnam War and support for restrictions on the Nixon administration.{{Election box begin no change

General election

Candidates

• Nelson G. Gross, former chairman of the New Jersey Republican State Committee and State Assemblyman (Republican)
• Joseph F. Job, Bergen County Sheriff (Independent)
• Jules Levin (Socialist Labor)
• Joseph S. Mans (Independent)
• William J. O'Grady (Independent)
• Harrison A. Williams, incumbent Senator since 1959 (Democratic)

Campaign

Gross assailed Williams as a "radical liberal" and implied that he was involved in "influence peddling" for having sponsored special bills for about 70 Chinese seamen who jumped ship in the United States.

In mid-October, President Richard Nixon campaigned for Gross as part of a one-day swing through Pennsylvania, Vermont, Wisconsin and New Jersey.

Debates

Williams declined numerous calls for debates.

Endorsements

Newspapers

• The New York Times
• The Trenton Times
• The Star-Ledger U.S. executive branch officials
• Richard Nixon, 37th president of the United States

Newspapers

• The Hackensack Record
• The Newark Sunday News

Polling

Results

By county

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Atlantic
• Cape May
• Hunterdon
• Gloucester
• Ocean
• Somerset

References

References

1. (1970). "1970 Primary Election Results". [[Secretary of State of New Jersey]].
2. Sullivan, Ronald. (3 Jun 1970). "Williams and Gross Win Jersey Senate Primaries". [[The New York Times]].
3. (1970-05-21). "Williams, a Nondrinker Since '68, Tells of Past (Published 1970)".
4. Sullivan, Ronald. (31 May 1970). "Williams and Gross Favored in Jersey". [[The New York Times]].
5. Wildstein, David. (2019-09-02). "Labor: How a Texas primary helped focus unions on Pete Williams".
6. (9 Apr 1970). "GROSS QUITS AS G.O.P. CHAIRMAN IN JERSEY TO RUN FOR THE SENATE". [[The New York Times]].
7. (1970-06-04). "Williams Campaigns (Published 1970)".
8. (23 Apr 1970). "Bergen Sheriff Plans to Run For Senate as Independent". [[The New York Times]].
9. Sullivan, Ronald. (15 Oct 1970). "Test for G.O.P. in Jersey". [[The New York Times]].
10. (19 Oct 1970). "The New Jersey Senate Race". [[The New York Times]].
11. (26 Oct 1970). "Gross Vows to Seek U.S. Aid for Jersey". [[The New York Times]].
12. (1970). "1970 General Election Results". [[Secretary of State of New Jersey]].
13. "NJ DOS - Division of Elections - Election Results Archive".