1978 United States Senate election in New Jersey

In 1972, U.S. Senator Clifford P. Case won re-election to a fourth term in office by a record 780,000 votes.{{Cite news |title=CASE UPSET BY BELL IN JERSEY PRIMARY; BRADLEY WINS EASILY; SENATOR LOSES 5th-TERM BID His Conservative Republican Foe Shows Surprising Strength-- Worked for Reagan in '76 2d Loss for Moderates Bell Defeats Case in Close Contest As Bradley Wins Easily in Jersey Glee in Bradley Camp |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1978/06/07/110858634.html?pageNumber=3 |access-date=2025-04-01 |work=The New York Times |language=en |issn=0362-4331}} He was the ranking Republican on the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.{{Cite news |title=Bell Campaigned Long and Hard; Bell Campaigned Long and Hard Wrote for National Review Seminar in Conservatism |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1978/06/07/110858635.html?pageNumber=3 |access-date=2025-04-01 |work=The New York Times |language=en |issn=0362-4331}} In his political career, which covered over twelve elections in the course of forty years, Case had lost only one race for New Jersey General Assembly in 1941.{{Cite news |title=Case's Only Other Defeat Was in '42 Assembly Race; McCarthy Denounced in 1954 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1978/06/07/110858816.html?pageNumber=28 |access-date=2025-04-01 |work=The New York Times |language=en |issn=0362-4331}}

Beginning in 1974, Jeff Bell was a top policy advisor to former Governor of California Ronald Reagan and a leading architect of his supply-side economics platform during the 1976 Republican primary campaign against Gerald Ford.

• Jeff Bell, political aide and speechwriter for Ronald Reagan's 1976 presidential campaign
• Clifford P. Case, incumbent U.S. Senator

In 1976, Bell left the Ronald Reagan presidential campaign and relocated to New Jersey with the express intent of challenging Clifford Case, the long-time incumbent Senator and bête noire of conservative Republicans.

The core proposal of Bell's campaign was a major federal income tax cut for the purpose of stimulating domestic investment. Under his plan, the top marginal tax rate would be cut from 70 percent to 50 percent and lower rates would be cut by 30 percent across the board. Case countered that the plan was "enormously inflationary."

Bell repeatedly criticized Case as "too liberal" for the Republican Party, citing his vote for the Torrijos–Carter Treaties. Bell also supported selling war planes to Egypt and other Arab states (in addition to existing sales to Israel), a proposal Case had voted against due to his strong support for Israel. Late in the campaign, Case moderated his position to more closely match Bell's, stating that he could support aid to Egypt but wanted moderate Arab leaders to recognize "the right of Israel to exist". He continued to oppose any "even-handed" approach in the Middle East and reinforced his commitment to "a strong Israel".

Bell spent $500,000, with 80 percent of his donors living outside of New Jersey, to attack Case's record.

[[File:1978 United States Senate Republican primary election in New Jersey results map by county.svg|thumb|center|280px|Republican primary results by county

{{collapsible list

| title = {{legend|#f9d440|Bell}}|{{legend|#f9d440|50-60%}}|{{legend|#f4c200|60–70%}}}}

{{collapsible list

| title = {{legend|#e27f7f|Case}}|{{legend|#e27f7f|50–60%}}|{{legend|#d75d5d|60–70%}}}}

]]In conceding defeat, Case remarked, "It was an interesting campaign; it fooled everyone. The turnout was very light and perhaps that indicated a deep unhappiness of the voters with the people of authority and power. I shall continue to believe in the Republican Party and to support it." He applauded Bell as a "nice young man" but said he remained convinced that Bell would not have a chance of winning the general election.{{Election box begin no change

| title = Republican primary results

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| candidate = Jeff Bell

| party = Republican Party (United States)

| votes = 118,555

| percentage = 50.74

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| candidate = Clifford P. Case (incumbent)

| party = Republican Party (United States)

| votes = 115,082

| percentage = 49.26

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 233,637

| percentage = 100.00

}}

{{Election box end}}

• Wesley K. Bell, former Mayor of Stafford Township
• Bill Bradley, former professional basketball player
• Richard Leone, former New Jersey State Treasurer
• Alexander J. Menza, State Senator from Hillside
• Kenneth C. McCarthy
• Ray Rollinson

[[File:1978 United States Senate Democratic primary election in New Jersey results map by county.svg|thumb|center|280px|Democratic primary results by county

{{collapsible list

| title = {{legend|#7996e2ff|Bradley}}|{{legend|#7996e2ff|50–60%}}|{{legend|#6674deff|60–70%}}|{{legend|#584cdeff|70–80%}}}}

{{collapsible list

| title = {{legend|#5bc75b|Leone}}|{{legend|#87de87|40–50%}}}}

]]

{{Election box begin no change

| title = Democratic primary results

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| candidate = Bill Bradley

| party = Democratic Party (United States)

| votes = 217,502

| percentage = 58.90

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| candidate = Richard Leone

| party = Democratic Party (United States)

| votes = 97,667

| percentage = 26.45

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| candidate = Alexander J. Menza

| party = Democratic Party (United States)

| votes = 32,386

| percentage = 8.77

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| candidate = Kenneth C. McCarthy

| party = Democratic Party (United States)

| votes = 9,524

| percentage = 2.58

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| candidate = Wesley K. Bell

| party = Democratic Party (United States)

| votes = 8,800

| percentage = 2.38

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| candidate = Ray Rollinson

| party = Democratic Party (United States)

| votes = 3,374

| percentage = 0.91

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 369,253

| percentage = 100.00

}}

{{Election box end}}

• Jeff Bell, political aide and speechwriter for Ronald Reagan's 1976 presidential campaign (Republican)
• Robert Bowen (Labor)
• Bill Bradley, former professional basketball player (Democratic)
• J.M. Carter (God We Trust)
• Alice Conner (Socialist Workers)
• Bill Gahres (Down With Lawyers)
• Paul Ferguson (Socialist Labor)
• Jasper C. Gould (Independent)
• Jack Moyers (Libertarian)
• Herbert H. Shaw, perennial candidate (Politicians are Crooks)
• William R. Thorn (Independent)

{{notelist}}

{{hidden begin|titlestyle=background:#cff|title=Hypothetical polling|contentstyle=border:solid 1px silver; padding:8px; background:white;}}

with Case

with Bell

{{notelist}}

{{hidden end}}

{{Election box begin | title=1978 United States Senate election in New Jersey{{cite web |url=https://nj.gov/state/elections/1920-1970-results/1978-general-election.pdf |title=1978 General Election Results |publisher=Secretary of State of New Jersey |year=1978 |access-date=November 12, 2018 |archive-date=March 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305012931/http://nj.gov/state/elections/1920-1970-results/1978-general-election.pdf |url-status=dead }}}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link |

| party = Democratic Party (United States)

| candidate = Bill Bradley

| votes = 1,082,960

| percentage = 55.32%

| change = {{increase}}20.81

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link |

| party = Republican Party (United States)

| candidate = Jeff Bell

| votes = 844,200

| percentage = 43.13%

| change = {{decrease}}19.33

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link |

| party = Independent politician

| candidate = Herbert H. Shaw

| votes = 4,736

| percentage = 0.24%

| change = N/A

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link |

| party = Independent politician

| candidate = Bill Gahres

| votes = 3,817

| percentage = 0.20%

| change = N/A

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link |

| party = Libertarian Party (United States)

| candidate = Jack Moyers

| votes = 3,809

| percentage = 0.20%

| change = N/A

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link |

| party = U.S. Labor Party

| candidate = Robert Bowen

| votes = 3,656

| percentage = 0.19%

| change = N/A

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link |

| party = Independent politician

| candidate = J.M. Carter

| votes = 3,618

| percentage = 0.19%

| change = N/A

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link |

| party = Independent politician

| candidate = Jasper C. Gould

| votes = 2,955

| percentage = 0.15%

| change = N/A

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link |

| party = Independent politician

| candidate = William R. Thorn

| votes = 2,776

| percentage = 0.14%

| change = N/A

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link |

| party = Socialist Labor Party of America

| candidate = Paul Ferguson

| votes = 2,604

| percentage = 0.13%

| change = {{decrease}} 0.23

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link |

| party = Socialist Workers Party (United States)

| candidate = Alice Conner

| votes = 2,384

| percentage = 0.12%

| change = N/A

}}

{{Election box total |

| votes = 1,957,515

| percentage = 100.00%

}}

{{Election box gain with party link no swing|

| winner = Democratic Party (United States)

| loser = Republican Party (United States)

}}

{{Election box end}}

{{Reflist}}

{{United States elections, 1978}}

1978

New Jersey

United States Senate