1984 United States Senate election in New Jersey

The 1984 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held on November 6, 1984. Incumbent Democrat Bill Bradley defeated Republican nominee Mary V. Mochary with 64.16% of the vote, winning every county in the state. To date, this is the most recent time Hunterdon, Sussex, and Warren counties were won by a Democrat in a statewide election. This was also the last time Morris County voted Democratic in a statewide election until 2020, where Senator Cory Booker won the county in his reelection and Joe Biden won the county in the 2020 presidential race.

1984 United States Senate election in New Jersey

← 1978 November 6, 1984 1990 →
 
Nominee Bill Bradley Mary V. Mochary
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,986,644 1,080,100
Percentage 64.16% 34.88%

County results
Bradley:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election

Bill Bradley
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Bill Bradley
Democratic

Primary elections edit

Primary elections were held on June 5, 1984.[1]

Democratic primary edit

Candidates edit

Results edit

Democratic primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Bill Bradley (incumbent) 404,301 92.95%
Democratic Elliot Greenspan 30,680 7.05%
Total votes 434,981 100.00%

Republican primary edit

Candidates edit

Results edit

Republican primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mary V. Mochary 111,851 61.37%
Republican Robert J. Morris 70,418 38.63%
Total votes 182,269 100.00%

General election edit

Candidates edit

  • Bill Bradley, incumbent Senator since 1979 (Democratic)
  • Jasper C. Gould (Independent)
  • James T. Hagen (Independent)
  • Harold F. Leiendecker (Libertarian)
  • Jules Levin (Socialist Labor)
  • Mary V. Mochary, mayor of Montclair (Republican)
  • Priscilla Schenk (Socialist Workers)

Campaign edit

Mochary was forced to suspend her campaign in October due to her husband's life-threatening illness. She traveled with her husband to Stanford, California for an experimental heart transplant.[2]

 
A Mochary bumper sticker attempting to tie her campaign to the popular Reagan-Bush ticket.

Results edit

1984 United States Senate election in New Jersey[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Bill Bradley (incumbent) 1,986,644 64.16%
Republican Mary V. Mochary 1,080,100 34.88%
Independent James T. Hagen 10,409 0.34%
Libertarian Harold F. Leiendecker 7,135 0.23%
Socialist Labor Jules Levin 6,053 0.20%
Socialist Workers Priscilla Schenk 3,224 0.10%
Independent Jasper C. Gould 2,891 0.09%
Total votes 3,096,456 100.00%
Democratic hold

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "1984 Primary Election Results" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. 1984. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
  2. ^ Haitch, Richard (February 17, 1985). "Follow-up on the News: Mochary Sequel". The New York Times. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
  3. ^ "1984 General Election Results" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. 1984. Retrieved January 22, 2019.