The 2014 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of New Jersey. Incumbent senator Cory Booker was first elected in a 2013 special election to complete the term of fellow Democrat Frank Lautenberg, who died in office. Booker defeated Jeff Bell (R) to win a first full term.
This is the last time that Somerset County voted Republican in a statewide election.
2013 nominee Steve Lonegan announced in his concession speech that he would not run again for the seat in the 2014 race.[11] The top-tier candidates for the Republican primary, Thomas Kean Jr. and Jay Webber also declined to run in early January 2014, leaving Jon Bramnick and Michael J. Doherty as the remaining candidates with established credentials and fundraising abilities able to start a United States Senate campaign.[12][13] On January 9, 2014, Brian D. Goldberg, a West Orange resident and New Jersey businessman, announced that he would seek the Republican nomination.[14] The following week, on January 17, 2014, both Bramnick and Doherty announced that they would not be running for United States Senate.[14][15]
On January 27, 2014, Freehold Township businessman Richard J. "Rich" Pezzullo announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination. Pezzullo had previously run for the US Senate in 1996 as the Conservative Party candidate.[16][17] On February 4, 2014, conservative political consultant Jeff Bell announced his bid for the nomination. Bell was the nominee for the Senate in 1978, having defeated incumbent senator Clifford Case in the Republican primary and was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination in 1982.[18] Ramapo College professor Murray Sabrin, who ran for the Senate in 2000 and 2008, announced another run on February 13.[19] Former FBI agent Robert Turkavage, who ran as an Independent candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2012, had declared his candidacy. However, he got stuck in a traffic jam when he attempted to turn in his petitions shortly before the deadline, and was forced to withdraw.[20]
On March 4, Richard Pezzullo won the Union County Convention on the first ballot, going on to then win the line in Camden County and Republican stronghold Monmouth County. Opponent Brian Goldberg won the party lines in conventions in Ocean, Atlantic, Cumberland, Mercer, and Somerset Counties. Murray Sabrin won only the Middlesex line, and Jeffrey Bell made no convention appearances and contested no lines.[21] Three candidates – Brian Goldberg, Richard Pezzullo and Murray Sabrin – claimed the Burlington county line, though only Goldberg claimed to have won the line.[22] Goldberg was given the county line with no convention in Essex, Passaic, and Hudson Counties. Robert Turkavage won the convention in Hunterdon County, but the line transferred to Goldberg after Turkavage dropped out of the race.
Jeff Bell received significant support from the conservative American Principles Fund, who ran a direct mail operation that cost over $80,000, and the National Organization for Marriage, a conservative traditional marriage group, who paid for $6,000 of automated calling.[23]
Candidates
Declared
Jeff Bell, political consultant, nominee for this seat in 1978 and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1982[18]
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