2012 United States Senate election in New Jersey

The 2012 United States Senate election in New Jersey took place on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the 2012 U.S. presidential election as well as other elections to the United States Senate and House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

2012 United States Senate election in New Jersey

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Nominee Bob Menendez Joe Kyrillos Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,987,680 1,329,534 Percentage 58.87% 39.37%

County results Congressional district results Municipality results Menendez:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Kyrillos:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      >90%

U.S. senator before election Bob Menendez Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Bob Menendez Democratic

Incumbent senator Bob Menendez became the first Hispanic-American U.S. senator to represent New Jersey in January 2006 when former U.S. senator Jon Corzine appointed him to the seat after having resigned to become governor of New Jersey, following his election in November 2005.^[1] In November 2006, after a tough and painful election, Menendez defeated Republican state senator Thomas Kean, Jr. with 53.3% of the vote.

Menendez won re-election to a second full term, becoming the first Democratic Senate candidate to carry Somerset County since Bill Bradley in 1984. This is the only time since 1976 that a candidate for this seat received over 55% of the vote. This election marked the first time that someone won this seat by double digits since 1976 as well. Menendez outperformed President Obama by winning 0.62% more than Obama won in the concurrent presidential election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Bob Menendez, incumbent U.S. Senator^[2]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Bob Menendez	Someone else	Unsure
Fairleigh Dickinson University[3]	March 5–11, 2012	404	±5.0%	30%	37%	33%

Results

Democratic primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bob Menendez (incumbent)	235,321	100
Total votes			235,321	100

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

• David Brown, inventor^[5]
• Joe Kyrillos, State Senator^[6]
• Bader Qarmout, businessman and adjunct professor at the County College of Morris^[7]
• Joseph Rudy Rullo, businessman^[8]

Withdrew

• Ian Linker, attorney^[9]
• Anna Little, former mayor of Highlands and candidate for NJ-06 in 2010^[10]

Declined

• Diane Allen, state senator, candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2002 and former news broadcaster^[11]
• Chris Christie, Governor of New Jersey and former U.S. Attorney^[12][13]
• John Crowley, biotechnology executive^[14]
• Michael Doherty, state senator^[15]
• Tim Smith, financial services firm executive and member of the Roxbury Township Council^[16]
• Jay Webber, State Assemblyman and former New Jersey Republican State Committee chairman^[17][18]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Michael Doherty	Kim Guadagno	Woody Johnson	Tom Kean Jr.	Joseph Kyrillos	Anna Little	Tim Smith	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling[19]	July 15–18, 2011	300	±5.7%	7%	10%	9%	36%	3%	4%	2%	—	30%

Results

Results by county:

  Kyrillos—80–90%

  Kyrillos—70–80%

  Kyrillos—60–70%

  Kyrillos—40–50%

Republican primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joe Kyrillos	161,146	77.1
	Republican	David Brown	18,671	8.9
	Republican	Joseph Rullo	16,690	8.0
	Republican	Bader Qarmout	12,637	6.0
Total votes			209,144	100%

General election

Candidates

• Bob Menendez (Democratic), incumbent U.S. Senator
• Joe Kyrillos (Republican), state senator
• Inder "Andy" Soni (America First)
• Ken Wolski (Green), medical marijuana activist and former nurse^[20]
• Gwen Diakos (Jersey Strong Independents), civilian defense contractor^[5][21]
• Kenneth R. Kaplan (Libertarian), commercial real estate broker^[22]
• Eugene Martin LaVergne (independent)
• Daryl Mikell Brooks (Reform Nation), activist
• Robert "Turk" Turkavage (Responsibility Fairness Integrity), former FBI agent
• Greg Pason (Socialist), National Secretary of the Socialist Party USA and perennial candidate^[23]
• J. David Dranikoff (Totally Independent Candidate), businessman

Debates

Three debates were scheduled. The first debate took place on October 4, 2012, at Montclair State University. Menendez and Kyrillos participated. The second took place on October 10 at NJ 101.5 studios, Trenton NJ^[24] The third was to take place on October 17 at Mercer County Community College^[25] External links

• Complete video of debate, October 4, 2012 - C-SPAN
• Complete video of debate, October 13, 2012 - C-SPAN

Fundraising

Candidate (party)	Receipts	Disbursements	Cash on hand	Debt
Bob Menendez (D)	$10,243,864	$2,325,178	$10,345,365	$0
Joseph Kyrillos (R)	$3,106,536	$1,132,232	$1,974,302	$50,236
Kenneth R. Kaplan (L)	$800	$0	$800	$0
Source: Federal Election Commission[26][27][28]

Top contributors

^[29]

Bob Menendez	Contribution	Joseph Kyrillos	Contribution
Lowenstein Sandler	$116,160	McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter, LLP	$133,098
Greenberg Traurig	$78,250	Allied Management Inc	$22,000
NORPAC	$70,550	Connell Foley	$18,250
Prudential Financial	$66,800	Maser Consulting	$17,250
DeCotiis, FitzPatrick & Cole	$48,150	B&L Tire	$15,000
Kindred Healthcare	$48,000	Berkeley College	$15,000
Verizon Communications	$47,050	CJ Hesse	$15,000
Medco Health Solutions	$41,249	GlobalTel	$15,000
DLA Piper	$41,000	Langer Transport Corp	$15,000
Dade Medical College	$40,000	Fgi Finance	$14,000

Top industries

^[30]

Bob Menendez	Contribution	Joe Kyrillos	Contribution
Lawyers/Law Firms	$1,633,843	Lawyers/Law Firms	$312,845
Real Estate	$1,096,684	Retired	$103,900
Lobbyists	$578,182	Financial Institutions	$98,200
Financial Institutions	$532,651	Real Estate	$98,150
Health Professionals	$524,810	Health Professionals	$62,100
Retired	$411,525	Business Services	$60,250
Construction Services	$388,550	Construction Services	$54,300
Pharmaceuticals/Health Products	$353,250	Universities	$51,250
Insurance	$338,550	General Contractors	$39,500
Leadership PACs	$328,244	Misc Business	$38,550

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[31]	Likely D	November 1, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball[32]	Likely D	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg Political Report[33]	Safe D	November 2, 2012
Real Clear Politics[34]	Likely D	November 5, 2012

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Bob Menendez (D)	Joseph Kyrillos (R)	Other	Undecided
Fairleigh Dickinson University[35]	January 3–9, 2011	802	±3.5%	41%	29%	—	30%
Public Policy Polling[36]	July 15–18, 2011	480	±4.5%	48%	29%	—	23%
Fairleigh Dickinson University[37]	September 19–25, 2011	800	±3.5%	49%	28%	—	22%
Fairleigh Dickinson University[38]	January 2–8, 2012	800	±3.5%	43%	31%	—	26%
Rutgers-Eagleton[39]	February 9–11, 2012	914	±3.3%	44%	22%	1%	26%
Survey USA[40]	February 24–26, 2012	533	±4.3%	46%	31%	—	23%
Quinnipiac[41]	February 21–27, 2012	1,396	±2.6%	49%	34%	1%	14%
Fairleigh Dickinson University[42]	March 5–11, 2012	396	±2.6%	43%	33%	—	23%
Quinnipiac[43]	April 3–9, 2012	1,607	±2.4%	44%	35%	1%	20%
Fairleigh Dickinson/PublicMind[44]	April 30 – May 6, 2012	400	±5%	42%	33%	—	24%
Quinnipiac[43]	May 9–14, 2012	1,582	±2.5%	45%	35%	2%	19%
Quinnipiac[43]	July 9–14, 2012	1,623	±2.5%	47%	34%	1%	16%
Monmouth University[45]	July 18–22, 2012	535 LV	±2.5%	44%	35%	1%	19%
Monmouth University[45]	July 23–27, 2012	849 RV	±2.5%	45%	33%	1%	22%
Rutgers-Eagleton[46]	August 23–25, 2012	688 LV	±3.7%	47%	35%	8%	10%
Quinnipiac University[47]	August 27 – September 2, 2012	1,471 LV	±2.5%	50%	40%	—	10%
Quinnipiac University[47]	September 6–12, 2012	706 LV	±2.5%	50%	36%	—	16%
Philadelphia Inquirer[48]	September 9–12, 2012	600 LV	±2.5%	43%	32%	—	12%
Monmouth University[45]	September 19–23, 2012	613 LV	±2.5%	49%	34%	—	15%
Philadelphia Inquirer[49]	October 4–8, 2012	604 LV	±4%	49%	35%	—	15%
Quinnipiac[50]	October 10–14, 2012	1,319 LV	±2.7%	55%	37%	—	15%
Stockton[51]	October 12–18, 2012	811 LV	±3.5%	52%	30%	—	18%
SurveyUSA[52]	October 17–18, 2012	577 LV	±4.2%	53%	33%	5%	9%
Philadelphia Inquirer[53]	October 23–25, 2012	601 LV	±4%	50%	32%	—	18%

Hypothetical polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Bob Menendez (D)	Jennifer Beck (R)	Other	Undecided
Fairleigh Dickinson University[37]	January 3–9, 2011	802	±3.5%	42%	29%	—	29%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Bob Menendez (D)	Lou Dobbs (R)	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling[54]	January 6–9, 2011	520	±4.3%	47%	35%	—	18%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Bob Menendez (D)	Lou Dobbs (I)	Other	Undecided
Fairleigh Dickinson University[55]	January 4–10, 2010	801	±3.5%	37%	34%	—	28%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Bob Menendez (D)	Michael Doherty (R)	Other	Undecided
Fairleigh Dickinson University[56]	February 23 – March 1, 2010	801	±3.5%	40%	27%	8%	25%
Fairleigh Dickinson University[35]	January 3–9, 2011	802	±3.5%	40%	30%	—	30%
Public Policy Polling[36]	July 15–18, 2011	480	±4.5%	48%	35%	—	17%
Fairleigh Dickinson University[35]	September 19–25, 2011	800	±3.5%	49%	30%	—	22%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Bob Menendez (D)	Kim Guadagno (R)	Other	Undecided
Fairleigh Dickinson University[35]	January 3–9, 2011	802	±3.5%	47%	26%	—	27%
Public Policy Polling [57]	January 6–9, 2011	520	±4.3%	45%	30%	—	24%
Public Policy Polling[36]	July 15–18, 2011	480	±4.5%	48%	34%	—	18%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Bob Menendez (D)	Woody Johnson (R)	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling[36]	July 15–18, 2011	480	±4.5%	48%	30%	—	22%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Bob Menendez (D)	Tom Kean Jr. (R)	Other	Undecided
Fairleigh Dickinson University[56]	January 23 – February 1, 2010	801	±3.5%	35%	45%	2%	15%
Fairleigh Dickinson University[56]	February 23 – March 1, 2010	801	±3.5%	38%	39%	6%	17%
Fairleigh Dickinson University[35]	January 3–9, 2011	802	±3.5%	44%	34%	—	22%
Public Policy Polling[54]	January 6–9, 2011	520	±4.3%	41%	39%	—	19%
Public Policy Polling[36]	July 15–18, 2011	480	±4.5%	44%	39%	—	16%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Bob Menendez (D)	Anna Little (R)	Other	Undecided
Fairleigh Dickinson University[38]	January 2–8, 2012	800	±3.5%	43%	31%	—	26%
Survey USA[40]	February 24–26, 2012	533	±4.3%	48%	29%	—	23%

Results

United States Senate election in New Jersey, 2012^[58]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Bob Menendez (incumbent)	1,987,680	58.87%	+5.50%
	Republican	Joe Kyrillos	1,329,534	39.37%	−4.97%
	Libertarian	Kenneth R. Kaplan	16,803	0.50%	−0.15%
	Green	Ken Wolski	15,801	0.47%	N/A
	Independent	Gwen Diakos	9,359	0.28%	N/A
	Independent	J. David Dranikoff	3,834	0.11%	N/A
	Independent	Inder "Andy" Soni	3,593	0.11%	N/A
	Independent	Robert "Turk" Turkavage	3,532	0.10%	N/A
	Socialist	Greg Pason	2,249	0.07%	−0.04%
	Independent	Eugene M. LaVergne	2,198	0.07%	N/A
	Independent	Daryl Brooks	2,066	0.06%	−0.17%
Total votes			3,376,649	100.0%	N/A
	Democratic hold

By county

By county

County Menendez votes Menendez % Kyrillos votes Kyrillos % Other votes Other % Atlantic 61,464 58.2% 42,378 40.1% 1,792 1.7% Bergen 201,870 57.3% 144,709 41.1% 5,558 1.6% Burlington 121,211 59.1% 82,374 40.1% 1,670 0.8% Camden 148,925 69.5% 62,734 29.3% 2,722 1.2% Cape May 19,965 46.4% 22,281 51.7% 826 1.9% Cumberland 31,367 63.7% 16,795 34.1% 1,051 2.2% Essex 213,404 78.9% 53,009 19.6% 4,211 1.5% Gloucester 74,271 57.1% 52,591 40.2% 3,072 2.7% Hudson 139,910 79.3% 32,876 18.6% 3,545 2.1% Hunterdon 24,676 39.3% 36,000 57.3% 2,123 3.4% Mercer 97,964 67.7% 43,793 30.3% 2,890 2.0% Middlesex 178,686 63.4% 97,730 34.7% 5,344 1.9% Monmouth 120,154 44.6% 144,366 53.7% 4,444 1.7% Morris 93,209 44.4% 114,078 54.3% 2,561 1.3% Ocean 99,362 42.1% 132,413 56.1% 4,229 1.8% Passaic 105,286 64.9% 54,149 33.4% 2,780 1.7% Salem 15,044 52.5% 12,555 43.8% 1,050 3.7% Somerset 70,264 51.6% 63,349 46.5% 2,645 1.9% Sussex 25,212 38.0% 38,250 57.7% 2,831 4.3% Union 125,635 66.9% 58,929 31.4% 3,180 1.7% Warren 17,904 41.8% 24,046 56.2% 856 2.0% Total 1,987,680 58.87% 1,329,534 39.37% 59,435 1.76% County that flipped from Republican to Democratic Somerset (largest municipality: Franklin Township) Salem (largest municipality: Pennsville Township) [59]

By congressional district

Menendez won nine of 12 congressional districts, including three that elected Republicans to the House.^[60]

District	Menendez	Kyrillos	Representative
1st	66.7%	31.7%	Rob Andrews
2nd	54.6%	43.3%
			Frank LoBiondo
3rd	51.9%	46.8%	Jon Runyan
4th	44.8%	53.5%	Chris Smith
5th	49.3%	48.8%	Scott Garrett
6th	60.7%	37.4%	Frank Pallone
7th	46.1%	51.8%	Leonard Lance
8th	80.4%	17.7%	Bill Pascrell (112th Congress)
			Albio Sires (113th Congress)
9th	70.4%	27.9%	Steve Rothman (112th Congress)
			Bill Pascrell (113th Congress)
10th	88.0%	10.7%	Donald Payne Jr.
11th	47.5%	50.8%	Rodney Frelinghuysen
12th	66.0%	32.2%	Rush Holt Jr.

See also

• 2012 United States Senate elections
• 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey