1954 United States Senate election in New Jersey

The 1954 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held on November 2, 1954. Republican U.S Representative Clifford P. Case defeated Democratic U.S. Representative Charles R. Howell with 48.66% of the vote.

1954 United States Senate election in New Jersey

← 1948 November 2, 1954 1960 →

Nominee Clifford P. Case Charles R. Howell Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 861,528 858,158 Percentage 48.66% 48.47%

County results Case:      40–50%      50-60%      60-70% Howell:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Robert C. Hendrickson Republican Elected U.S. Senator Clifford P. Case Republican

This election was decided by the fewest votes (3,507) and narrowest percentage margin (0.19%) in New Jersey history.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Clifford Case, U.S. Representative from Rahway

Declined

• Robert C. Hendrickson, incumbent Senator since 1949

Results

Case was unopposed for the Republican nomination.

1954 Republican Senate primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Clifford Case	336,514	100.00%
Total votes			336,514	100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Charles R. Howell, U.S. Representative from Pennington

Results

Howell was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

1954 Democratic Senate primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Charles R. Howell	230,250	100.00%
Total votes			230,250	100.00%

General election

Candidates

• George Breitman, Socialist Workers
• Clifford P. Case, Republican
• Fred A. Hartley, Jr. (write-in), former U.S. Representative
• Charles R. Howell, Democratic
• Henry J. Krajewski
• Albert Ronis, Socialist Labor

Campaign

During the campaign, Case openly criticized Senator Joseph McCarthy, and pledged to vote against seating McCarthy on any committee with investigative functions.^[2] McCarthy's supporters called him "a pro-Communist Republicrat" and "Stalin's choice for Senator."^[3] The Star-Ledger quoted former Communist Party leader Bella Dodd as saying that Case's sister Adelaide was "an active member of several Communist front groups." It was later revealed, however, that the Adelaide Case in question was not the candidate's sister but a college professor who had died in 1948.^[4][5] A conservative faction within the Republican Party unsuccessfully attempted to force Case off the ballot, also proposing a write-in campaign for former U.S. Representative Fred A. Hartley, Jr., co-author of the Taft-Hartley Act.^[6] Case was endorsed by President Eisenhower and Vice President Richard M. Nixon.^[7]

Results

1954 United States Senate election in New Jersey^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Clifford P. Case	861,528	48.66%	1.33
	Democratic	Charles R. Howell	858,158	48.47%	1.17
	Independent	Henry B. Krajewski	35,421	2.00%	N/A
	Independent	Fred A. Hartley, Jr. (write-in)	7,025	0.40%	N/A
	Socialist Labor	Albert Ronis	4,832	0.27%	0.06
	Socialist Workers	George Breitman	3,590	0.20%	0.23
	Republican hold		Swing

References

1. "1954 Primary Results" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State.
2. Current Biography. H.W. Wilson Company. 1956.
3. McFadden, Robert D. (1982-03-07). "Ex-Senator Clifford P. Case, 77, Is Dead". The New York Times.
4. . Time, October 25, 1954. Accessed June 8, 2008.
5. "McCarthyism's Effects In New Jersey". The New York Times, June 28, 1992. Accessed June 8, 2008.
6. "New Jersey: A Political Microcosm". TIME. 1954-10-18.
7. "Clifford P. Case II". Rutgers University.
8. "NJ US Senate". Retrieved 26 Feb 2020.