# 1978 United States Senate election in New Jersey

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vte :
The 1978 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held on November 7, 1978. Incumbent Senator Clifford P. Case ran for re-election to a fifth term in office, narrowly losing the Republican primary by anti-tax conservative Jeff Bell, who lost the general election to Democrat Bill Bradley. Bell was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for this seat again in 2014.
Primary elections were held on June 6, 1978. This was the first time Democrats won this seat since 1936, and the first time since 1938 that Democrats held both seats in the state.

## Republican primary
### Candidates

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

### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Jeff Bell | 118,555 | 50.74 |
| | Republican | Clifford P. Case (incumbent) | 115,082 | 49.26 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 233,637 | 100.00 |

## Democratic primary
### Candidates

* 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

### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Bill Bradley | 217,502 | 58.90 |
| | Democratic | Richard Leone | 97,667 | 26.45 |
| | Democratic | Alexander J. Menza | 32,386 | 8.77 |
| | Democratic | Kenneth C. McCarthy | 9,524 | 2.58 |
| | Democratic | Wesley K. Bell | 8,800 | 2.38 |
| | Democratic | Ray Rollinson | 3,374 | 0.91 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 369,253 | 100.00 |

## General election
### Candidates

* 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)

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Bill Bradley (D) | Jeffrey Bell (R) | Other/ Undecided |
| Rutgers-Eagleton | May 7–16, 1978 | 793 RV | 36% | 17% | 47% |
| Rutgers-Eagleton | Sept. 19–Oct. 1, 1978 | 883 RV | 49% | 24% | 27% |
| Rutgers-Eagleton | October 23–29, 1978 | 946 RV | 50% | 32% | 18% |
| Rutgers-Eagleton | October 23–29, 1978 | 510 LV | 51% | 40% | 9% |
* ↑ Key: A – all adults RV – registered voters LV – likely voters V – unclear
with Case
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Clifford Case (R) | Bill Bradley (D) | Richard Leone (D) | Alex Menza (D) | Other/ Undecided |
| Rutgers-Eagleton | May 7–16, 1978 | 1007 A | ±4.0% | 37% | 27% | – | – | 36% |
| Rutgers-Eagleton | May 7–16, 1978 | 1007 A | ±4.0% | 44% | – | 24% | – | 32% |
| Rutgers-Eagleton | May 7–16, 1978 | 1007 A | ±4.0% | 43% | – | – | 18% | 40% |
with Bell
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Jeffrey Bell (R) | Richard Leone (D) | Alex Menza (D) | Other/ Undecided |
| Rutgers-Eagleton | May 7–16, 1978 | 620 LV | ±?% | 18% | 29% | – | 54% |
| Rutgers-Eagleton | May 7–16, 1978 | 620 LV | ±?% | 19% | – | 22% | 59% |
* 1 2 Key: A – all adults RV – registered voters LV – likely voters V – unclear

### Results

1978 United States Senate election in New Jersey :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Bill Bradley | 1,082,960 | 55.32% | 20.81 |
| | Republican | Jeff Bell | 844,200 | 43.13% | 19.33 |
| | Independent | Herbert H. Shaw | 4,736 | 0.24% | N/A |
| | Independent | Bill Gahres | 3,817 | 0.20% | N/A |
| | Libertarian | Jack Moyers | 3,809 | 0.20% | N/A |
| | U.S. Labor | Robert Bowen | 3,656 | 0.19% | N/A |
| | Independent | J.M. Carter | 3,618 | 0.19% | N/A |
| | Independent | Jasper C. Gould | 2,955 | 0.15% | N/A |
| | Independent | William R. Thorn | 2,776 | 0.14% | N/A |
| | Socialist Labor | Paul Ferguson | 2,604 | 0.13% | 0.23 |
| | Socialist Workers | Alice Conner | 2,384 | 0.12% | N/A |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,957,515 | 100.00% | |
| | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican |