Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1915-10-26
DEMOCRATS FACE
SAME HANDICAP
REPUBLICANS DID
Like Last Year, Six Senate
Seats Must Be Won for a
Majority.
from a stan Correspondent.


TRENTON, Oct. 26.-The fight for
control of the next Legislature in so
far as the State Senate is concerned,
finds the Democrats very much in the
same position that their opponents
faced a year ago. A week from today
the general election takes place, and
the Democrats must elect all of their
six candidates for the upper house in
order to gain control by a majority of
ono. A year ago the situation was the
reverse and the G. o. p. succeeded in
overcoming it. winning the required
half dozen seats necessary to con-
troll. Whether Governor Fielder's
party will be able to emulate this
performance next Tuesday is an in
teresting question that can only be
answered by the returns late that
evening.
The only change in the Senatorial
fight this year over 1914 is in the fact
that whereas eight places were being
contested for last year, there are now
six to be filled. The present number
of holdover Senators of the Repub-
lican political faith is ten and on the
Democratic side there are five. 1t is,
therefore. apparent that the majority
of the last session needs only one
more next winter to retain It's con-
troll of the upper branch, which Is
composed of twenty-one members,
representative from each county. On
the other hand, the need for the
Democracy to win in each OF the
Senatorial fights to be decided next
Tuesday Is apparent, il they desire
the ascendency in the next Senate.
How the Counties stand.
THE fights are In the counties of
Burlington, Cape May, Hunterdon,
Middlesex, Passaic and Sussex. With
the exception of the first each OF these
divisions of the State is now repre-
sented by Democrat. Two of these
five counties are norHally Republican,
namely Cape May and Passaic, which
elected Senators Wheaton and McGin-
nis. respectively, in the Wilson VIC
tory of 1912. One is debatable, Middle
sex OF the remaining two, Hunter
don and Sussex, are Democratic
sirongholds, which have Martens anu
Munson as their Senator's -Four OF
The Democratic incumbents are can
didates for reelection. In burlington
county, represented by Senator
Blanchard II. White, Republican, who
was defeated for denomination at
the primaries, the G. o. p. has Harold
3. Wells as its choice, and the Demo-
Gratis have nominated James M.
Davis, brother of United States Dis
trict Attorney j. Warren Davis, for
mer Senator from Salem.
MiddIesex the Exception.
The exception to the counties which
have renominated their Democratic
Is MiddleseX, where Pros
ecutor w. f. Florance is running as
n successor to Dr. William Il. Ram
say, who resigned to become mem
ber of the State Water Commission.
: The Republican aspirant in Cape
May opposing Wheaton is Assembly
man Lewis T. Stevens; Dr. Edmund
Eastwood is running in Hunterdon
against Martens; Florance has Will
lam A. Spencer as his rival in Mid
dlesex, and the Progressives have
nominated DR.. George w. Tyrell.
Former Speaker of the House Thomas
r. McCran is seeking McGinnis's seat
In Passaic, and Thomas w. DeKay
hopes to defeat Senator Munson in
Suasex.
Holdover Senators are: Repub-
iicans, Edge, Atlantic; Read, Cam
dem Colgate, Essex; Gaunt, Glou-
cester; Hutchinson. Mercer Rath-
bun, Morris; Mathis. Ocean; Allen,
Salem; Smalley. Somerset: Pierce.
Union. Democrats, Hennessy, Ber-
gen; Ackley, Cumberland; Egan,
Hudson: Ackerson, Monmouth, and
Barber, Warren.