Evening star., 1954-04-21
Faith in Eisenhower
Credited by WidnaIl
For Victory in Jersey
By tho Assoeiossd Press

Representative William B. Wild
nall today hailed his Republican
primary election victory over j.
Parnell Thomas. his pro-Mc-
Carthy opponent. as a vote Of
confidence in President EiSen-
hover rather than a test Of Nc
Carthyism.
ut was not a true test of Nc
Carthyism." said Mr.. Widnall.
who defeated Mr.. Thomas by a
IS. .000-to-5.000 vote in the
standout congressional contest
of yesterdays primary election
in New Jersey.
II think the results show that
you need more than Mccarthy
as a platform on which to make
a successful rum" he said in a
victory statement. He said he
thought pro-McC Carthy senti-
ment had fallen off recently
MIR. Thomas. who had served
seven terms in Congress before
he was jailed in 1949 for pay
roll padding. had campaigned as
a 1000 per cent" supporter of
Senator Mccarthy.
Say Record Hurt Thomas.
Mr.. Widnall indicated the
record Mr.. Thomas carried into
the election. rather than his
support of Senator Mccarthy.
hurt him at the polls in the
States mostly rural 7th Con-
gressional District, traditionally
Republican.
"A recent poll I took showed
the people in my district favored
Mccarthy about 2l2 to l." Mr..
Widnall said. THAT has fallen
off in the past two months, but
I think a Stronger candidate
than Thomas would have done
better on a Mccarthy platform.
I campaigned as a supporter OF
President Eisenhower and be-
lieve the vote reflects confidence
in what he has been doing"
In addition to the Widnall-
Thomas contest, New Jersey
voters selected Republican and
Democratic candidates in the
States 13 other congressional
districts and voted on two gam
bling referenda.
Here are the highlights of the
election:
All major cities and most of
the 566 municipalities in the
State authorized local licensing
OF bingo and raff1es for charit-
able purposes.
Democratic contests in five
congressional districts and three
Republican fights were settled.
Sieminski RenOminated.
Two incumbents, Representa-
tive Alfred D. Sieminski, Demo-
crat, and Representative Frank
C. OsmerS. jr., a Republican,
won denomination.
T. James Tunulty of Jersey
City. a Democrat seeking the
seat to be vacated by Repre-
sentative Edward j. Hart, won
nomination in the heavily Demo-
cratic 14th district. Mr.. Tu-
multy is former State Assem-
blyman and & the nephew of
Joseph P. Turnulty, secretary to
President Wilson, who died re-
Gently.
Fred E. Shepard of Elizabeth,
an ardent supporter of the late
Senator Robert A. Taft of Ohio.
today was declared the unofficial
winner in the 9Th district by IS
votes over Francis v. Lowden,
one-time Republican chairman
OF Union County.
County Clerk Henry G.. Mutton
checked the figures for the third
time today and said MIR. Shep-
ards 85-vote margin will be pre-
sented to the Board of Elections
for certification.
Guy Gabrielson, jr., son of the
former Republican national
chairman, was third in the
Seven-man race.
The G. o. P. nominee will run
against Representative Harrison
A. Williams, the first Democrat
elected to Congress from the
normally Republican 9Th district.
Frank Thompson, jr., assembly
minority leader of Trenton, ap-
peared to have won three
cornered Democratic race to
seek the 4th district congress
Sional seat now held by Repre-
sentative Charles r. Howell. Mr..
Howell is Democratic candidate
for the United States Senate.
Democratic contests in the
normally Republican I'd and Sd
districts were won by politically
unknowns.
High-LeveI Campaign.
Mr.. Howell and his Republi-
can opponent. former Repre-
sentative Case of Railway, agreed
W NOAAONCI OA1C4A CGdAAAHdAS1lo WILL
out attacking each others per-
sonal integrity Botn were un-
opposed in the primary as
candidates for the seat being
vacated by Senator Robert C.
HendrickSon.
Adding attention to the Wild
nall-ThomaS contest was the
disqualification Of Mrs. Thomas,
So, who, police said, took an
overdose Of sleeping pills. Mrs.
Thomas was reported in fair
condition at the Bergen Pines
Hospital. j. Parnell Thomas,
jr., said his mother suffered q
nervous breakdown.
The senior Mr.. Thomas could
not be reached for comment on
the election. Mr.. Thomas, who
publishes three weekly newSpa-
pers. lost his home town of Allen
dale to Mr.. Widnall, 347 to 106.
The bingo and raffles refer
enda had been expected to draw
many of the States 2.614.0l8
registered voters, but voting gen.
orally was light despite a sunny