1990 United States Senate election in New Jersey
The 1990 New Jersey United States Senate election was held on November 6, 1990 to select the Class 2 U.S. Senator from the state of New Jersey. Democratic U.S. Senator Bill Bradley decided to seek re-election and narrowly edged out little-known Republican Christine Todd Whitman. General election. Campaign. U.S. Senator Bill Bradley didn't realize he was in danger of losing re-election and the New Jersey voters' anger over taxes and economy until the week prior to the election. In the early part of the campaign, Bradley already had  a major image problem; he was comfortably ahead in the polls, so his staffers told him to play it safe. He aired television advertisements of himself walking on the beach, shooting a perfect shot on the court, and sitting back in his office with his basketball shoes on his desk. The advertisements backfired as voters were turned off and thought that he wasn't taking his job seriously, especially at a time when voters were suffering. Another major problem with Bradley was how Democratic Governor Jim Florio implemented a $2.8 billion tax increase, hurting the state's economy. In  addition, Bradley refused to answer questions pertaining to Florio's tax policies. After Bradley realized he was in trouble, he released negative advertisements attacking Whitman's own record on taxes, accusing her of favoring tax increases when she was a Somerset County Freeholder. Bradley's image may have been further damaged by his newer advertisements.