1982 United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey|
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Majority party
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Minority party
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| Party
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Democratic
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Republican
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| Last election
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8
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7
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| Seats won
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9
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5
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| Seat change
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1
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2
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| Popular vote
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1,206,416
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915,472
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| Percentage
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56.2%
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42.7%
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| Swing
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8.2pp
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7.2pp
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The 1982 United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey were held on November 2, 1982, to determine who would represent the people of New Jersey in the United States House of Representatives. This election coincided with national elections for U.S. House and U.S. Senate. New Jersey had fourteen seats in the House, apportioned according to the 1980 United States census. Representatives are elected for two-year terms.
Overview
Background
New Jersey congressional districts before (left) and after (right) the 1980 census decennial redistricting
Following the 1980 United States census, the New Jersey Legislature had conducted decennial redistricting. The resulting map, which was considered heavily favorable to the Democratic Party and approved by Democratic governor Brendan Byrne just before he left office, was used for the 1982 elections. Although the seven Republican incumbents challenged the map in court (and would eventually succeed when the map was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States in Karcher v. Daggett), the Democratic map was in effect for the 1982 elections.[2][3]
The Republicans' lawsuit claimed the new map included several configurations which were "'outrageously designed expressly for political purposes.''[3] The new districts were dramatically less compact than their predecessors and more favorable to the Democratic Party,[3] with two open districts favoring the Democrats, two districts pitting Republican incumbents against each other, and one district pitting a first-term Republican against a veteran member of Democratic Party leadership.
The hometowns of two Republican incumbents were combined in each of the fifth (Jim Courter of Hackettstown and Marge Roukema of Ridgewood) and twelfth districts (Millicent Fenwick of Bernardsville and Matt Rinaldo of Union) in an effort to create primary infighting. However, the potential primary challenges were avoided when Fenwick ran for the United States Senate and Rinaldo ran for the open seventh district, allowing Courter to run for the now-vacant twelfth district and avoid a competitive primary against Roukema.
Separately, Old Bridge, the hometown of first-term representative Chris Smith, was relocated to the third district, which was represented by longtime Democratic incumbent James J. Howard and was made considerably more Democratic. The new fourth district, which Smith had won against incumbent Frank Thompson in an upset in 1980 after Thompson was indicted on bribery charges, was dramatically more Democratic than its already-Democratic predecessor. Rather than challenge Howard, Smith opted to run for re-election in his own district.
District 1
1982 New Jersey's 1st congressional district election|
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Incumbent Democrat James Florio won. The district included Gloucester County and parts of Camden County.
Democratic primary
Candidates
Results
Republican primary
Candidates
Results
General election
Candidates
Results
District 2
1982 New Jersey's 2nd congressional district election|
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Incumbent William J. Hughes won. This district, the largest in South Jersey, included all of Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, and Salem counties and parts of Burlington and Ocean counties.
Democratic primary
Candidates
Results
Republican primary
Candidates
Results
General election
Candidates
- John J. Mahoney (Republican)
- William J. Hughes, incumbent Representative since 1975 (Democratic)
Results
District 3
1982 New Jersey's 3rd congressional district election|
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Incumbent Democrat James J. Howard won.
This district included parts of Monmouth, Middlesex, and Ocean counties.
Democratic primary
Candidates
Results
Republican primary
Candidates
Declined
Results
General election
Candidates
- Lawrence D. Erickson (Socialist)
- Lee A. Gesner Jr. (Libertarian)
- Joseph B. Hawley (Independent)
- James J. Howard, incumbent Representative since 1965 (Democratic)
- John Kinnevy III (Citizens)
- Marie Sheehan Muhler, assemblywoman from Marlboro and nominee for this district in 1980 (Republican)
Results
District 4
1982 New Jersey's 4th congressional district election|
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Incumbent Republican Chris Smith won. This district, in Central Jersey, consisted of parts of Burlington, Camden, Mercer, Middlesex, and Monmouth counties.
Republican primary
Candidates
Results
Democratic primary
Candidates
Results
General election
Candidates
Results
District 5
1982 New Jersey's 5th congressional district election|
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Incumbent Marge Roukema won. This district included parts of Bergen, Passaic, and Sussex counties.
Background
The 5th district was redrawn to pit Republican incumbents Jim Courter and Marge Roukema against each other. However, Courter opted to run in the 12th district, which had been vacated by Millicent Fenwick and Matt Rinaldo.
Republican primary
Candidates
Declined
Results
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Fritz Cammerzell
- Ray Rollinson
Results
General election
Candidates
- Fritz Cammerzell (Democratic)
- Marge Roukema, incumbent Representative from Ridgewood since 1981 (Republican)
- William J. Zelko Jr. (Libertarian)
Results
District 6
1982 New Jersey's 6th congressional district election|
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Incumbent Democrat Bernard J. Dwyer won. This district included parts of Middlesex and Union counties.
Democratic primary
Candidates
Results
Republican primary
Candidates
Results
General election
Candidates
- Bernard Buckler (Republican)
- Bernard J. Dwyer, incumbent Representative from Edison since 1981 (Democratic)
- Charles M. Hart (Libertarian)
Results
District 7
1982 New Jersey's 7th congressional district election|
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Incumbent Matt Rinaldo won. This district included parts of Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Somerset, and Union counties.
Background
The new "fishhook" design of the district connected disparate communities in Central Jersey including Elizabeth, Princeton and Marlboro. Adam K. Levin, the former New Jersey Director of Consumer Affairs and son of wealthy real estate developer and investor Philip J. Levin, had opposed Rinaldo in 1974 and lost by a large margin. To secure a winnable district in 1982, Levin donated enormous sums of money to Democratic candidates for the New Jersey legislature in 1981.[8]
Although the new district did not have an incumbent, because Rinaldo's hometown of Union had been relocated to the 12th district, Rinaldo chose to run for re-election in the 7th, which included most of Union County, against Levin.[8]
Republican primary
Candidates
Results
Democratic primary
Candidates
Withdrew
Campaign
Boggs Sigmund dropped out of the race just before the filing deadline, choosing instead to run in the crowded Democratic primary for United States Senate. She publicly stated that she had been pressured to switch races by a number of county leaders and Democratic incumbents Robert Roe, James Howard and Bill Hughes.[10]
Results
General election
Candidates
Campaign
Rinaldo hired Roger Stone to serve as his campaign strategist.[8]
Results
Aftermath
Despite winning the new district, Rinaldo did not relocate from Union Township and kept both his home and district office there.[8] Union Township was restored to the district in 1984, following the Supreme Court decision in Karcher v. Daggett.
District 8
1982 New Jersey's 8th congressional district election|
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Incumbent Robert Roe won. This district included parts of Bergen, Morris, and Passaic counties.
Democratic primary
Candidates
Results
Republican primary
Candidates
Results
General election
Candidates
Results
District 9
1982 New Jersey's 9th congressional district election|
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Incumbent Democrat Bob Torricelli won. This district consisted of parts of Bergen County.
Republican primary
Candidates
Results
Democratic primary
Candidates
Withdrew
Results
General election
Candidates
Results
District 10
1982 New Jersey's 10th congressional district election|
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Incumbent Democrat Peter W. Rodino won. The district included parts of Essex, Hudson, and Union counties.
Democratic primary
Candidates
Results
Republican primary
Candidates
Results
General election
Candidates
- Katharine Florentine (Libertarian)
- Christine Keno (The Unbossed Independent)
- Timothy Lee Jr. (Republican)
- Peter W. Rodino, incumbent Representative since 1949 (Democratic)
Results
District 11
1982 New Jersey's 11th congressional district election|
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Incumbent Democrat Joseph Minish won. This district consisted of parts of Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, and Passaic counties.
Democratic primary
Candidates
Results
Republican primary
Candidates
- Frank Bell
- Robert A. Davis
- Rey Redington, former president of the Montclair Chamber of Commerce
Results
General election
Candidates
- Joseph Minish, incumbent Representative from West Orange since 1963 (Democratic)
- Rey Redington, former president of the Montclair Chamber of Commerce (Republican)
- Richard S. Roth (Libertarian)
Results
District 12
1982 New Jersey's 12th congressional district election|
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Incumbent Representative Millicent Fenwick ran for U.S. Senate, and incumbent Republican Representative Jim Courter won the election.
This sprawling district included parts of Essex, Hunterdon, Morris, Somerset, Sussex, Union, and Warren counties.
Republican primary
Candidates
Declined
Results
Democratic primary
Candidates
Withdrew
Results
General election
Candidates
- Jeff Connor (Democratic)
- Jim Courter, former assistant Warren County prosecutor (Republican)
- Harold F. Leiendecker (Libertarian)
Results
District 13
1982 New Jersey's 13th congressional district election|
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Incumbent Republican Edwin B. Forsythe won.
This district included parts of Burlington, Camden, Monmouth, and Ocean counties.
Republican primary
Candidates
Results
Democratic primary
Candidates
Results
General election
Candidates
- George Callas (Democratic)
- Leonard T. Flynn (Libertarian)
- Edwin B. Forsythe, incumbent Representative from Moorestown since 1970 (Republican)
- Don Smith (Constitution)
- Paula Volpe (Citizens)
Results
District 14
1982 New Jersey's 14th congressional district election|
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Incumbent Democrat Frank J. Guarini won. This district included parts of Bergen and Hudson counties.
Democratic primary
Candidates
Results
Republican primary
Candidates
- Charles K. Krieger
- William Howard Link
Results
General election
Candidates
- Frank J. Guarini, incumbent Representative since 1979 (Democratic)
- Charles K. Krieger (Republican)
- Kenneth Famularo (Action Talks)
- Jack Murphy ("Mr. Liberty")
- Herbert H. Shaw (Politicians are Crooks)
- Louis J. Sicilia (Libertarian)
Results
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Guthrie, Benjamin J. (May 5, 1983). "STATISTICS OF THE PRESIDENTIAL AND CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION OF November 2, 1982" (PDF). Office of the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. p. 25. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
- ^ Sullivan, Joseph F. (January 6, 1982). "JERSEY LEGISLATURE APPROVES NEW CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
- ^ a b c "JERSEY'S 7 G.O.P. HOUSE MEMBERS SUING TO VOID REDISTRICTING (Published 1982)". February 4, 1982. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab "Candidates for the Office of House of Representatives -- Primary Election, June 5, 1982" (PDF). New Jersey Department of State. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Votes Cast for the Office of United States House of Representatives - General Election held November 2, 1982" (PDF). New Jersey Department of State. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
- ^ a b c "PERSONALITIES HEAT CAMPAIGN IN JERSEY (Published 1982)". June 3, 1982. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
- ^ "Craig W Yates Obituary - Burlington County Times". burlingtoncountytimes.com. January 28, 2025. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
- ^ a b c d Wildstein, David (January 19, 2020). "When congressmen shop for new districts". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
- ^ "A POLITICAL BID BY A DAUGHTER OF REP. BOGGS (Published 1982)". February 16, 1982. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
- ^ "POLITICS; DEMOCRATS TURN SENATE PRIMARY INTO FREE-FOR-ALL (Published 1982)". May 2, 1982. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
- ^ Wildstein, David (January 19, 2020). "When congressmen shop for new districts". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved July 27, 2025.