The 2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held on November 7, 2006. Bob Menendez, who had served as an interim appointee, was elected to a first full six-year term in office. He defeated Republican Thomas Kean Jr. in the general election.
The seat was previously held by Democrat Jon Corzine, who resigned in January 2006 after being sworn in as Governor of New Jersey and appointed Menendez, a U.S. Representative, to the vacant seat. Filing for the primary closed on April 10. The primary election was held June 6.New Jersey Election Deadlines, Politics1.com, accessed June 7, 2006 Menendez and Kean both won their primaries with minimal opposition. Menendez was the first Latino elected to statewide office. Kean would later be elected to the U.S House of Representatives in 2022.
Democratic primary Candidates James D. Kelly, telecommunications worker and candidate for Governor in 2005 Bob Menendez, interim U.S. senator and former U.S. representative from Union City
Results
Republican primary Candidates John P. Ginty, associate director with Standard & Poor's Thomas Kean, Jr., state senator from Westfield and son of former governor Thomas Kean Ginty represented the conservative wing of the New Jersey Republican Party. Kean ran as a moderate.
Campaign A showdown between Bergen County Republican Organization (BCRO) conservatives and a group of insurgent moderate Republican critics ignited into a shoving match between supporters, with Kean temporarily refusing to accept the BCRO endorsement of his candidacy, and refusing to run with the organization slate of nominees for the offices of County Executive, Surrogate, and Freeholder. As a result, Ginty was drafted by Bergen County conservatives to fill out the conservative slate of candidates in Bergen County for the Republican primary.N.J. GOP Senate Candidate Faces Threat in June Primary, Fox News, April 25, 2006 Kean eventually accepted the BCRO endorsement.
On March 20, Kean arrived late to a fundraising event for his campaign, after featured guest Vice President Dick Cheney had left, which some accused of him doing deliberately to avoid the chance of photographs of the two together.Cheney, but no candidate, at fundraiser, United Press International, March 21, 2006
On March 27, at a news conference billed as a "major announcement," Kean called for state and federal tax cuts, asking Menendez and Governor of New Jersey Jon Corzine to support them. In response, a spokesman for Menendez said the senator supports "balanced tax cuts," not just ones that benefit the wealthiest Americans while expanding national debt.
On April 1, at the Middlesex County Republican Convention, Kean won the Middlesex County Republican Organization endorsement for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate over Ginty by a vote of 79% to 21%.
On May 2, Ginty publicly called on Kean to stop soliciting the endorsement of the Sierra Club, which he termed an "environmental extremist group with a deep history of involvement in left-wing causes."Daily Record , May 3, 2006 Ginty announced that he favors oil exploration in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, something that Kean and Menendez both opposed., The Record, May 25, 2006
Results
General election
Candidates
Daryl Mikell Brooks, candidate for New Jersey's 12th congressional district in 2004Long-shot for U.S. Senate says online networking ‘for campaigning only’ , Trentonian, August 28, 2006 (Poor People's Campaign) J.M. Carter, minister and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2000 (God We Trust) Len Flynn, activist (Libertarian) Ed Forchion, marijuana legalization activist (Marijuana) Thomas Kean Jr., state senator from Westfield and son of former governor Thomas Kean (Republican) Angela L. Lariscy, sewing machine operator and trade unionist (Socialist Workers) Bob Menendez, interim U.S. senator and former U.S. representative from Union City (Democratic) Gregory Pason, activist and former union official (Socialist) N. Leonard Smith, former Camden County freeholder, retired teacher, and Korean War veteran (Solidarity, Defend Life)
Campaign The general election contest largely pitted Kean, running a campaign critical of Menendez's reputation for ethical ambiguity, against Menendez, who focused on national political issues, including the unpopularity of George W. Bush and the Iraq War in New Jersey. Kean and the Republican Party focused their campaign on Menendez's poor ethical reputation. In 2005, op-eds in The New York Times and the Star-Ledger complained of bossism by Menendez, claiming he runs Hudson County as a political machine."New Jersey's New Senator", The New York Times, December 9, 2005Tom Moran, The Past May Haunt Future For Menendez, The Star-Ledger, November 23, 2005Raymond Hernandez, "Menendez's Moment of Truth", The New York Times, January 16, 2005 The Bergen Record made an issue of Menendez's campaign spending, claiming the majority of his recent spending was not for traditional campaign activities.Herb Jackson, "Fund Raising Is Menendez's Meal Ticket," The Record (Bergen County), March 12, 2006
In mid-summer, Jon Corzine and the Democratic state legislature held a brief shutdown of state government, which ultimately resulted in a sales tax increase.
On June 13, Kean held a fundraiser in Ocean County featuring First Lady Laura Bush, at which both Kean and Bush noted Kean's political distance from President George W. Bush, claiming that Senator Menendez seems to confuse the two."Kean draws Laura Bush for Campaign Fundraiser", Star-Ledger, June 10, 2006
On June 16, at a New Jersey Association of Counties speaking event in Atlantic City, Kean and his aides beat a hasty retreat from the ballroom engagement and "stampeded" into an elevator in an abortive attempt to avoid the press, only to exit on the same floor as they had entered. Kean declined to answer questions about the scathing attacks on his integrity which his opponent had delivered minutes earlier, instead opting to repeat "a few slogans."Josh Gohlke, "Kean ducks confrontation", The Record (Bergen County), June 17, 2006
In late June, the Associated Press reported that Kean's campaign was planning to produce a film accusing Menendez of involvement in a New Jersey mob-connected kickback scheme "despite public records and statements disputing that claim." The AP noted that "[f]our former federal prosecutors who oversaw the case have said Menendez was never involved in any wrongdoing.""GOP's Kean Plans 'Swift Boat'-Style Film", Associated Press, June 30, 2006 The New York Times reported that the charges conflicted with historical accounts and records portraying Menendez as a crusader against the very corruption of which he stood accused.Jim Dwyer, "New Jersey Senator's Rival Faults Him in 80's Corruption Case, but History Disagrees", The New York Times, June 25, 2006 The film was never completed."Kean Campaign Cancels Film on Menendez, Producer Says", The New York Times, November 3, 2006. Accessed April 5, 2008.
On August 27, two Republican state lawmakers filed an ethics complaint against Menendez, alleging he broke conflict-of-interest rules as a State Senator and U.S. Representative rented property out to a nonprofit agency that receives federal funds. Menendez helped the organization win designation as a Federally Qualified Health Center in 1998. That designation allowed the agency to receive additional federal grants. Menendez allies noted that the organization in question, the North Hudson Community Action Corp., which provides social services and health care to the poor and was founded in 1960, had received federal funding for years before Menendez was in Congress, and receives its funding based on mathematical formulas. Menendez maintains that he rented the property out below market-value because "he was supportive of its work". The total rent collected over nine years was over $300,000. Menendez questioned the timing of the complaints: "We have seen an orchestrated series of leaks, bogus ethics complaints and outright fabrications since the beginning of this campaign."Menendez questions timing of reported federal probe , Press of Atlantic City, September 8, 2006"Pair accuse Menendez in conflict", The Star-Ledger, August 28, 2006 Menendez maintained that he received verbal clearance from the House Ethics Committee in 1994 before entering a lease agreement with the nonprofit.
On September 8, Menendez identified Mark Davis as the House Ethics Committee lawyer whom he consulted, but Roll Call reported that Davis left the ethics committee in 1993, prompting Menendez campaign spokesman Matt Miller to offer an alternate explanation: "It was his recollection that he talked to him about this, but it must have been someone else. It was 12 years ago.""Menendez defends himself, denounces timing of probe", The Star-Ledger, September 9, 2006 In September, U.S. Attorney Chris Christie subpoenaed records from the nonprofit. Some Democrats criticized the investigation, particularly the timing of the investigation and news leaks, as politically motivated. Governor Corzine said the investigation "has the appearance of being less than objective". Kean said his campaign "absolutely" did not have any contact at any point with Christie or his office regarding the probe.
On September 15, The Star-Ledger reported that on the same day in 2005 that Kean voted to preserve a $40 million tax exemption for Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, he collected $13,300 in contributions from 17 company executives and their family members.Deborah Howlett, "Democrats question donations to Kean: Horizon gave $13,300 on day of a big vote" , The Star-Ledger, September 15, 2006 The report noted that Kean aides denied any connection between the votes and the contributions.
On September 28, The Star-Ledger reported that Menendez had fired his closest political adviser, Donald Scarinci, for seeking favors on Menendez's behalf. A 1999 recording revealed Scarinci asking a Hudson County psychiatrist, Oscar Sandoval, to hire another physician as a favor to Menendez. Scarinci also stated that he had helped Davila Colon, a former Menendez staffer, get a job with Carl Goldberg, a developer and major Menendez fundraiser. A spokesperson for the Menendez campaign stated that "Scarinci was using Menendez's name without his authorization or his knowledge.""Menendez dumps a close adviser caught on tape seeking "favors"", The Star-Ledger, September 28, 2006
Around that time, Democratic blog Blue Jersey alleged that a member of the Kean campaign was posing as a disillusioned Democrat when posting comments critical of Menendez on the site. Major newspapers corroborated the claim, reporting that the IP address used to make the comments was identical to one used by Kean campaign spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker in official emails. Both Hazelbaker and Kean denied that she had been involved but did not explain the connection.A Blog Suspects That an Aide to Kean Posted Jabs at Menendez, The New York Times, September 21, 2006Kean aide denies a hand in blog hits on Menendez, Star-Ledger, September 21, 2006 The same IP address was also used to make multiple edits to Wikipedia pages linking Menendez to the accusations of corruption that were a centerpiece of Kean's campaign strategy.Edits made by 70.90.20.85, Wikipedia, September 21, 2006
In October, the Kean campaign drew scrutiny over its relationship with opposition researcher Christopher Lyon. Kean staffers denied that Lyon worked for Kean directly. "I think the selective outrage here is a little laughable," said Hazelbaker, who added that Mr. Menendez's former law partner, who was at his side when he was sworn in as a senator, had been convicted of dealing cocaine.