New Jersey Senatorial Race

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U.S. Senator Bob Menendez celebrates his re-election on November 7, 2006. (Photo: Ray Stubblebine/Reuters)

November 8, 2006 

In a tight race that the entire nation has focused on, Democratic incumbent Bob Menendez defeated Republican Tom Kean Jr. in New Jersey for a seat in the Senate. Menendez was originally appointed to the Senate when Democrat John Corzine left to serve as New Jersey’s Governor in 2005. Kean is the son of former New Jersey Governor Tom Kean Sr.

Both national parties have spent a large amount of money on the Kean/Menendez race because of its importance to the Democratic party’s goal of winning control of the Senate. Polling had indicated that approximately 10 percent of New Jersey’s voters planned to vote for Kean due to his father’s popularity in the state.  At the same time, Menendez was getting a big boost from the Latin American community as he attempted to become the first Latino to win a Senate seat in New Jersey.

Menendez won the race, but Kean ran a successful campaign that kept the race close in this heavily Democratic state.

Jacob Wieseneck is a member of the Scholastic Kids Press Corps.

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