NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. -- With both parties vying for control of an evenly-split Senate in yesterday's elections, New Jersey voters handed an important victory to the Democratic Party by electing Frank Lautenberg over Republican challenger Douglas Forrester with 54 percent of the vote.
An 18-year veteran of the Senate chamber, Lautenberg emerged from a two-year retirement five weeks ago to replace the state's Democratic incumbent Robert Torricelli, who abruptly withdrew from the race because of lingering questions about improper contributions he received that drew reprimand from the Senate Ethics Committee.
"We squeezed 10 months into five weeks," Lautenberg said in a victory speech delivered to an auditorium packed with reporters, cameras and campaign supporters.
"I'm here with a mandate to follow Democratic priorities," he added, standing behind a podium flanked by family members and fellow New Jersey Democrats, including Gov. Tim McGreevy and Sen. John Corzine.
To many campaign-watchers, Lautenberg's Election Day success was not a surprise, as polls from last weekend gave the 78-year-old politician a 5-12 point lead over Forrester.
Nevertheless, both Senate candidates fought in the campaign's final days to ensure strong voter turnout, a factor that many agreed may have made the difference in yesterday's results.
Census and polling figures indicate that, of New Jersey's 4.6 million registered voters, one in four are registered Democrats while less than one in five are Republicans. But more than half of the state's voters belong to neither of the two parties.
Of those that are affiliated with a party, more than 10 percent said they remained undecided prior to yesterday's election, forcing both parties to push hard all day Tuesday in a massive get-out-the-vote effort.
"People were pretty optimistic," Lautenberg campaign volunteer Nora Kallen said, speaking of the attitude in the Lautenberg ranks during the last few days of the campaign. But nobody took it for granted, she said.
Spending $3.5 million and enlisting the help of 11,000 paid campaign workers, volunteers and union members, Democrats were expected to maintain the upper hand, though several Republicans voters at the polls said they received phone calls yesterday with a message from President Bush urging them to support Forrester.
"Most people feel that Lautenberg has a major edge with his three terms in the Senate," New Brunswick Poll Volunteer Stan Goldberg said yesterday afternoon. "But the whole Torricelli thing could drive people away from the Democratic camp."
John Ball, a local Republican voter, agreed.
"Lautenberg had no business being in the election," he said.
Several prominent Democrats, however, praised Lautenberg for stepping up to fill the vacuum left by Toricelli's departure.
"It gave people the opportunity to choose," Jersey City Mayor Glenn Cunningham said. "Nobody should win an election by default. People should always have a choice."
But voters on both ends of the spectrum defended Forrester's legal efforts to challenge Lautenberg's substitution as the Democratic candidate.
"I think people should do what they canas long as its legal to win the vote," said Nick Greder, a registered New Jersey Republican.
Though he said he supported Lautenberg at the polls, Beran Joof, a local Democrat, concurred with Greder.
"Any legal means that you can use to defeat the opposition is acceptable," Joof said.
In a speech at Lautenberg's reception, McGreevy said Democrats in New Jersey and around the country, mindful of the delicate partisan balance in the Senate, enjoyed a major victory.
Cunningham was similarly optimistic.
"He worked hard for the election and earned his victory," Cunningham said. "He is extremely qualified and deserved this victory. We need him in New Jersey."
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