Walter Jones

Left to right: Charles Sandman, Ralph DeRose, Anthony Imperiale, Raymond Bateman and Frank "Pat" Dodd.

If you are a New Jersey State Senator, you are more likely to die in office than to win higher elective office. Under the current State Constitution, 49 sitting State Senators have asked voters to promote them to a new office, but only twelve have won.

Nearly half of the State Senators seeking higher office have run for Governor and all 21 have lost: Malcolm Forbes (1957), Wayne Dumont (1965), Raymond Bateman (1977) and James E. McGreevey (1997) won major party nominations but list the general election -- each time to an incumbent; William Schluter ran as an Independent in 2001; and Walter Jones (1961), Charles Sandman (1965), William Kelly (1969), Frank McDermott (1969), William Ozzard (1969), Harry Sears (1969), Ralph DeRose (1973), Raymond Garramone (1977), Frank Dodd (1981), William Hamilton (1981), Joseph Merlino (1981), James Wallwork (1981), Bill Gormley (1989) and Gerald Cardinale (1989).

The race to watch next week is the contest for Bergen County Republican Chairman, where incumbent Rob Ortiz, who took over after embattled party leader Guy Talarico resigned last June, faces a challenge from former Freeholder candidate Robert Yudin and former Bergen County Utilities Authority Chairman Ben Focarino, an old hand in the BCRO who ran against Ortiz last year. Ortiz has faced criticism for, among other things, promoting the embattled Andy Unanue for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination earlier this year.