New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District elections, 2014

U.S. House, New Jersey District 2 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Frank LoBiondo Incumbent	61.5%	108,875
	Democratic	Bill Hughes, Jr.	37.3%	66,026
	Independent	Gary Stein	0.3%	612
	Independent	Bayode Olabisi	0.3%	471
	American Labor Party	Costantino Rozzo	0.3%	501
	Democratic-Republican	Alexander Spano	0.4%	663
Total Votes				177,148
Source: New Jersey Division of Elections

2016 → ← 2012

New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District

General Election Date November 4, 2014

Primary Date June 3, 2014

November 4 Election Winner: Frank LoBiondo

Incumbent prior to election: Frank LoBiondo

Race Ratings Cook Political Report: Solid R FairVote's Monopoly Politics: Safe R Sabato's Crystal Ball: Likely R

New Jersey U.S. House Elections District 1 • District 2 • District 3 • District 4 • District 5 • District 6 • District 7 • District 8 • District 9 • District 10 • District 11 • District 12

2014 U.S. Senate Elections

2014 U.S. House Elections

The 2nd Congressional District of New Jersey held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R) defeated Bill Hughes, Jr. (D), Gary Stein (I), Bayode Olabisi (I), Costantino Rozzo (American Labor Party) and Alexander Spano (Democratic-Republican) in the general election.

Although Ballotpedia named New Jersey's 2nd as a U.S. House battleground district in 2014, the general election results revealed a much less competitive race. Rep. LoBiondo won re-election over Hughes by a solid 24.7 percent margin of victory.

The district was initially viewed as competitive for various reasons. First, New Jersey's 2nd was actually a Democratic-leaning district, despite LoBiondo having been in office since 1995. President Barack Obama (D) won the district by 7.7 percent in 2008 and by 8.1 percent in 2012. Moreover, data from the New Jersey Division of Elections, posted on October 31, 2014, revealed that the district had 126,927 registered Democratic voters and only 117,560 registered Republican voters.

Hughes was also viewed as a prime candidate to compete against LoBiondo, as his father, former Rep. Bill Hughes, was LoBiondo's predecessor, serving from 1974 to 1995. According to an article from NJ Spotlight, Hughes was thought to be "the first serious contender to face the sitting representative in his 19 years in office." Sharon Schulman of Stockton College remarked that Hughes was, "a credible candidate with some decent name recognition, and he’s out there doing retail politics. While LoBiondo’s favorability numbers are quite high, the numbers for Congress are abysmal, which allows his opponents to paint him with the same brush."

Even the general election polls underestimated LoBiondo's victory, although they all correctly predicted LoBiondo to be the winner. Most political analysts, such as those from The Cook Political Report, FairVote's Monopoly Politics and Sabato's Crystal Ball also predicted another victory for LoBiondo.

A few important factors helped account for LoBiondo's overwhelming success. First, he raised significantly more money in campaign contributions. According to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), LoBiondo reported over $2 million throughout the 2014 election cycle, while Hughes raised less than $700,000. Hughes also received very little help from outside groups. While organizations spent a total of $11,102 in satellite spending opposing LoBiondo, other groups spent $171,948 supporting him.

In addition, LoBiondo ran a moderate campaign suited to a Democratic-leaning district. LoBiondo received endorsements from groups such as the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) and the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA), both of which are traditionally liberal groups. In fact, LoBiondo was the only Republican to earn the NJEA's endorsement in 2014.

While Hughes was certainly at a disadvantage, and did not prove as competitive an adversary as many Democrats had hoped, he nonetheless made LoBiondo fight harder than ever before to maintain his seat. The Press of Atlantic City reported that, "by the end of September, LoBiondo had spent nearly $1.7 million defending his seat, more than for any other race he has ever run." At the same time, Hughes had spent over $688,000, which was "more [than] twice what all of LoBiondo’s challengers spent between 1998 and 2012 combined."

Candidate Filing Deadline	Primary Election	General Election
March 31, 2014	June 3, 2014	November 4, 2014

Primary: A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. New Jersey utilizes a semi-closed primary process, in which the selection of a party's candidates in an election is generally limited to registered party members. Unaffiliated voters can register as party members at the polls on primary election day. Otherwise, a voter must indicate his or her party preference (e.g., via an updated voter registration) no later than the 55th day preceding the primary in order to vote in that party's primary.

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Voter registration: To vote in the primary, voters had to register by May 13, 2014. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 14, 2014 (21 days before election).

See also: New Jersey elections, 2014

Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent was Frank LoBiondo (R), who was first elected in 1994.

New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District is located in the southern portion of the state and includes the counties of Salem, Cumberland, Cape May and Atlantic and portions of Gloucester, Camden, Burlington and Ocean counties.

Candidates

General election candidates

• Frank LoBiondo - Incumbenta
• Bill Hughes, Jr.
• Gary Stein (Independent)
• Bayode Olabisi (Independent)
• Costantino Rozzo (American Labor Party)
• Alexander Spano (Democratic-Republican)

June 3, 2014, primary results

Republican Primary

• Frank LoBiondo - Incumbenta
• Mike Assad

Democratic Primary

• Bill Hughes, Jr.a
• Dave Cole

Election results

General election

U.S. House, New Jersey District 2 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Frank LoBiondo Incumbent	61.5%	108,875
	Democratic	Bill Hughes, Jr.	37.3%	66,026
	Independent	Gary Stein	0.3%	612
	Independent	Bayode Olabisi	0.3%	471
	American Labor Party	Costantino Rozzo	0.3%	501
	Democratic-Republican	Alexander Spano	0.4%	663
Total Votes				177,148
Source: New Jersey Division of Elections

Primary election

U.S. House, New Jersey District 2 Republican Primary, 2014

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Frank LoBiondo Incumbent	82.5%	14,294
Mike Assad	17.5%	3,037
Total Votes		17,331
Source: New Jersey Division of Elections - Official Election Results

U.S. House, New Jersey District 2 Democratic Primary, 2014

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Bill Hughes, Jr.	81.8%	11,455
Dave Cole	18.2%	2,554
Total Votes		14,009
Source: New Jersey Division of Elections - Official Election Results

Race background

Primary election background

Both Hughes (D) and LoBiondo (R) faced challenges in the June 3 primary before they moved on to the general election. With LoBiondo having been in office since 1995 and having a considerable financial advantage, he easily defeated Mike Assad in the Republican primary. Hughes earned most of the endorsements from the Democratic establishment and raised significantly more money than his primary challenger, Dave Cole. He defeated Cole by a wide margin of victory.

Endorsements

Frank LoBiondo

Frank LoBiondo received the following endorsements:

• Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie
• The Laborers’ International Union of North America
• The Republican Party county chairs from all 8 counties in New Jersey's 2nd District
• The U.S. Chamber of Commerce
• The New Jersey State Building & Construction Trades Council
• The New Jersey State Fraternal Order of Police
• The New Jersey Education Association (NJEA)
  • LoBiondo was the only Republican to receive an endorsement from the NJEA in 2014.
• The League of Conservation Voters (LCV)

Bill Hughes, Jr.

Bill Hughes, Jr. received endorsements from the following groups:

• Atlantic County Democrats
• Ocean County Democrats
• Camden County Democrats
• Burlington County Democrats
• Cape May County Democrats
• Cumberland County Democrats
• Salem County Democrats
• Gloucester County Democrats
• New Jersey State Senator Stephen Sweeney

Issues

See also: Energy and the 2014 election: the ballots and beyond

Campaign themes

Bill Hughes, Jr.

Bill Hughes, Jr. highlighted the following themes, among others, on his campaign website:

“	Create and Protect Jobs and Light a Fire Under the Economy: "South Jersey has the highest jobless rate in the state, averaging around 13%. So many good folks have been in unemployed [sic] for so long that many aren't even counted as being unemployed - and have just given up hope of finding work. When the Atlantic Club closed its doors for good in January 2014 – putting 1,600 of our neighbors out of work – they were told to move to another state to find work. Rampant unemployment in our hometowns for years on end with no solutions is unacceptable. In South Jersey the recession hasn’t ended. It's not our neighbors who have failed, it’s our leadership in Washington. We need real projects and real ideas that produce solutions and jobs. South Jersey needs an advocate for jobs and a stronger economy – someone who will actually reach across the aisle and achieve bipartisan results instead of just talking about them." Strengthen Education and Make College Affordable for Every Student: "The exploding cost of college tuition is killing the financial security of middle class families and denying educational opportunities to hard-working students. Tuition and fees at public four-year colleges and universities shot up 19% over inflation from 2003-04 to 2008-09, and by another 27% between 2008-09 and 2013-14. My wife, a member of our local School Board, and I are parents of three young boys, and we are committed to ensuring the quality of our public schools and making a college education more attainable. Every student deserves the opportunity to succeed through a world-class education, the best college or technical or trade education New Jersey has to offer." Protect Social Security and Medicare: "We need to ensure that the Social Security and Medicare programs remain protected and funded for the thousands of South Jersey residents who depend upon these benefits both now and in the future. As we speak, reckless Republicans in Congress are proposing to radically cut the Medicare program by slashing Medicare benefits to future recipients and increasing the eligibility age. Republicans are also working to rip open the Medicare Part-D “Donut Hole” which would dramatically increase what seniors pay for prescription drugs, and reducing the federal investment in nursing homes. I will keep the promise made to our seniors who sacrificed and saved their entire lives believing the benefits they paid for would be there when they retired." Keeping the Promise to Our Veterans: "South Jersey is lacking a facility close to home where our 50,000 veterans can have their medical needs addressed. The deeper you are in South Jersey, the harder it is for veterans to find the health care our country promised them close to home. It simply makes no sense that a veteran in Cape May, Atlantic County or Ocean County would have to drive up to two hours and pass two or more other hospitals just to visit a VA Hospital in Philadelphia or Delaware. With South Jersey already having some of the highest unemployment rates in the country, the unemployment rate of returning veterans is often three or more times higher than the general population. We need to honor our veterans by making sure they have a good paying job waiting for them at home" Real Healthcare Reform: "We have the best doctors and hospitals in the world, and nobody in this country would face obstacles to getting the treatment and care they need. Instead of returning to a system that denied healthcare to millions while bankrupting hospitals, individuals and businesses - and was a drain on taxpayers - we need REAL healthcare reform that is both affordable and makes sense for individuals and businesses."	”
—Bill Hughes, Jr., Campaign website (archive)

Costantino Rozzo

Costantino Rozzo listed the following issues, among others, on his campaign website:

“	Healthcare: We need a National, single-payer healthcare program. All hospitals in the state must be publicly owned or run as not-for-profits. We also need small community-based health clinics in schools, large businesses and residential areas. Reproductive rights and sex education should be part of our heathcare system.Including veterinarian services Education: We need to invest in public education with equalized, per-pupil funding to insure quality education for all. We need to provide free post-secondary education for all US residents, funded through a progressive income tax. Jobs: We must create jobs through public works projects and by supporting small businesses and encouraging the growth of cooperatives. Taxes: Recent tax-cuts have victimized the working and middle classes while rewarding the rich. We need a progressive income tax that equitably distributes the tax burden so that the wealthy pay their share. Regressive taxes, such as sales and property taxes, only further burden those least able to pay and must be done away with. Environment: US industries must be forced to abide by clean air, clean water and toxic cleanup statutes. Citizens must have the right to know what, how much and where pesticides are being used. We need to support massive public transit programs to cut down congestion and auto pollution. Animal protection initiatives. Equality: Equal rights for all persons under the law, regardless of gender, race, creed, or sexual orientation. I support issues of tolerance and Anti-hate. Also, All people, no matter who they are, should be equal and have equal opportunities in an all inclusive umbrella. Workers Rights: Workers must have the right to organize and to force employers into binding arbitration. We need a National "family leave" act which guarantees paid leave for the birth of a child and for medical or personal emergencies. Install Bill or Workers and Union Rights. Public Services: There is a now a right-wing attack on our Federal social safety net, we must re-affirm our commitment to a great public society on National level. We must increase the funding for community aid centers build food and service programs and create social welfare boards with recipient representation. Sustainable and Livable Communities: Giving power back to the States and Communities. They must find ways to be accountable to the Federal Government on expenditures. Eliminating Slums and Ghettos, ending rural poverty, improved education, and more. Democracy: Freedom of Choice. Candidates should be elected through a system of proportional representation, and all candidates for office should be allotted free television and radio time. Many of today's social problems can be traced to economic inequality. Crime, poverty, homelessness and unemployment all have social causes. The Socialist Party of New Jersey is dedicated to addressing these problems at their root. We need radical solutions to today's problems	”
—Costantino Rozzo, Campaign website

Polls

General election polls

Frank LoBiondo vs. Bill Hughes, Jr.
Poll	Frank LoBiondo (R)	Bill Hughes, Jr. (D)	Other candidate/ Undecided	Margin of Error	Sample Size
Stockton College October 25-27, 2014	56%	38%	4%	+/-4.0	600
Monmouth University October 12-14, 2014	56%	35%	9%	+/-4.7	438
Stockton College/Survey Technology & Research Center September 27-October 1, 2014	44%	38%	18%	+/-4.0	604
Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org

Key votes

Government affairs

HR 676

See also: Boehner's lawsuit against the Obama administration

On July 30, 2014, the U.S. House approved a resolution 225 to 201 to sue President Barack Obama for exceeding his constitutional authority. Five Republicans—Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Paul Broun of Georgia, Scott Garrett of New Jersey, Walter Jones of North Carolina and Steve Stockman of Texas—voted with Democrats against the lawsuit. LoBiondo joined the other 224 Republicans in favor of the lawsuit. All Democrats voted against the resolution.

Campaign contributions

Frank LoBiondo

Candidates for Congress were required to file up to seven main reports with the Federal Election Commission during the 2014 elections season. Below are LoBiondo's reports.

Frank LoBiondo (2014) Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
April Quarterly	April 15, 2013	$690,690.40	$150,471.68	$(87,632.11)	$753,529.97
July Quarterly	July 15, 2013	$753,529.97	$132,602.90	$(78,708.28)	$807,424.59
October Quarterly	October 11, 2013	$807,424.59	$101,855.90	$(81,526.05)	$827,754.44
Year-End Quarterly	December 31, 2013	$827,754	$439,205	$(76,632)	$1,159,461
April Quarterly	April 15, 2014	$1,159,461.81	$289,610.95	$(172,142.39)	$1,276,930.37
Pre-Primary (amended)	July 13, 2014	$1,276,930.37	$159,985.57	$(51,616.89)	$1,385,299.05
July Quarterly	July 15, 2014	$1,385,299.05	$251,296.23	$(74,136.06)	$1,562,459.22
October Quarterly	October 9, 2014	$1,562,459.22	$394,340.55	$(420,291.53)	$1,536,508.24
Pre-General	October 22, 2014	$1,536,508.24	$94,840.00	$(612,931.01)	$1,018,417.23
			Running totals
			$2,014,208.78	$(1,655,616.32)

Bill Hughes, Jr.

Candidates for Congress were required to file up to seven main reports with the Federal Election Commission during the 2014 elections season. Below are Hughes' reports.

Bill Hughes, Jr. (2014) Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
Year-End	January 31, 2014	$0.00	$185,168.00	$(15,153.03)	$170,014.97
April Quarterly	April 14, 2014	$170,014.97	$190,515.67	$(32,360.11)	$328,170.53
Pre-Primary	October 14, 2014	$328,170.53	$46,647.00	$(33,618.92)	$341,198.61
July Quarterly	October 14, 2014	$342,198.61	$78,848.65	$(25,101.31)	$395,945.95
October Quarterly	October 15, 2014	$395,945.95	$141,389.73	$(403,822.67)	$133,513.01
Pre-General	October 22, 2014	$133,513.01	$46,338.41	$(86,820.34)	$93,031.08
			Running totals
			$688,907.46	$(596,876.38)

Mike Assad

Candidates for Congress were required to file up to seven main reports with the Federal Election Commission during the 2014 elections season. Below are Assad's reports.

Mike Assad (2014) Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
October Quarterly	October 8, 2013	$0	$3,548.18	$(3,112.17)	$436.01
Year-End	January 31, 2014	$436.01	$3,631.37	$(2,278.11)	$1,789.27
April Quarterly	April 12, 2014	$1,789.27	$967.25	$(2,361.82)	$394.70
			Running totals
			$8,146.8	$(7,752.1)

Dave Cole

Candidates for Congress were required to file up to seven main reports with the Federal Election Commission during the 2014 elections season. Below are Cole's reports.

Dave Cole (2014) Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
April Quarterly	April 15, 2014	$0.00	$19,210.70	$(8,101.25)	$11,109.45
			Running totals
			$19,210.7	$(8,101.25)

District history

Candidate ballot access
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2012

On November 6, 2012, Frank LoBiondo (R) won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Cassandra Shober, John Ordille, Charles Lukens, Frank Faralli Jr. and David Bowen Sr. in the general election.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 2 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Cassandra Shober	40.3%	116,462
	Republican	Frank LoBiondo Incumbent	57.7%	166,677
	Libertarian	John Ordille	0.9%	2,699
	Independent	David Bowen Sr.	0.3%	1,010
	Independent	Charles Lukens	0.5%	1,329
	Independent	Frank Faralli Jr.	0.3%	892
Total Votes				289,069
Source: New Jersey Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

2010

On November 2, 2010, Frank LoBiondo won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Gary Stein (D), Peter F. Boyce (Constitution), Mark Lovett (marklovett.us) and Vitov Valdes-Munoz (American Labor) in the general election.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 2 General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Frank LoBiondo incumbent	65.5%	109,460
	Democratic	Gary Stein	30.9%	51,690
	Constitution	Peter F. Boyce	2.5%	4,120
	marklovett.us	Mark Lovett	0.7%	1,123
	American Labor	Vitov Valdes-Munoz	0.4%	727
Total Votes				167,120

See also

• United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey, 2014
• United States House of Representatives elections, 2014

External links

• New Jersey Division of Elections

Footnotes

[show]

New Jersey's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Cory Booker (D)

Andrew Kim (D)

Representatives

District 1

Donald Norcross (D)

District 2

Jeff Van Drew (R)

District 3

Herbert Conaway (D)

District 4

Chris Smith (R)

District 5

Josh Gottheimer (D)

District 6

Frank Pallone (D)

District 7

Thomas Kean (R)

District 8

Robert Menendez (D)

District 9

Nellie Pou (D)

District 10

LaMonica McIver (D)

District 11

Mikie Sherrill (D)

District 12

Bonnie Coleman (D)

Democratic Party (11)

Republican Party (3)