1973 New Jersey Senate election

1973 New Jersey Senate election

← 1971 November 6, 1973 1977 →
All 40 seats in the New Jersey State Senate 21 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party Third party   Leader J. Edward Crabiel Alfred Beadleston Party Democratic Republican Independent Leader's seat 7th (retired) 5th (redistricted) Last election 16 24 0 Seats before 17 21 0 Seats won 29 10 1 Seat change 12 11 1
Results by district      Democratic hold      Democratic gain      Republican hold      Republican gain      Independent gain
Senate President before election Alfred Beadleston Republican Elected Senate President Frank J. Dodd Democratic

The 1973 New Jersey State Senate Senate elections were held on November 6. The result of the elections were large gains for the Democratic Party, which won control of the Senate. The party picked up twelve seats.^[1] This election marked the first time since 1967 that Democrats controlled the State Senate.

The election coincided with Brendan Byrne's landslide re-election over Republican Charles W. Sandman Jr.^[2] The election also took place amidst the height of the Watergate scandal, just weeks after the Saturday Night Massacre.

This was also the first New Jersey Senate election held using single-member districts, as the state completed its long transition following the 1964 Reynolds v. Sims decision. As of 2022^[update], it remains the largest single change in seats for Democrats or any party since single-member districts were adopted. This remains the greatest number of seats held by the Democrats since the adoption of single members districts.