PolitiFinder

1988 New Jersey U.S. Senate Election

New Jersey · 5 candidates · See every 1988 U.S. Senate race

Who won the 1988 New Jersey U.S. Senate Election?

Frank R. Lautenberg won the 1988 New Jersey U.S. Senate Election. Frank R. Lautenberg received 1,599,905 popular votes (53.55%). The main challenger was Peter M. Dawkins (45.18%).

See the full head-to-head between Lautenberg and Dawkins

Lautenberg +8.4 pts · won by 249,968 votes
Frank R. LautenbergDemocraticWINNER53.55%
1,599,905 votes
Peter M. DawkinsRepublican45.18%
1,349,937 votes
Joseph F. JobIndependent0.67%
20,091 votes
Jerry ZeldinLibertarian0.41%
12,354 votes
Thomas A. FiskeSocialist Workers0.18%
5,347 votes
Popular-vote totals for U.S. Senate elections come from the MIT Election Data and Science Lab (1976–2024).

Data last verified July 28, 2026.