A $33-Million Democrat Wins N.J. Senate Primary

Propelled from obscurity by his record-shattering $33-million campaign, retired investment banker Jon S. Corzine captured New Jersey’s Democratic U.S. Senate nomination Tuesday and ruined the comeback hopes of former Gov. James J. Florio.

With 95% of precincts reporting, Corzine led with 58% of the vote. Florio drew 42%. Corzine outpolled Florio by more than 3 to 1 in the vote-rich Newark area, while Florio did well in his base in southern New Jersey near Camden.

“Make no mistake. I want to invest in America,” Corzine told supporters. “That is what this campaign will be about.”

On the GOP side of the Senate race, Rep. Bob Franks pulled ahead in a close four-way contest. And in a repeat of a nail-biter two years ago, moderate GOP Rep. Marge Roukema, the longest-serving woman in Congress, narrowly defeated a conservative challenger.

After GOP Gov. Christine Todd Whitman said she would not run, four lesser-known candidates stepped in.

With 97% of precincts counted, Franks led with 36% of the vote, pulling ahead of state Sen. William Gormley, who drew 34%. Trailing were Essex County Executive Jim Treffinger and Ramapo College professor Murray Sabrin. The GOP has not won a Senate seat in New Jersey since 1972.

In a bitter primary fight in New Jersey, Roukema, seeking her 11th term, once again beat back a tough challenge from conservative state Assemblyman Scott Garrett. Garrett, who came within 1,700 votes of beating Roukema in 1998, lost this time by less than 2,000 votes.

Tuesday also marked the end of the presidential primary season, with contests in five of the six states, though they held little import since George W. Bush and Al Gore locked up their nominations back in March. The sixth state, Iowa, held its caucuses in January.

In the other states:

* Alabama Circuit Judge Roy Moore, who fought the American Civil Liberties Union in 1995 to post the Ten Commandments in his courtroom, won the race for the GOP nomination for chief justice of the state Supreme Court. With 86% of precincts reporting, Moore had 56% of the vote and will avoid a runoff.

* In Montana, Democratic farmer Brian Schweitzer made the high price of prescription medicine the theme of his Senate campaign, taking buses of seniors to Canada to highlight the price differences. He easily won the nomination to face two-term GOP Sen. Conrad R. Burns in the fall.

* In New Mexico, former Rep. Bill Redmond won a three-way GOP race to challenge three-term Democratic Sen. Jeff Bingaman.

* In Iowa, lawyer Jay Marcus won the GOP nomination to challenge two-term Democratic Rep. Leonard L. Boswell.

* In the race for South Dakota’s lone House seat, Curt Hohn, manager of a water pipeline, won the Democratic primary to challenge two-term GOP Rep. John R. Thune.