Senator Frank Lautenberg is seeking his fifth term in the Senate in the 2008 election. He was first elected in 1982 over Republican Congresswoman Millicent Fenwick by a 52% to 48% margin; re-elected in 1988 over Republican Pete Dawkins, a West Point football star and Wall Street investment banker, by 54% to 46%; and in 1994 over New Jersey Assembly Speaker Garabed "Chuck" Haytaian by 51% to 47%. After announcing that he would not seek re-election in 2000, he was succeeded in the Senate by fellow Democrat Jon S. Corzine.

In 2002, Senator Lautenberg was asked by Democratic leaders to become the Party's nominee after Senator Robert Torricelli withdrew from the race on September 30 when his re-election campaign faltered after findings by the Senate ethics committee that he had improperly received gifts from a former campaign supporter. The substitution of Senator Lautenberg's name for Torricelli's on the ballot was challenged by the Republican Party as violating the deadline fixed by New Jersey election law, but the New Jersey Supreme Court unanimously upheld the action in its decision in New Jersey Democratic Party, Inc., et al. v. Samson, et al., which the United States Supreme Court declined to review. In the general election on November 5, Senator Lautenberg was returned to the Senate, defeating Republican businessman and former West Windsor mayor Douglas Forrester by a 54% to 44% margin.

In 2006, Senator Lautenberg announced that he would seek re-election in 2008 at the age of 84. He is currently the third oldest sitting Senator after Democratic Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia and Republican Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska. In March 2008, former State Democratic chairman B. Thomas Byrne, Jr., the son of the former New Jersey governor, initially stated that he was considering a challenge to the Senator in the June primary, but then decided not to enter the race. On April 2, however, Congressman Rob Andrews announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination, primarily questioning Senator Lautenberg's age and suggesting, after four terms in the Senate, it was time for the Senator to retire. After a spirited primary campaign, Senator Lautenberg won the nomination with 59% of the vote to 35% for Congressman Andrews.

Senator Lautenberg is facing former Congressman Dick Zimmer in the November 2008 general election. Zimmer won the Republican nomination in the June primary by defeating State Senator Joseph Pennacchio and Ramapo College economics professor Murray Sabrin. Zimmer entered the primary race after Anne Evans Estabrook, who had gained substantial support from Party leaders, withdrew as a candidate after she suffered a mild stroke.

Senator Lautenberg, born in Paterson on 1934, is a graduate of Nutley High School. Following overseas service during World War II in the US Army Signal Corps, he attended college and graduated from Columbia University Business School in 1949. He co-founded the successful Automatic Data Processing, Inc. firm, which grew to become one of the nation's largest payroll and other data processing service providers, and served as its chairman and CEO. A major Democratic campaign contributor and fundraiser, he was named by Governor Brendan Byrne as a commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in 1978, serving until 1982.

During his Senate tenure, the Senator has been particularly active on transportation issues, seeking increased funding for Amtrak and for upgrading the Washington-Boston rail corridor, as well as writing legislation to require states to adopt a national drinking age of 21 and a blood alcohol standard of .08 for drivers in order to continue to receive federal highway aid. He led legislative efforts to ban smoking on airplanes and also has supported stronger restrictions on tobacco advertising and bans on smoking in public places, including the Senate office buildings. Other issues on which he has been prominent include homeland security, supporting revisions to federal funding formulas to give priority to states such as New Jersey viewed as under the highest risk of terrorism and sponsoring Justice for Victims of Terrorism law to allow victims of terrorism to collect damages from foreign countries that sponsor terrorist acts; gun control, primarily by sponsoring the Domestic Violence Gun Ban to prevent wife beaters and child abusers from owning guns; and ethics reform, including sponsoring the Congressional Ethics Reform Act limiting the ability of lobbyists to provide members of Congress and their staffs with gifts, meals, and recreational trips.

On Iraq policy, the Senator initially supported military action against Iraq. He subsequently, however, has become a harsh critic of the Bush Administration's execution of the war and called for setting a timetable for the withdrawal of troops.

Senator Lautenberg has been married since 2001 to Bonnie Englebardt Lautenberg, and resides in Cliffside Park with a summer home on Martha's Vineyard. His first marriage to Lois Levenson Lautenberg ended in divorce; he has four children from his first marriage--Ellen, Nan, Lisa, and Joshua--and is the grandfather of ten.

Time after time, Senator Frank Lautenberg stands up for his beliefs, stands strong for New Jersey, stands up to the special interests … and wins.  

Frank Lautenberg is guided by the clear set of values he learned growing up in Paterson. Work hard.  Love your country- but never stop working to make it better.  Stand up for your neighbors, even when it means standing up to the powerful. And don’t brag about your integrity- simply prove it by how you act.

By always standing strong, Senator Lautenberg has built a record of remarkable accomplishments:

• Taking on the Big Tobacco to ban smoking in airplanes.
• Beating corporate polluters with the Superfund law that forced polluters to pay for cleaning up their messes.
• Defeating the gun lobby by preventing over 150,000 domestic abusers from buying guns.
• Taking on the powerful liquor lobby to prevent thousands of drunk-driving deaths.
• Standing up to the Bush Administration on the misguided Iraq War.
• Taking on the Washington Republicans by demanding homeland security funding based on risk- not politics.
• Bringing home funds for our roads and mass transit by refusing to back down to legislators from rural states that tried to put their pet projects ahead of New Jersey’s needs.
• Fighting for real campaign finance reform and to ban gifts from lobbyists to Members of Congress.
• Standing strong against state sponsors of terrorism by banning all foreign aid to countries that support terrorists.

• Fighting Crime & Gun Violence

  Senator Lautenberg has consistently stood up to the powerful gun lobby to enact sensible gun safety laws.
  
  His landmark law preventing those convicted of domestic abuse from buying a gun has stopped 150,000 illegal gun purchases.  His efforts to make it harder for criminals to access guns earned him a zero rating from the pro-gun lobby – a proud accomplishment. As leading gun control activist Sarah Brady said, “"Frank Lautenberg is a true leader in the fight for gun violence prevention. He understands that sensible gun laws save lives." More...

• Homeland Security & Combating Terrorism

  Senator Lautenberg stands strong so that countries that sponsor terrorism are held accountable. That’s why he helped write and pass the landmark law banning foreign aid to states sponsoring terrorism.  Today, he’s working to close loopholes that allow companies to do business with nations that support terrorist activities.
  
  Senator Lautenberg is standing up to rural state Senators to make sure that Homeland Security funding is distributed based on risk and not politics.  Few states suffered greater losses from the tragedies of 9/11 than New Jersey and the FBI identified a two-mile stretch in New Jersey as the most at-risk for terrorism in the entire United States. So Senator Frank Lautenberg is standing strong to bring more funding, tighten security and toughen standards to make New Jersey safer.  More...

• Standing with our Troops & Veterans

  As a war veteran himself, Senator Lautenberg stands strong to take care of the brave men and women who have sacrificed so much to serve and protect our country. That’s why he coauthored legislation to reimburse military families who bought body armor and equipment for active duty relatives overseas on the frontlines in Iraq and Afghanistan. More...

• Preserving Social Security & Medicare

  Senator Lautenberg is making a real difference for just about every New Jerseyan by protecting Social Security for today and tomorrow.

  Americans are entering retirement age in record numbers, yet Social Security remains the target of Republican attempts to privatize and undermine one of the most successful and important achievements in our history. Senator Lautenberg has received 100% ratings from respected national senior groups for his commitment to protecting a secure retirement for today’s seniors…and tomorrow’s. More...

• New Jersey Transportation

  Senator Lautenberg is New Jersey’s  transportation champion.  In fight after fight, he won increased federal support for New Jersey highways and railways, airways and waterways.
  
  Just look around-- roads and mass transit are critical to New Jersey’s quality of life. That’s why Senator Lautenberg has successfully fought for more federal money to make New Jersey public transportation affordable and accessible.  And he has worked to make our roads, trains, buses and airlines safer.  More...

• Taking on Special Interests

  Senator Frank Lautenberg has consistently taken on special interests to enact life-saving laws.
  
  He overcame fierce resistance from the liquor lobby to author historic legislation that made 21 the national drinking age and to establish a national .08 blood alcohol standard for drunk driving. Senator Frank Lautenberg beat back Big Tobacco and authored the law that bans smoking on airplanes.  He took on the NRA when he wrote the law that prevents domestic abusers from getting a gun.  When it comes to protecting the health and well being of New Jerseyans, business as usual in Washington doesn’t get in Senator Lautenberg’s way. More...