1971Final results
1971 election for New Jersey Legislative District 14
New Jersey State Senate · New Jersey
Joseph Hirkala (D) won with 21.2% of the vote, defeating Joseph A. Lazzara (D) by 3.4 points.
Joseph HirkalaDemocrat · winner
21.2%64,725
Joseph A. LazzaraDemocrat
17.8%54,426
William J. BateDemocrat
17.7%54,149
Alfred E. FontanellaRepublican
15.2%46,478
Thomas W. E. BowdlerRepublican
12.9%39,545
Henry FetteRepublican
12.9%39,406
Robert ClementSocialist
1.2%3,645
Josephine ClementSocialist
1.1%3,485
305,859 votes
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1971
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The candidates
Joseph Hirkala (D)Joseph A. Lazzara (D)William J. Bate (D)Alfred E. Fontanella (R)Thomas W. E. Bowdler (R)Henry Fette (R)
Also on the ballot: Robert Clement (Socialist), 1.2%; Josephine Clement (Socialist), 1.1%