1981Flipped from DemocraticFinal resultsIncumbent defeated
1981 election for New Jersey Legislative District 21
New Jersey State Senate · New Jersey
C. Louis Bassano (R) won with 51.9% of the vote, defeating Anthony E. Russo (D) by 3.8 points, a seat Democrats won last time.
C. Louis BassanoRepublican · winner
51.9%36,957
Anthony E. RussoDemocrat · incumbent
48.1%34,252
71,209 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 1981
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET