1981Final results
1981 election for New Jersey Legislative District 36
New Jersey State Senate · New Jersey
Joseph Hirkala (D) won with 55.4% of the vote, defeating Philip R. Gervato (R) by 13.4 points.
Joseph HirkalaDemocrat · winner · incumbent
55.4%30,422
Philip R. GervatoRepublican
42.0%23,049
Edna M. PerrottaOther party
2.5%1,395
54,866 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