1997Final results
1997 election for New Jersey Legislative District 12
New Jersey State Senate · New Jersey
John O. Bennett (R) won with 62.8% of the vote, defeating George E. Ball (D) by 31.8 points.
John O. BennettRepublican · winner · incumbent
62.8%41,171
George E. BallDemocrat
30.9%20,289
John P. DesmondIndependent
4.2%2,780
Mary Jo ChristianIndependent
2.1%1,354
65,594 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 1997
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The candidates
John O. Bennett (R)George E. Ball (D)
Also on the ballot: John P. Desmond (Independent), 4.2%; Mary Jo Christian (Independent), 2.1%