1997Final results
1997 election for New Jersey Legislative District 23
New Jersey State Senate · New Jersey
William E. Schluter (R) won with 61.3% of the vote, defeating Austin Ken Kutscher (D) by 27.8 points.
William E. SchluterRepublican · winner · incumbent
61.3%42,221
Austin Ken KutscherDemocrat
33.5%23,094
Michael KellyIndependent
4.0%2,770
Daniel Z. SeylerIndependent
1.1%762
68,847 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
William E. Schluter (R)Austin Ken Kutscher (D)
Also on the ballot: Michael Kelly (Independent), 4.0%; Daniel Z. Seyler (Independent), 1.1%