Senator Barack Obama captured 67.5 percent of the votes cast by 264,000 New Jersey students from 677 schools statewide and won the Presidential race in the Garden State’s 2008 National Student/Parent Mock Election.
Voting took place in New Jersey schools from October 20 through the end of the school day on October 30.
Senator John McCain received 29.7 percent of the votes in New Jersey. All other New Jersey candidates received 2.8 percent.
New Jersey results are posted at www.njmockelection.org. National results will be announced on the website of the National Student/Parent Mock Election at 9:30 p.m., October 30 (www.nationalmockelection.org).
In the New Jersey race for a U.S. Senate seat, incumbent Senator Frank Lautenberg won with 50.2 percent of the votes cast.
Students then voted for candidates to fill the state’s 13 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. The winners were:
1st Congressional District – Rob Andrews, Democrat
2nd Congressional District – Frank LoBiondo, Republican
3rd Congressional District – John Adler, Democrat
4th Congressional District – Christopher Smith, Republican
5th Congressional District – Scott Garrett, Republican
6th Congressional District – Frank Pallone Jr., Democrat
7th Congressional District – Linda Stender, Democrat
8th Congressional District – Bill Pascrell Jr., Democrat
9th Congressional District – Steven Rothman, Democrat
10th Congressional District – Donald Payne, Democrat
11th Congressional District – Rodney Frelinghuysen, Republican
12th Congressional District – Rush Holt, Democrat
13th Congressional District – Albio Sires, Democrat
In addition to expressing their opinions about the candidates, students considered several questions about the major issues facing the nation during the 2008 campaign.
The economy was clearly on the minds of the state’s students. More than 37 percent of the voters said the economy will be the most pressing issue facing the next president.
Other issues included health care, the high cost of energy, education, the environment and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The students were treated to a hypothetical question that asked them to pick a past president they would want to lead the nation today, “if miracles could happen.” The winner was Abraham Lincoln, followed closely by George Washington.
The New Jersey students who voted are in these grades:
33.1% – Elementary School – Grades 1-5
35.6% – Middle School/Junior High School – Grades 6-8
31.4% – High School – Grades 9-12
Because this was a mock election, the students’ selections don’t count in the General Election on November 4. The National Student/Parent Mock Election, which was founded in 1980, is the nation’s largest youth voter-education project.
The New Jersey segment of the mock election was administered by the New Jersey Press Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the New Jersey Press Association.
