John A. Lynch Jr. Democratic Donald DiFrancesco Republican The 1991 New Jersey Senate election was held on November 5.

Redistricting was considered to have favored Republicans,[1][2] reflecting relative growth in the suburbs versus the state's Democratic urban cores.

[4] The first political impact of the "tax revolt" was made manifest in November 1990, when incumbent Democratic senator Bill Bradley was nearly unseated by Christine Todd Whitman.

[1] Another major legislative achievement of the Florio administration was a strict gun control measure targeted at "assault-style weapons.

After the passage of the Quality Education Act and strict new spending caps on local school boards, the NJEA endorsed a slate of legislative candidates that was almost exclusively Republican.

[4] The John and Ken Show, from which the protest was launched, later moved to KFI in Los Angeles and became nationally syndicated in 1997.

[12] DiFrancseco had the support of moderates, led by former governor Thomas Kean, and offered a less confrontational approach than Dorsey.

[12] Publicly, DiFrancesco said his efforts were focused on electing a Republican majority, but challenged the idea that as Senate Minority Leader, he was entitled to the presidency, saying, "It's not like I'm throwing Mr. Dorsey out of a position, because no one has it.

Among incumbents, the struggle was projected as a dead heat, so special effort was made to influence incoming legislators.

Dorsey remained in party leadership as Majority Leader but faced another intra-party challenge from future Governor Chris Christie in his district's primary.

He successfully disqualified Christie from the ballot but lost the general election to Democrat Gordon MacInnes and left politics.

After Christine Todd Whitman resigned to become Director of the Environmental Protection Agency, DiFrancesco succeeded her as the 51st Governor of New Jersey and oversaw the state's response to the September 11 attacks.

Seats where the margin of victory was under 10%: During the primary, the National Rifle Association of America spent over $58,000, through various political action committees and alongside the Coalition of New Jersey Sportsmen, to defeat Gormley as retaliation for his support of the 1990 firearms restrictions.

[8][16] Another group, the Committee for Sensible Government, which received more than $40,000 from the NRA, financed at least six mailings denouncing Gormley for his past opposition to tax rebates.

The PAC's chairman, Buena Vista Township committeeman William Fennen, expressed broader opposition to Gormley on the grounds that he was moderate.

John Adler was recruited to run against Senator Lee Laskin by Camden Democratic boss George Norcross.

Norcross decided to target Laskin after the Senator refused to secure an appointment for Norcorss's father to the New Jersey Racing Commission.

Steve DeMicco, executive director of the New Jersey Democratic Committee, called the move a "sneak attack" which had been planned in advance in light of polling showing that Laskin was vulnerable.

[19] This would ultimately be the sole legislative seat gained by the Democrats in the 1991 elections; both Assembly incumbents in the district survived.

[1] The candidacy of former Republican senator Peter Garibaldi, a Monroe resident and former mayor, also had the potential draw votes away from Inverso,[1] who had never campaigned outside of Mercer County.

During the campaign, Stockman, who had sponsored the tax increase, defended it and referred to Republican proposals to repeal it as "snake oil.

"[23] Stockman, the chair of the Senate County and Municipal Government Committee, had also sponsored a bill to reform tax assessment which critics said would create a mass exodus from larger cities, including Trenton.

[30][31] Bret Schundler, who served as New Jersey coordinator for Gary Hart's 1984 presidential campaign, switched his party registration to run as a Republican.

[27] Girgenti had won a special district party convention in 1990 to fill the seat left vacant by Senator Frank X. Graves Jr.