He secured the organization lines in Essex and Bergen counties, but dropped out of the race on February 28, 1953.
[2] Clapp resigned from the Senate in 1953 after Governor Driscoll nominated him to serve as a Superior Court Judge.
Clapp's "Clean Government" slate of 12 Assembly candidates all won the primary against the organization ticket.
His landslide victory in the 1959 primary paved the way for former Congressman Robert W. Kean to oust Yeomans in a race for Essex County Republican Chairman one week later.
Unable to unify the Republican Party after the primary, Clapp was defeated by Democratic incumbent Donal C. Fox.
[5] Clapp was the dean of the Rutgers University School of Law from 1951 to 1953, and also served as Essex County Bar Association president.