[3][5] Following the United States Supreme Court's decision in Reynolds v. Sims and a special constitutional convention, a new legislative district was created in 1967 consisting of Cape May and Cumberland counties.
After the Cumberland and Cape May party chairs reached a deal to nominate Cafiero for Senate and Joseph Chinnici as Hurley's running mate for Assembly, Kay withdrew.
[5] Cafiero won the general election against former Millville commissioner Paul Porreca by only 916 votes, with the result split along county lines.
Cafiero defeated Hughes by just 441 votes, which proved decisive in creating a 20-20 tie in the Senate and a power-sharing arrangement between the Republican and Democratic parties.
[5] In 1996, Cafiero introduced a bill that would dedicate a portion of the special sales tax collected for the Wildwoods to be used for the construction of a minor league stadium that would have room for 5,000 fans.