2008 U.S. Senate Campaign
Zimmer entered the race for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate from New Jersey on April 11, 2008, after being drafted by New Jersey Republican leaders. Party leaders had originally supported businesswoman Anne Evans Estabrook for the Senate nomination until she withdrew in March 2008, following a mini-stroke. Many Estabrook supporters then supported businessman Andy Unanue for the Senate nomination. Unanue received criticism in the race because of his residency in New York City and his spending his entire three-week campaign in Vail, Colorado. Several days after filing his petitions for the Senate race, Unanue dropped out of the race and his committee on vacancies designated Zimmer to enter the race under the Unanue petitions.
On June 3, 2008, Zimmer won the Republican U.S. Senate nomination over State Senator Joseph Pennacchio and Ramapo College economics professor Murray Sabrin. In the general election on November 4, 2008 he faced the Democratic primary winner, incumbent U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg.
In polls conducted by Rasmussen Reports and Strategic Vision in mid-September 2008, Zimmer trailed Lautenberg by 7 points. He ultimately lost to Lautenberg by a margin of 55.5 percent to 42.5 percent. Despite the loss, Zimmer received nearly 1.4 million votes, setting a record for most votes cast in New Jersey history for a Republican candidate for statewide office.
On March 11, 2010, Zimmer was appointed by Governor Chris Christie to be the chairman of the New Jersey Privatization Task Force, charged with developing plans to privatize certain state government operations as a cost-cutting measure.
Read more about this topic: Dick Zimmer (New Jersey Politician)
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