Charles W. Sandman Jr.

"Charles W. Sandman" redirects here. For the CWSDPMI programmer, see Charles W. Sandmann.

Charles W. Sandman Jr.
Judge of the New Jersey Superior Court
In office
1984 – August 26, 1985
Appointed byThomas Kean
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New Jersey's 2nd district
In office
January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1975
Preceded byThomas C. McGrath Jr.
Succeeded byWilliam J. Hughes
House positions
Member of the House Judiciary Committee
96th President of the New Jersey Senate
In office
1964–1965
Preceded byWilliam E. Ozzard
Succeeded byJohn A. Lynch, Sr.
Member of the New Jersey Senate
from Cape May County
In office
1956–1966
Preceded byAnthony J. Cafiero
Succeeded bySeat eliminated
Solicitor of Lower Township
In office
1951–1962
Preceded byT. Millet Hand
Succeeded byGeorge James
Personal details
BornCharles William Sandman Jr.
October 23, 1921
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedAugust 26, 1985(1985-08-26) (aged 63)
Cape May Court House, New Jersey, U.S.
Resting placeCold Spring Presbyterian Church
PartyRepublican
SpouseMarion L. Cooney
Children6
EducationCape May High School
Alma materTemple University (B.A.)
Rutgers School of Law–Newark
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Army Air Corps
Battles/warsWorld War Two (POW)

Charles William Sandman Jr. (October 23, 1921 – August 26, 1985) was an American politician who represented Cape May County in the New Jersey Senate from 1954 to 1966 and represented southern New Jersey in the United States House of Representatives from 1967 to 1975. A member of the Republican Party, Sandman ran for the Republican nomination for Governor of New Jersey thrice, losing to Wayne Dumont in 1965 and William T. Cahill in 1969. He finally received the nomination by defeating Cahill in 1973, but lost the election to Brendan Byrne in a historic landslide.

Biography

Personal

Sandman was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Cape May High School, attained a bachelor's degree from Temple University in Philadelphia, and a law degree from Rutgers School of Law–Newark.[1]

Sandman married Marion L. Cooney of Philadelphia and they had six children.[2] Their sons, Robert S. Sandman, Charles W. Sandman III and Richard E. Sandman, followed their father's legal footsteps, establishing a law practice in Cape May Court House, New Jersey.

Sandman had a stroke on August 18, 1985, and died at a hospital in Cape May Court House on August 26, aged 63.[2] At the time of his death, he was a resident of the Erma section of Lower Township, New Jersey,[2] and was interred in Cold Spring Presbyterian Cemetery in Cold Spring, New Jersey.

1973 – Charles W. Sandman (R), dining with "Mr. Atlantic City" Skinny D'Amato (C), and Chairman of the Committee to Legalize Gaming, Meyer I. (Mike) Segal (L).
Plaque at Cape May ferry terminal

Career

Sandman served in the United States Army Air Corps as a navigator during World War II, and spent seven months as a prisoner of war in Germany after being shot down.[2]

Before serving in Congress, Sandman was elected to three 4-year terms in the New Jersey Senate, in 1955, 1959, and 1963. He held the post of Majority Leader of that body in 1964 and 1965. In 1966, he ran for Congress while still holding his State Senate seat, which he resigned upon winning the federal office. He was a delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1956, 1960, 1964 and 1968.

In 1973, Sandman ran for governor as a conservative, defeating moderate incumbent Republican William T. Cahill in the Republican primary election in a victory that "shocked party leaders", according to The New York Times.[3] In the general election, Sandman lost to Democrat Brendan Byrne in a landslide, following the pattern where New Jersey would often elect moderate Republicans to statewide office but consistently reject more conservative Republicans. As a result, Sandman's yawning margin of defeat caused a major drubbing for Republicans in the state legislative elections where they ceded control of both chambers to the Democrats with supermajorities.[4][5][6]

Sandman was on the House Judiciary Committee when it considered articles of impeachment against President Richard Nixon. He was the most vitriolic defender of Nixon in the hearings.[7] Notably, he insisted on hearing the specifics of each alleged impeachable offense. After the release of the "smoking gun" transcript, however, Sandman announced he would vote to impeach Nixon when the articles came up before the full House (as did every Republican who opposed impeachment in committee), calling their contents "devastating–impeachable."[8]

In the 1974 Congressional elections, Republicans suffered generally because of the Watergate scandal that had by the time of the election forced Nixon to resign. Despite Sandman's change of heart on impeachment, his reputation was severely tarnished by his performance in the televised hearings. He was soundly defeated by Democrat William J. Hughes, his opponent in 1974, in an election that Sandman described as "not a Republican year"[9] Following his defeat in his reelection bid for Congress, Sandman was approached by Vice President Nelson Rockefeller to join the Ford administration in various capacities including an ambassadorship of his choosing, Sandman declined and instead opted to accept Governor Thomas Kean's invitation to be appointed to the bench of the Superior Court of New Jersey.

Legacy

In 1986 all members of the Lower Township School District school board agreed to rename Lower Township Consolidated School to Charles W. Sandman Consolidated School.[10]

In the 2019 Apple TV+ series, For All Mankind, actor Saul Rubinek played Sandman in a fictional storyline about NASA, Wernher von Braun and other space issues.

Electoral history

New Jersey Governorship

New Jersey gubernatorial election, 1973[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Brendan Byrne 1,414,613 66.67% Increase28.18
Republican Charles W. Sandman Jr. 676,235 31.87% Decrease27.79
American Independent A. Howard Freund 6,412 0.31% N/A
Independent Alfred V. Colabella 5,088 0.24% N/A
Socialist Labor Robert Clement 4,249 0.20% Decrease 0.06
Libertarian John A. Goodson 3,071 0.15% N/A
Independent James J. Terlizzi, Sr. 2,670 0.13% N/A
Independent Stanley R. Knis 2,108 0.10% N/A
Communist Kenneth F. Newcombe 2,008 0.10% N/A
Independent Angelo S. Massaro 1,898 0.09% N/A
Independent Jack D. Alvino 1,843 0.09% Decrease 0.35
Independent George Gilk 1,814 0.09% N/A
Majority 738,378 34.80
Turnout 2,122,009
Democratic gain from Republican Swing
New Jersey gubernatorial Republican Party primary results[12]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Charles W. Sandman Jr. 209,657 57.51
Republican William T. Cahill (incumbent) 148,034 40.61
Republican Michael A. Maglio 6,881 1.89
Total votes 364,572 100.00

United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives elections, 1974[13]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic William J. Hughes 109,763 57.31
Republican Charles W. Sandman Jr. (incumbent) 79,064 41.28
Independent Andrew Wenger 2,693 1.41
Total votes 191,520 100.0
Democratic gain from Republican
United States House of Representatives elections, 1966[14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Charles W. Sandman Jr. 72,014 51.53
Democratic Thomas C. McGrath Jr. (incumbent) 65494 46.86 Decrease2.35
Socialist Labor Albert Ronis 1,259 0.9
Conservative Linwood W. Erickson, Jr. 991 0.71
Total votes 139,758 100.0
Republican gain from Democratic

References

  1. ^ "Sandman, Charles William, Jr., (1921 - 1985)", Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Accessed September 22, 2019. "Sandman, Charles William, Jr., a Representative from New Jersey; born in Philadelphia, Pa., October 23, 1921; graduated from Cape May High School, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pa., and Rutgers University Law School, Newark, N.J."
  2. ^ a b c d Kerr, Peter (August 27, 1985). "Ex-Rep. Charles Sandman, Nixon Supporter, Dies". The New York Times. p. A20. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  3. ^ Sullivan, Ronald. "Sandman Defeats Cahill In New Jersey's Primary; Democrats Select Byrne", The New York Times, June 6, 1973. Accessed September 22, 2019. "While the Byrne victory in the Democratic primary was anticipated, Mr. Sandman's surprisingly strong run in the Republican election shocked party leaders throughout the state."
  4. ^ Sullivan, Ronald (November 7, 1973). "Sandman Routed — GOP Loses Control of State Legislature 3rd Time in Century". The New York Times. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  5. ^ "Election Decimates the G.O.P.'s Ranks in Trenton". The New York Times. November 8, 1973. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  6. ^ Sullivan, Ronald (November 9, 1973). "Jersey Republicans Urge Party Purge". The New York Times. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  7. ^ Barone, Michael; Ujifusa, Grant (1987). The Almanac of American Politics 1988. p. 740. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  8. ^ "The Unmaking of the President". Time. Vol. 104, no. 8. New York City. August 19, 1974 – via CNN AllPolitics-Back in Time.
  9. ^ Narvaez, Alfonso A. "'Not a Republican Year,' Sandman Says", The New York Times, November 7, 1974. Accessed September 22, 2019. "'This was just not a Republican year,' Mr. Sandman said. 'They [the voters] held the incumbent Republicans responsible for the economic situation.'"
  10. ^ Maher, Fred (February 22, 1986). "School? To Honor?". The Press of Atlantic City. The Lower Township Consolidated School soon will be renamed[...] - See previews at search page
  11. ^ "Votes Cast for the Office of Governor of the State of New Jersey" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. 1973. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference state1973 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ "STATE OF NEW JERSEY Results of the General Election Held November 5, 1974" (PDF). p. 3. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
  14. ^ Burkhardt, Robert. "STATE OF NEW JERSEY Results of the General Election Held November 8, 1966 for the Offices of UNITED STATES SENATOR HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TWO PUBLIC QUESTIONS" (PDF). p. 4. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_W._Sandman,_Jr.