The 1977 New Jersey State Senate election coincided with Brendan Byrne's re-election to a second term as Governor of New Jersey. Byrne entered the 1977 cycle as an unlikely candidate for re-election; Republicans gained 17 Assembly seats in the 1975 mid-term elections, and Byrne was exceedingly unpopular after supporting a State Income Tax; nearly three-quarters of New Jersey voters disapproved of his job performance. Byrne won renomination in the Democratic Primary with just 30% of the vote against ten challengers, and the Republican nominee, State Sen. Raymond Bateman, began the campaign with a sizable lead; some polls had him ahead by as much as 17%. Byrne and Bateman debated nine times and Byrne used the governorship to his advantage, signing bills and appearing with cabinet members all