Republicans keep one open seat in N.J.

ELIZABETH, N.J., Nov. 4 (UPI) -- State Sen. Leonard Lance won a significant congressional victory in the 7th District in northern New Jersey Tuesday, keeping the open seat in Republican hands.

Lance defeated Democrat Linda Stender, a state assemblywoman who came close to defeating Rep. Mike Ferguson two years ago.

A notorious budget hawk in the state Legislature, Lance ran as a fiscal conservative and social moderate. He had already won a hotly contested primary where his rivals included Kate Whitman, daughter of former N.J. Gov. Christie Whitman, who also served as President George Bush's first head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Administration.