Later, Lautenberg entered public service, first as commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (1978-1982) and then as U.S. Senator. He was elected as a [[Democrat]] in 1982 and re-elected in 1988 and 1994.<ref>http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=L000123</ref> Having chosen not to run in 2000, he was tapped to replace Sen. Robert Torricelli as the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in 2002 after the latter's withdrawal due to unethical campaign financing.<ref>http://archives.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/10/01/elec02.nj.s.torricelli.race/</ref> Lautenberg went on to win election to the Senate for a fourth term. | Later, Lautenberg entered public service, first as commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (1978-1982) and then as U.S. Senator. He was elected as a [[Democrat]] in 1982 and re-elected in 1988 and 1994.<ref>http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=L000123</ref> Having chosen not to run in 2000, he was tapped to replace Sen. Robert Torricelli as the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in 2002 after the latter's withdrawal due to unethical campaign financing.<ref>http://archives.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/10/01/elec02.nj.s.torricelli.race/</ref> Lautenberg went on to win election to the Senate for a fourth term. |