View source for Jacob Javits

{{Short description|American lawyer and politician (1904–1986)}}
{{Use mdy dates| date = April 2014}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix    = 
| name                = Jacob Javits
| honorific_suffix    = 
| image               = Jacob Javits portrait.jpg
| image_size          = 
| alt                 = Portrait of Javits
| caption             = 
| jr/sr1              = United States Senator
| state1              = [[New York (state)|New York]]
| term_start1         = January 9, 1957
| term_end1           = January 3, 1981
| predecessor1        = [[Herbert H. Lehman|Herbert Lehman]]
| successor1          = [[Al D'Amato]]
| order2              = 58th [[Attorney General of New York]]
| term_start2         = January 1, 1955
| term_end2           = January 9, 1957
| governor2           = [[W. Averell Harriman]]
| predecessor2        = [[Nathaniel L. Goldstein]]
| successor2          = [[Louis Lefkowitz]]
| state3              = [[New York (state)|New York]]
| district3           = {{ushr|NY|21|21st}}
| term_start3         = January 3, 1947
| term_end3           = December 31, 1954
| predecessor3        = [[James H. Torrens]]
| successor3          = [[Herbert Zelenko]]
| birth_name          = Jacob Koppel Javits
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|1904|5|18}}
| birth_place         = New York City, U.S.
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1986|3|7|1904|5|18}}
| death_place         = [[West Palm Beach, Florida]], U.S.
| resting_place       = Linden Hills Jewish Cemetery, New York City, U.S.
| party               = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| otherparty          = [[Liberal Party of New York|Liberal]]
| spouse              = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Marjorie Joan Ringling|1933|1936| end = divorced}}
* {{marriage|[[Marian Javits|Marian Ann Borris]]|1947}}
}}
|signature=Jacob Javits Signature.png
| children            = 3
| alma_mater          = [[Columbia University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br>[[New York University]] ([[Bachelor of Laws|LLB]])
| allegiance          = {{flag|United States|1912}}
| branch              = {{army|United States}}
| serviceyears        = 1942–1946
| unit                = [[Chemical Corps|Chemical Warfare Service]]
| battles             = [[World War II]]
| rank                = {{Dodseal|USAO5-2015|25}} [[Lieutenant colonel]]
| mawards             = [[Legion of Merit]]
| relations           = [[Jacob Emden]] (ancestor)<br>[[Eric M. Javits]] (nephew)
| module              = {{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=Upon his re-election, Jacob Javits says the time has come for the Republican Party to reform itself.ogg|title=Jacob Javits's voice|type=speech|description=Javits expressing his hopes for reform in the Republican party<br />Recorded November 6, 1974}}
}}
'''Jacob Koppel Javits''' ({{IPAc-en|'|dʒ|æ|v|ɪ|t|s}} {{respell|JAV-its}}; May 18, 1904 – March 7, 1986)<ref name=TIME.content86>{{cite magazine
|title=Minority Power: Jacob K. Javits: 1904-1986  |magazine=Time
|date=March 17, 1986
|url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,960922,00.html|last1=r. Doerner
|first1=William
}}</ref> was an American lawyer and politician from [[New York (state)|New York]]. During his time in politics, he served in both chambers of the [[United States Congress]], a member of the [[United States House of Representatives]] from 1947 to 1954 and a member of the [[United States Senate]] from 1957 to 1981. A member of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]], he also served as [[Attorney General of New York]] from 1955 to 1957.<ref name=GWU.edu>{{cite web|title=Jacob Koppel Javits (1904-1986) |url=https://www2.gwu.edu/~erpapers/mep/displaydoc.cfm?docid=erpn-jacjav}}</ref> Generally considered a [[Rockefeller Republican|liberal Republican]], he was often at odds with his own party. A supporter of labor unions, the [[Great Society]], and the [[civil rights movement]], he played a key role in the passing of civil rights legislation. An opponent of the [[Vietnam War]], he drafted the [[War Powers Resolution]] in 1973.

Born to Jewish parents, Javits was raised in a [[tenement]] on the [[Lower East Side]] of [[Manhattan]]. He graduated from the [[New York University School of Law]] and established a law practice in New York City.<ref name=JavCen>{{cite web
|title=About - Javits Center|url=http://www.javitscenter.com/about}}</ref> During [[World War II]], he served in the [[United States Army]]'s Chemical Warfare Department. Outraged by the corruption of [[Tammany Hall]], Javits joined the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] and supported [[Mayor of New York City|New York Mayor]] [[Fiorello H. La Guardia]]. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in [[1946 United States House of Representatives elections|1946]] and served in that body until 1954. In the House, Javits supported President [[Harry S. Truman]]'s [[Cold War]] foreign policy and voted to fund the [[Marshall Plan]]. He defeated [[Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr.]] in the [[1954 New York state election|1954 election]] for [[Attorney General of New York]],<ref name=Pearson/> and defeated Democrat [[Robert F. Wagner Jr.]] in the [[1956 United States Senate election in New York|1956 U.S. Senate election]].

In the Senate, Javits supported much of President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]'s [[Great Society]] programs and civil rights legislation, including the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] and the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]]. He voted for the [[Gulf of Tonkin Resolution]] but came to question Johnson's handling of the War in Vietnam. To rein in presidential war powers, Javits sponsored the [[War Powers Resolution]]. Javits also sponsored the [[Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974]], which regulated [[defined benefit pension plan|defined-benefit private pensions]].<ref name=ERISA>{{cite web
|title=Jacob K. Javits - Pensions & Investments |date=December 14, 2006|url=http://www.pionline.com/article/20031027/PRINT/310270749/jacob-k-javits}}</ref> In [[1980 United States Senate election in New York|1980]], Javits lost the Republican Senate primary to [[Al D'Amato]], who campaigned to Javits's right. Nonetheless, he ran in the general election as the [[Liberal Party of New York|Liberal Party]] nominee. He and Democratic nominee [[Elizabeth Holtzman]] were defeated by D'Amato. Javits died of [[amyotrophic lateral sclerosis]] in [[West Palm Beach, Florida]], in 1986.

{{TOC limit|3}}

==Early life and education==
Javits was born to [[Jewish]] parents, Ida (née Littman) and Morris Javits. Javits grew up in a teeming Lower East Side tenement,<ref name=JavCen/> and when not in school, he helped his mother sell dry goods from a pushcart in the street and learned parliamentary procedure at [[University Settlement Society of New York]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Mendolsohn |first=Joyce |date=2009 |title=The Lower East Side Remembered and Revisited |publisher=Columbia University Press |page=194 |isbn=978-0-231-14760-6}}</ref><ref name=Pearson>{{cite news|last1=Pearson|first1=Richard|title=Former Senator Jacob Javits Is Dead at 81|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/03/08/former-senator-jacob-javits-is-dead-at-81/f86e8a21-6461-431c-b766-f20dcc942401/|access-date=March 2, 2017|newspaper=Washington Post|date=March 8, 1986}}</ref> Javits graduated in 1920 from [[George Washington High School (New York City)|George Washington High School]], where he was president of his class. He worked part-time at various jobs while he attended night school at [[Columbia University]],<ref name=GWU.edu/> then in 1923 he enrolled in the [[New York University Law School]] from which he earned his LLB in 1926. He was admitted to the bar in June 1927 and joined his brother Benjamin Javits, who was nearly ten years older, as partner to form the Javits and Javits law firm. The Javits brothers specialized in bankruptcy and minority stockholder suits and became quite successful. In 1933, Javits married Marjorie Joan Ringling, daughter related to Alfred Thedore "Alf" Ringling, one of the [[Ringling brothers]] of the [[Ringling Brothers Circus]] fame. They had no children and divorced in 1936. In 1947, he married [[Marian Javits]] with whom he had three children. Deemed too old for regular military service when [[World War II]] began, Javits was commissioned in early 1942 as an officer in the [[United States Army]]'s [[Chemical Corps|Chemical Warfare Service]].<ref name="StonyBrook">{{cite web |title=Administrative Information: Biography, Jacob K. Javits |url=https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/libspecial/collections/manuscripts/javits/biography.php |website=Stony Brook.edu |location=Stony Brook, New York |publisher=Special Collections and University Archives, Stony Brook University |access-date=15 February 2025}}</ref> Assigned as assistant to the chief of the Chemical Warfare Service, he served in the European and Pacific theaters, and in the United States.<ref name="StonyBrook"/> Javits attained the rank of [[Lieutenant colonel (United States)|lieutenant colonel]] before he was discharged in 1946, and he was a recipient of the [[Legion of Merit]] and [[Army Commendation Medal|Army Commendation Ribbon]].<ref name="StonyBrook"/>

==Political career==
In his youth Javits had watched his father work as a [[ward heeler]] for [[Tammany Hall]], and he had experienced firsthand the corruption and graft associated with that notorious political machine. Tammany's operations repulsed Javits so much that he forever rejected the city's Democratic Party and in the early 1930s joined the Republican-[[Fusionism|Fusion]] Party and the [[New York Young Republican Club]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nyyrc.com/history/|title = History}}</ref> which was supporting the mayoral campaigns of [[Fiorello H. La Guardia]]. After the war, he became the chief researcher for Jonah Goldstein's unsuccessful 1945 bid for mayor on the Republican-[[Liberal Party of New York|Liberal]]-Fusion ticket. Javits's hard work in the Goldstein campaign showed his potential in the political arena and encouraged the small [[Manhattan Republican Party]] to nominate him as their candidate for the [[Upper West Side]]'s Twenty-first Congressional District (since redistricted) seat during the heavily-Republican year of 1946. Although the Republicans had not held the seat since 1923, Javits campaigned energetically and won. He was a member of the freshman class, along with [[John F. Kennedy]] of [[Massachusetts]] and [[Richard Nixon]] of [[California]]. He served from 1947 to 1954, when he resigned his seat to take office as [[Attorney General of New York]].

[[File:Jacob Javits 1955 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Javits in 1955]]

During his first two terms in the House, Javits often sided with the [[Presidency of Harry S. Truman|Truman administration]]. For example, in 1947 he supported [[Harry S. Truman]]'s veto of the [[Taft–Hartley Act|Taft-Hartley Act]], which he declared to be antiunion. A strong opponent of discrimination, Javits also endorsed legislation against the [[poll tax (United States)|poll tax]] in 1947 and 1949, and in 1954, he unsuccessfully sought to have enacted a bill banning [[racial segregation]] in federally-funded housing projects. Unhappy with the [[witch-hunt]] atmosphere in Washington during the [[Cold War]], he publicly opposed continuing appropriations for the [[House Un-American Activities Committee]] in 1948. Always a staunch supporter of [[Israel]], Javits served on the [[United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs]] during all four of his terms and supported congressional funding for the [[Marshall Plan]] and all components of the [[Truman Doctrine]].

In [[1954 New York state election|1954]], Javits ran for [[Attorney General of New York]] against a well-known and well-funded opponent, [[Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr.]] Javits's vote-getting abilities carried the day, and he was the only Republican to win a statewide office that year. As attorney general, Javits continued to promote his liberal agenda by supporting such measures as anti-bias employment legislation and a [[health insurance]] program for state employees.<ref name=MayerBook/>

===U.S. Senator===
In [[1956 United States Senate election in New York|1956]], Javits ran for U.S. Senator from [[New York (state)|New York]] to succeed the retiring incumbent [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] [[Herbert H. Lehman]]. His Democratic opponent was the popular Mayor of New York, [[Robert F. Wagner Jr.]]<ref name=Pearson/> In the early stages of that campaign Javits vigorously and successfully denied charges that he had once sought support from members of the American Communist Party during his 1946 race for Congress.<ref>{{cite book
|title=Big Jim Eastland: The Godfather of Mississippi |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1496806158 |isbn=978-1496806154
|author=J. Lee Annis |date=2016| publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi }}</ref> He went on to defeat Wagner by nearly half a million votes. Although his term began on January 3, 1957, he delayed taking his seat in the U.S. Senate until January 9, the day the [[New York State Legislature]] convened, to deny Democratic Governor [[W. Averell Harriman]] the opportunity to appoint a Democratic Attorney General. Thus, on January 9, the Republican majority of the State Legislature elected [[Louis J. Lefkowitz]] to fill the office for the remainder of Javits's term.<ref>"Recess appointments" by the Governor in case of a vacancy in the offices of either the State Comptroller or the State Attorney General are now forbidden. To fill the vacancy, the State Legislature must convene and elect somebody. See Art. V, § 1 State Constitution.</ref>

Upon taking office, Javits resumed his role as the most outspoken Republican liberal in Congress.<ref>{{cite web
|title=Yes, Virginia, There are Liberal Republicans |website=[[HuffPost]]
|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-j.../a-closed-mind-is-a-terrib_b_202091.html
|date=May 12, 2009}}</ref>  For the next 24 years, the Senate was Javits's home. His wife had no interest in living in Washington, D.C., which she considered a boring backwater and so for over two decades Javits commuted between New York and Washington nearly every week to visit his "other" family and conduct local political business. In foreign affairs, he backed the [[Eisenhower Doctrine]] for the [[Middle East]] and pressed for more foreign military and economic assistance.<ref name=MayerBook>{{cite book
|title=The Eisenhower Years |page=351 |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1438119089  |isbn=978-1438119083
|author=Michael S. Mayer |date=2009|publisher=Infobase }}</ref> Javits was re-elected in [[1962 United States Senate election in New York|1962]] and [[1968 United States Senate election in New York|1968]].

Javits voted in favor of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1957|Civil Rights Acts of 1957]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/85-1957/s75|title=HR. 6127. Civil Rights Act of 1957.|work=GovTrack.us}}</ref> [[Civil Rights Act of 1960|1960]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/86-1960/s284|title=HR. 8601. Passage of Amended Bill.}}</ref> [[Civil Rights Act of 1964|1964]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/88-1964/s409|title=HR. 7152. PASSAGE.}}</ref> and [[Civil Rights Act of 1968|1968]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/90-1968/s346|title=To Pass H.R. 2516, A Bill to Prohibit Discrimination in Sale or Rental of Housing, And to Prohibit Racially Motivated Interference With a Person Exercising His Civil RIghts, And for Other Purposes.}}</ref> as well as the [[Twenty-fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/87-1962/s226|title=S.J. Res. 29. Approval of Resolution Banning the Poll Tax as Prerequisite for Voting in Federal Elections.|work=GovTrack.us}}</ref> the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/89-1965/s78|title=To Pass S. 1564, The Voting Rights Act of 1965.}}</ref> and the confirmation of [[Thurgood Marshall]] to the [[Supreme Court of the United States]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/90-1967/s176|title=Confirmation of Nomination of Thurgood Marshall, The First Negro Appointed to the Supreme Court.|work=GovTrack.us}}</ref> He endorsed [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]'s [[Great Society]] programs. To promote his views on social legislation, he served on the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee for twenty years, most of that time as the second-ranking minority member. Javits initially backed Johnson during the early years of America's involvement in the [[Vietnam War]]<ref name=Pearson/> and supported, for example, the [[Gulf of Tonkin Resolution]] in 1964 but later turned against it. Also in 1964, Javits joined [[David Rockefeller]] to launch the non-profit [[International Executive Service Corps]], which was established to help bring about prosperity and stability in developing nations through the growth of private enterprise.

During the [[1964 Republican Party presidential primaries]], Javits, alongside fellow New York Republicans [[Kenneth Keating]], [[John Lindsay]] and [[Seymour Halpern]], refused to endorse [[Barry Goldwater]], the conservative senator from Arizona.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/07/22/archives/statements-by-javits-and-keating-barring-aid-to-goldwater.html|title=Statements by Javits and Keating Barring Aid to Goldwater|website=[[The New York Times]] |date=July 22, 1964 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/08/08/archives/halperns-rejection-of-goldwater-is-expected-disavowal-wonld-be.html|title=Halpern's Rejection of Goldwater Is Expected Disavowal Wonld Be Rebuff to Queens G.O.P. Leaders; Congressman's District Has Big Democratic Vote|website=[[The New York Times]] |date=August 8, 1964 }}</ref>

A supporter of [[universal health care]], Javits in 1970 drafted a bill called "Medicare for All" that would have expanded the [[Medicare (United States)|Medicare]] program to every American citizen by the end of 1973, while also giving the citizen a choice to opt-out, and alongside [[Clifford P. Case]], [[John Sherman Cooper]] and [[William B. Saxbe]], was one of four Republican co-sponsors of the [[Ted Kennedy]]-[[Martha Griffiths]] universal health care bill in January 1971.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/04/15/archives/medicare-for-all-is-asked-by-javits.html|title=MEDICARE FOR ALL IS ASKED BY JAVITS|work=The New York Times |date=April 15, 1970 }}</ref><ref>National Health Insurance Proposals: Hearings, Ninety-second Congress, First Session on the Subject of National Health Insurance Proposals. Part of 13 Parts (October 19 and 20, 1971)</ref>

In 1966, along with two other Republican senators and five Republican representatives, Javits signed a telegram sent to Georgia Governor [[Carl Sanders]] regarding the Georgia legislature's refusal to seat the recently elected [[Julian Bond]] in their state House of Representatives. The refusal, said the telegram, was "a dangerous attack on representative government. None of us agree with Mr. Bond's views on the Vietnam War; in fact we strongly repudiate these views. But unless otherwise determined by a court of law, which the Georgia Legislature is not, he is entitled to express them."<ref>{{cite journal|title=Georgia House Dispute|journal=Congressional Quarterly|date=January 21, 1966|volume=24|issue= 3|page=255|access-date=March 27, 2017|url=http://www.aavw.org/protest/bond_election_abstract04.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
|newspaper=The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky |page=10 |date=January 16, 1966
|title=Entitled To Express Views |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/109174923}}</ref>

By the end of 1967, Javits was becoming disenchanted with the Vietnam War<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HoFF7Y5Z3jkC|last=Mann|first=Robert|title=A Grand Delusion: America's Descent into Vietnam|publisher=Basic Books|page=554|year=2002|isbn=0-465-04370-4}}</ref> and joined 22 other senators<ref name=MayerBook/><ref>& p.352: "... and joined 22 other senators ..."</ref> in calling for a peaceful solution to the conflict.

In 1965, Javits appointed Lawrence Wallace Bradford Jr. as the Senate's first African-American page.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1951-2000/Frank-Mitchell,-the-first-20th-century,-African-American-Page/.|title=Frank Mitchell, the First 20th-century, African-American Page|access-date=March 1, 2017|date=April 14, 1965|publisher=Office of Art & Archives at the House of Representatives|website=history.house.gov}}</ref> In 1971, Javits appointed Paulette Desell as the Senate's first female page.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/Johnson_1.pdf|title=Michael A. Johnson: Deputy Assistant Sergeant at Arms|publisher=Oral History Interviews, Senate Historical Office|access-date=July 22, 2017
|date=November 8, 2006|website=senate.gov}}</ref>

By 1970, his rising opposition to the war led him to support the [[Cooper–Church Amendment]], which barred funds for US troops in [[Cambodia]], and he also voted to repeal the [[Gulf of Tonkin Resolution]]. Increasingly concerned about the erosion of congressional authority in foreign affairs, Javits sponsored the [[War Powers Resolution]] in 1973,<ref name=DPM.Mar86/> which limited to 60 days a president's ability to send American armed forces into combat without congressional approval.<ref>{{cite web
|title=War Powers - Law Library of Congress |website=[[Library of Congress]] |url=https://www.loc.gov/law/help/war-powers.php}}</ref>

Despite his unhappiness with President [[Richard Nixon]] over the Vietnam War, Javits was slow to join the anti-Nixon forces during the [[Watergate scandal]] of 1973–1974. Until almost the very end of the affair, his position reflected his legal training: Nixon was innocent until proven guilty, and the best way to determine guilt or innocence was by legal due process. His position was unpopular among his constituency, and his re-election in Watergate-tainted [[1974 United States Senate election in New York|1974 elections]] over [[Ramsey Clark]] was by fewer than 400,000 votes, a third of his 1968 margin of victory. During his last term, Javits shifted his interests more and more to world affairs, especially the crises in the Middle East. Working with President [[Jimmy Carter]], he journeyed to Israel and Egypt to facilitate the discussions that led to the 1978 [[Camp David Accords]].<ref>{{cite web
|title=Jacob Javits - Central Synagogue
|url=http://www.centralsynagogue.org/about_us/shofar_shabbat/javits
}}{{Dead link|date=April 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} "He also traveled to Israel and Egypt with President Carter, opening up discussions that ultimately led to the 1978 Camp David Accords."</ref><ref>{{cite news
|newspaper=The New York Times |date=March 8, 1986
|title=Jacob Javits Dies in Florida at 81: 4-Term Senator from New York
|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/08/obituaries/jacob-javits-dies-in-florida-at-81-4-term-senator-from-new-york.html}}</ref>

====1980 Senate race====
{{main|1980 United States Senate election in New York}}
Javits served until 1981; his 1979 diagnosis with [[ALS]] (also known as [[Lou Gehrig]]'s Disease)<ref name=DPM.Mar86>{{cite journal |last = Moynihan |first = Daniel Patrick. |date = March 11, 1986
|title = Special Report to New York |journal = United States Senator from New York}}</ref> led to a 1980 primary challenge by the comparatively lesser-known [[Long Island]] Republican county official [[Al D'Amato]], who received 323,468 primary votes (55.7 percent) to Javits's 257,433 (44.3 percent). Javits's loss to D'Amato stemmed from Javits's continuing illness and from his failure to adjust politically to the rightward movement of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]].{{citation needed|date=November 2014}}

After the primary defeat, Javits ran as the [[Liberal Party of New York|Liberal Party]] candidate in the general election. His candidacy [[split vote|split]] the Democratic [[Political base|base vote]] with U.S. Representative [[Elizabeth Holtzman]] of [[Brooklyn]] and gave D'Amato the victory by a [[Plurality voting|plurality]] of 1%. Javits received 11% of the vote.<ref name=electoral/><ref name=NYT80el>{{cite news|title=New York State Plurality Was 165,459 for Reagan|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1980/12/10/111825724.html?pageNumber=56|access-date=March 5, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=December 10, 1980|page=B24}}</ref>

==Death==
Javits died of [[amyotrophic lateral sclerosis|ALS]] in [[West Palm Beach, Florida]], at age 81 on March 7, 1986. In addition to spouse Marion Ann Borris Javits, he was survived by three children: Joshua, Carla, and Joy. He was predeceased by his brother, who died in 1973.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1973-05-19 |title=Benjamin Javits, Lawyer, Is Dead |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/05/19/archives/benjamin-javits-lawyer-is-dead-brother-of-senator-was-78represented.html |access-date=2022-04-13 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> His nephew, [[Eric M. Javits]], was a diplomat who served as the U.S. Representative to the [[Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons]] and the [[Conference on Disarmament]]. He is interred at Linden Hill Jewish Cemetery in [[Queens]], New York.<ref>{{cite web|last=Clarity|first=James F.|date=March 8, 1986|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/08/obituaries/jacob-javits-dies-in-florida-at-81-4-term-senator-from-new-york.html?pagewanted=all|title=Jacob Javits Dies in Florida at 81: 4-Term Senator from New York|work=The New York Times|access-date=July 22, 2017}}</ref>

Javits' funeral service was conducted at the [[Central Synagogue (Manhattan)|Central Synagogue]] in Manhattan.<ref name=":0" /> 1400 people attended the funeral.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1986-03-10 |title=1,400 at Javits' Funeral; He Is Praised as 'Example for Ages' |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-03-10-mn-2876-story.html |access-date=2022-11-17 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> Among them were former President Richard Nixon, Governor [[Mario Cuomo]] and former Governor [[Hugh Carey]], Mayor [[Ed Koch]] and former Mayor [[John Lindsay]], Attorney General [[Edwin Meese]], former Secretary of State [[Henry Kissinger]], Cardinal [[John O'Connor (cardinal)|John Joseph O'Connor]], [[Kurt Vonnegut]], [[David Rockefeller]], [[Victor Gotbaum]], [[Douglas Fairbanks Jr.]] and [[Arthur Ochs Sulzberger]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Berger |first=Joseph |date=1986-03-11 |title=SENATORS EULOGIZE JAVITS AT FUNERAL |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/11/nyregion/senators-eulogize-javits-at-funeral.html |access-date=2022-11-17 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Other mourners included Senators [[Al D'Amato]] of New York, [[Gary Hart]] of Colorado, [[Nancy Kassebaum]] of [[Kansas]], [[Bill Bradley]] of [[New Jersey]], [[Lowell Weicker]] of [[Connecticut]], as well as former U.S. Representative [[Bella Abzug]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Colleagues, admirers eulogize Javits |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1986/03/11/Colleagues-admirers-eulogize-Javits/1395510901200/ |access-date=2022-11-17 |website=UPI |language=en}}</ref>

==Legacy==
Throughout his years in Congress, Javits seldom enjoyed favor with his party's inner circle. Few pieces of legislation bear his name, yet he was especially proud of his work in creating the [[National Endowment for the Arts]], of his sponsorship of the [[Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974]],<ref name=ERISA/> which regulated [[defined benefit pension plan|defined-benefit private pensions]], and of his leadership in the passage of the 1973 [[War Powers Resolution]].<ref name=DPM.Mar86/> In 1966, he had a 94% rating from the Americans for Democratic Action.<ref>Nation: Trustee for Tomorrow: Republican Jacob Javits; TIME, June 24, 1966</ref>

Javits used his office to advance ideas that furthered the policies even of Democratic presidents. In the fall of 1962, he proposed to a group of [[NATO]] parliamentarians that [[multinational corporation]]s jointly create a new kind of investment vehicle to promote private investment throughout [[Latin America]]. He intended his idea to complement President John F. Kennedy's [[Alliance for Progress]]. Two years later, some 50 multinational corporations formed the [[Adela Investment Company]], much as Javits had proposed.<ref>{{cite book|title=Mission Abandoned: How Multinational Corporations Abandoned Their First Attempt to Eliminate Poverty. Why They Should Try Again.|date=July 26, 2009|pages=1–6|first1=Richard|last1=Boyle|first2=Robert|last2=Ross|publisher=Robert Ross<!--not a mistake-->|isbn=978-0615317373}}</ref>

Throughout his career in Congress, first in the House and later in the Senate, Javits was part of a small group of liberal Republicans that was often isolated ideologically from their mainstream Republican colleagues, and he was a staunch supporter of labor unions and civil rights movements. One scoring method found Javits to be the most liberal Republican to serve in either chamber of Congress between 1937 and 2002.<ref name=Poole>{{cite web|last=Poole|first=Keith T.|title=Is John Kerry a Liberal?|date=October 13, 2004|url=http://voteview.com/Is_John_Kerry_A_Liberal.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170526063634/https://legacy.voteview.com/Is_John_Kerry_A_Liberal.htm|archive-date=May 26, 2017|url-status=live|publisher=University of Georgia|website=legacy.voteview.com}}</ref> From 1973 to 1978, [[GovTrack]] ranked Javits as being to the left of noted Democrats like [[Hubert Humphrey]], [[George McGovern]], [[Edmund Muskie]] and [[Gaylord Nelson]].<ref>Hubert Humphrey, former Senator of Minnesota, GovTrack</ref> Although he frequently differed with the most right-leaning members of the Republican Party, Javits believed that both parties should tolerate diverse opinions, rejecting the idea that they should share only one point of view. Javits also saw himself as being a descendant of the traditional Republicanism of [[Alexander Hamilton]], [[Henry Clay]], [[Abraham Lincoln]] and [[Theodore Roosevelt]], all of whom supported a strong federal government.<ref>Our Divided Political Heart,
The Battle for the American Idea in an Age of Discontent; E.J. Dionne, E.J. Dionne Jr., 2012</ref>

In an [https://web.archive.org/web/20081110043936/http://www.esquire.com/features/predicting-the-first-black-president-1258 essay] published in 1958 in the magazine ''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]'', Javits predicted the election of the first African-American president by 2000. Javits sponsored the first African-American [[United States Senate Page|Senate page]] in 1965 and the first female page in 1971. His liberalism was such that he tended to receive support from traditionally-Democratic voters, with many Republicans defecting to support the [[Conservative Party of New York]].

Javits played a major role in legislation protecting pensioners, as well as in the passage of the War Powers Act; he led the effort to get the [[Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act]] passed. He reached the position of [[Ranking member|Ranking Minority Member]] on the [[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations|Committee on Foreign Relations]] while he accrured greater [[seniority]] than any New York Senator before or since ({{As of|2018|lc=on}}).<ref>Javits's successor, Al D'Amato, served 3 terms (18 years), and [[Chuck Schumer]], if he completes his 2016 term in 2023, will tie Javits's record of 24 years. {{cite web
|url=http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1998/11/03/election/senate/new.york
|title=Schumer topples D'Amato in New York Senate race |date=November 3, 1998
|website=cnn.com}} "Charles Schumer has bested three-term Sen. Alfonse D'Amato in New York's Senate race."</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url=https://www.schumer.senate.gov/about-chuck
|title=Biography - U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York}}</ref> Along with [[Dwight Eisenhower]], he was among the first and most important statesmen in passing legislation promoting the cause of education for gifted individuals, and many know his name from the federal [[Gifted education#Jacob Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act|Jacob Javits Grants]] established for that purpose.

===Honors and commemoration===
Javits received the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] in 1983.

New York City's sprawling [[Javits Center]] was named in his honor in 1986, as is a playground at the southwestern edge of [[Fort Tryon Park]]. The [[Jacob K. Javits Federal Building]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=113749|title=Jacob K. Javits Federal Building|publisher=Emporis GmbH|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414054229/https://www.emporis.com/buildings/113749/jacob-k-javits-federal-building-new-york-city-ny-usa|archive-date=April 14, 2016|url-status=usurped}}</ref> at 26 Federal Plaza in lower Manhattan's Civic Center district, as well as a lecture hall on the campus of [[Stony Brook University]] on [[Long Island]], are also named after him.

The [[Gifted education#Jacob Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act|Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act of 1988]] was named in honor of Javits for his role in promoting gifted education.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RZ7rFC6pL0kC&q=jacob+javits&pg=PT512|title=Encyclopedia of Education Law|first=Charles J.|last=Russo|date=June 27, 2008|publisher=SAGE|isbn=9781412940795|access-date=March 1, 2017|via=Google Books}}</ref> The [[United States Department of Education]] formerly awarded a number of Javits Fellowships to support graduate students in the humanities and social sciences until 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ed.gov/programs/jacobjavits/index.html|title=Jacob K. Javits Fellowships Program|publisher=U.S. Department of Education|date=April 23, 2014|access-date=July 22, 2017|website=www2.ed.gov}}</ref>

The [[National Institutes of Health]] awards the [[National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke|Senator Jacob Javits Award in Neuroscience]] to exceptionally talented researchers in neuroscience who have established themselves with groundbreaking research. A 1983 US Congressional Act established those awards in honor of Senator Javits as a longtime supporter of research into understanding neurological disorders and diseases.<ref>{{cite web|title=Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award (R37)|url=http://www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/javits.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090730175318/http://www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/javits.htm|archive-date=July 30, 2009|publisher=National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke|website=ninds.nih.gov|date=July 7, 2006}}</ref>

In his memory, [[New York University]] established the Jacob K. Javits Visiting Professorship in 2008.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/site/ataglance/2016/11/selcuk-sirin-delivers-nyus-jacob-k-javits-lecture-on-the-plight-of-syrian-refugee-children.html |title=NYU Lecture on the plight of Syrian Refugee Children |work=NYU Steinhardt At a Glance |access-date=May 9, 2018 |archive-date=May 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180509220909/https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/site/ataglance/2016/11/selcuk-sirin-delivers-nyus-jacob-k-javits-lecture-on-the-plight-of-syrian-refugee-children.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Electoral history==
'''U.S. House of Representatives, New York 21st District'''<ref name=electoral>{{cite book | url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo| last=Office of the Clerk | title=Election Statistics | publisher=U.S. House of Representatives | year=2009 }}</ref>

{{Election box begin|title = New York 21st Congressional District General Election, 1946}}<ref name=electoral/>
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party      = Republican Party (United States)
|candidate  = Jacob Javits
|votes      = 37,136
|percentage = 36.4%
|change = +5.7%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party      = Liberal Party of New York
|candidate  = Jacob Javits
|votes      = 9,761
|percentage = 9.6%
|change = -0.2%
}}
{{Election box candidate
|party      = [[Electoral fusion|Total]]
|candidate  = '''Jacob Javits'''
|votes      = '''46,897'''
|percentage = '''46.0%'''
|change = +5.5%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party      = Democratic Party (United States)
|candidate  = Daniel Flynn
|votes      = 40,652
|percentage = 39.9%
|change = -7.2%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party      = American Labor Party
|candidate  = Eugene Connolly
|votes      = 14,359
|percentage = 14.1%
|change = +1.7%
}}
{{Election box total|
|votes      = 101,908
|percentage = 100.00%
}}
{{Election box end}}

{{Election box begin|title = New York 21st Congressional District General Election, 1948}}<ref name=electoral/>
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party      = Republican Party (United States)
|candidate  = Jacob Javits
|votes      = 45,820
|percentage = 34.8%
|change = -1.6%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party      = Liberal Party of New York
|candidate  = Jacob Javits
|votes      = 21,247
|percentage = 16.1%
|change = +6.5%
}}
{{Election box candidate
|party      = [[Electoral fusion|Total]]
|candidate  = '''Jacob Javits'''
|votes      = ''' 67,067'''
|percentage = '''50.9%'''
|change = +4.9%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party      = Democratic Party (United States)
|candidate  = Paul O'Dwyer
|votes      = 49,972
|percentage = 37.9%
|change = -2.0%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party      = American Labor Party
|candidate  = Paul O'Dwyer
|votes      = 14,682
|percentage = 11.1%
|change = -3.0%
{{Election box candidate
|party      = [[Electoral fusion|Total]]
|candidate  = Paul O'Dwyer
|votes      = 64,654
|percentage = 49.1%
|change = -4.9%
}}
}}
{{Election box total|
|votes      = 131,721
|percentage = 100.00%
}}
{{Election box end}}

{{Election box begin|title = New York 21st Congressional District General Election, 1950}}<ref name=electoral/>
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party      = Republican Party (United States)
|candidate  = Jacob Javits
|votes      = 41,194
|percentage = 40.6%
|change = +5.8%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party      = Liberal Party of New York
|candidate  = Jacob Javits
|votes      = 21,410
|percentage = 21.1%
|change = +5.0%
}}
{{Election box candidate
|party      = [[Electoral fusion|Total]]
|candidate  = '''Jacob Javits'''
|votes      = '''62,604'''
|percentage = '''61.8%'''
|change = +10.9%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party      = Democratic Party (United States)
|candidate  = Bennett Schlessel
|votes      = 33,349
|percentage = 32.9%
|change = -5.0%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party      = American Labor Party
|candidate  = William Mandel
|votes      = 5,419
|percentage = 5.3%
|change = -5.8%
}}
{{Election box total|
|votes      = 101,372
|percentage = 100.00%
}}
{{Election box end}}

{{Election box begin|title = New York 21st Congressional District General Election, 1952}}<ref name=electoral/>
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party      = Republican Party (United States)
|candidate  = Jacob Javits
|votes      = 58,128
|percentage = 41.2%
|change = +0.6%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party      = Liberal Party of New York
|candidate  = Jacob Javits
|votes      = 31,738
|percentage = 22.5%
|change = +1.4%
}}
{{Election box candidate
|party      = [[Electoral fusion|Total]]
|candidate  = '''Jacob Javits'''
|votes      = '''89,866'''
|percentage = '''63.7%'''
|change = +1.6%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party      = Democratic Party (United States)
|candidate  = John C. Hart
|votes      = 47,637
|percentage = 33.6%
|change = +0.7%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party      = American Labor Party
|candidate  = William Mandel
|votes      = 4,148
|percentage = 2.9%
|change = -2.4%
}}
{{Election box total|
|votes      = 141,051
|percentage = 100.00%
}}
{{Election box end}}

'''New York State Attorney General'''

{{Election box begin no change|title = [[1954 New York state election|New York Attorney General election, 1954]]}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|party      = Republican Party (United States)
|candidate  = '''Jacob Javits'''
|votes      = '''2,603,858'''
|percentage = '''51.7%'''
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|party      = Democratic Party (United States)
|candidate  = [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr.]]
|votes      = 2,430,959
|percentage = 48.3%
}}
{{Election box total no change|
|votes      = 5,034,817
|percentage = 100.00%
}}
{{Election box end}}

'''U.S. Senate, New York'''<ref name=electoral/>

{{Election box begin no change| title=[[1956 United States Senate election in New York]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=36432 |title=NY US Senate|publisher=Our Campaigns |access-date=11 March 2020}}</ref>}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Jacob K. Javits
  |votes      = 3,723,933
  |percentage = 53.3%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change|
  |party      = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate  = [[Robert F. Wagner Jr.]]
  |votes      = 2,964,511
  |percentage = 42.4%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change|
  |party      = Liberal Party of New York
  |candidate  = Robert F. Wagner Jr.
  |votes      = 300,648
  |percentage = 4.3%
}}
{{Election box candidate no change|
  |party      = Total
  |candidate  = Robert F. Wagner, Jr.
  |votes      = 3,265,159
  |percentage = 46.7%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change|
  |party      = Write-in
  |candidate  = [[Douglas MacArthur]]
  |votes      = 1,312
  |percentage = 0.02%
}}
{{Election box total no change|
  |votes      = 6,990,404
  |percentage = 100.00%
}}
{{Election box gain with party link no change
| winner = Republican Party (United States)
| loser = Democratic Party (United States)
}}
{{Election box end}}

{{Election box begin | title=[[1962 United States Senate election in New York]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=30176|title = Our Campaigns - NY US Senate Race - Nov 06, 1962}}</ref>}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Jacob K. Javits (incumbent)
  |votes      = 3,272,417
  |percentage = 57.4%
  |change     = +4.1%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate  = [[James B. Donovan]]
  |votes      = 2,113,772
  |percentage = 37.0%
  |change     = -5.5%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Liberal Party of New York
  |candidate  = James B. Donovan
  |votes      = 175,551
  |percentage = 3.1%
  |change     = -1.2%
}}
{{Election box candidate|
  |party      = Total
  |candidate  = James B. Donovan
  |votes      = 2,289,323
  |percentage = 40.14%
  |change     = N/A
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Conservative Party of New York
  |candidate  = Kieran O'Doherty
  |votes      = 116,151
  |percentage = 2.04%
  |change     = N/A
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Socialist Workers Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Carl Feingold
  |votes      = 17,440
  |percentage = 0.31%
  |change     = N/A
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Socialist Labor Party of America
  |candidate  = Stephen Emery
  |votes      = 7,786
  |percentage = 0.14%
  |change     = N/A
}}
{{Election box total
  |votes = 5,703,117
  |percentage = 100.00%
}}
{{Election box hold with party link no change
| winner = Republican Party (United States)
| loser = Democratic Party (United States)
}}
{{Election box end}}

{{Election box begin | title=[[1968 United States Senate election in New York]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=7061|title=Our Campaigns - NY US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1968|website=www.ourcampaigns.com}}</ref>}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
 | party      = Republican Party (United States)
 | candidate  = Jacob K. Javits (incumbent)
 | votes      = 2,810,836
 | percentage = 
 | change     = }}
{{Election box candidate with party link
 | party      = Liberal Party of New York
 | candidate  = Jacob K. Javits (incumbent)
 | votes      = 458,936
 | percentage = 
 | change     = }}
{{Election box candidate
 | party      = Total
 | candidate  = '''Jacob K. Javits (incumbent)'''
 | votes      = '''3,269,772'''
 | percentage = '''49.68%'''
 | change     = -7.70%}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
 | party      = Democratic Party (United States)
 | candidate  = Paul O'Dwyer
 | votes      = 2,150,695
 | percentage = 32.68%
 | change     = -7.46%}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
 | party      = Conservative Party of New York
 | candidate  = James Buckley
 | votes      = 1,139,402
 | percentage = 17.31%
 | change     = +15.27%}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
 | party      = Peace and Freedom Party
 | candidate  = Herman Ferguson
 | votes      = 8,775
 | percentage = 0.13%
 | change     = +0.13%}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
 | party      = Socialist Labor Party of America
 | candidate  = John Emanuel
 | votes      = 7,964
 | percentage = 0.12%
 | change     = -0.02%}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
 | party      = Socialist Workers Party (United States)
 | candidate  = Hedda Garza
 | votes      = 4,979
 | percentage = 0.08%
 | change     = -0.23%}}
{{Election box hold with party link no change
| winner = Republican Party (United States)
| loser = Democratic Party (United States)
}}
{{Election box end}}

{{Election box begin | title=[[1974 United States Senate election in New York]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=7061|title = Our Campaigns - NY US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1968}}</ref>}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Jacob K. Javits (incumbent)
  |votes      = 2,098,529
  |percentage =
  |change     = 
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Liberal Party of New York
  |candidate  = Jacob K. Javits (incumbent)
  |votes      = 241,659
  |percentage =
  |change     = 
}}
{{Election box candidate|
  |party      = Total
  |candidate  = '''Jacob K. Javits''' (incumbent)
  |votes      = '''2,340,188'''
  |percentage = '''45.32%'''
  |change     = -4.36%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Ramsey Clark
  |votes      = 1,973,781
  |percentage = 38.23%
  |change     = +5.55%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Conservative Party of New York
  |candidate  = Barbara A. Keating
  |votes      = 822,584
  |percentage = 15.93%
  |change     = -1.38%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Socialist Workers Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Rebecca Finch
  |votes      = 7,727
  |percentage = 0.15%
  |change     = +0.07%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = American Party (1969)
  |candidate  = William F. Dowling
  |votes      = 7,459
  |percentage = 0.14%
  |change     = +0.14%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Socialist Labor Party of America
  |candidate  = Robert E. Massi
  |votes      = 4,037
  |percentage = 0.08%
  |change     = -0.04%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Communist Party USA
  |candidate  = Mildred Edelman
  |votes      = 3,876
  |percentage = 0.08%
  |change     = 
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = American Labor Party
  |candidate  = Elijah C. Boyd
  |votes      = 3,798
  |percentage = 0.07%
  |change     = +0.07%
}}
{{Election box hold with party link|
 | winner     = Republican Party (United States)
 | swing      =
}}
{{Election box end}}

{{Election box begin no change
| title = [[1980 United States Senate election in New York|1980 US Senate Republican Primary in New York]]<ref name=primary>{{Cite web |url=http://www.9wsyr.com/mostpopular/story/Miner-Kimatian-win-Syracuse-mayoral-primaries/G_EgwHAEskClUf1wm-6wuA.cspx |title=Syracuse Mayoral Primary Results - 9wsyr.com |access-date=2013-06-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719063010/http://www.9wsyr.com/mostpopular/story/Miner-Kimatian-win-Syracuse-mayoral-primaries/G_EgwHAEskClUf1wm-6wuA.cspx |archive-date=2011-07-19 }}</ref>
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = [[Al D'Amato]]
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| votes = 323,468
| percentage = 55.68%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Jacob Javits (incumbent)
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| votes = 257,433
| percentage = 44.32%
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 580,901
| percentage = 100.00%
}}
{{Election box end}}

{{Election box begin | title=General election results<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=3894|title = Our Campaigns - NY US Senate Race - Nov 04, 1980}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1980election.pdf|title=Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 1980|website=clerk.house.gov|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320200405/https://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1980election.pdf|archive-date=March 20, 2022}}</ref>}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link
 | party      = Republican Party (United States)
 | candidate  = [[Al D'Amato]]
 | votes      = 2,272,082
 | percentage = 37.8%
 | change     =
 }}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link
 | party      = Conservative Party of New York
 | candidate  = [[Al D'Amato]]
 | votes      = 275,100
 | percentage = 4.6%
 | change     = -11.4%
 }}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link
 | party      = Right to Life Party (New York)
 | candidate  = [[Al D'Amato]]
 | votes      = 152,470
 | percentage = 2.5%
 | change     = N/A
 }}
{{Election box winning candidate
 | party      = Total
 | candidate  = [[Al D'Amato]]
 | votes      = 2,699,652
 | percentage = 44.9%
 | change     = N/A
 }}
{{Election box candidate with party link
 | party      = Democratic Party (United States)
 | candidate  = [[Elizabeth Holtzman]]
 | votes      = 2,618,661
 | percentage = 43.5%
 | change     = +5.3%
 }}
{{Election box candidate with party link
 | party      = Liberal Party of New York
 | candidate  = Jacob Javits (incumbent)
 | votes      = 664,544
 | percentage = 11.1%
 | change     = 
 }}
{{Election box candidate with party link
 | party      = Libertarian Party (United States)
 | candidate  = Richard Savadel
 | votes      = 21,465
 | percentage = 0.4%
 | change     = N/A
 }}
{{Election box candidate with party link
 | party      = Communist Party USA
 | candidate  = William R. Scott
 | votes      = 4,161
 | percentage = 0.07%
 | change     = {{decrease}}0.01
 }}
{{Election box candidate with party link
 | party      = Workers World Party
 | candidate  = Thomas Soto
 | votes      = 3,643
 | percentage = 0.06%
 | change     =
 }}
{{Election box candidate with party link
 | party      = Socialist Workers Party (United States)
 | candidate  = Victor A. Nieto
 | votes      = 2,715
 | percentage = 0.05%
 | change     = {{decrease}}0.10
 }}
{{Election box write-in with party link
 | votes      = 73
 | percentage = 0.00%
 | change     =
 }}
{{Election box majority no change
 | votes      = 80,991
 | percentage = 1.34%
 }}
{{Election box total no change
 | votes      = 6,014,914
 | percentage = 100.00%
 }}
{{Election box hold with party link
 | winner     = Republican Party (United States)
 | loser      = Republican Party (United States)
 | swing      =
}}
{{Election box end}}

== See also ==
* [[List of Jewish American jurists]]
* [[List of Jewish members of the United States Congress]]

== References ==

{{reflist|30em}}

== Sources ==

{{CongBio|J000064}}
* {{cite magazine |author=Kahn, E. J. Jr. |date=21 January 1950 |title=The gentleman from New York - I |department=Profiles |magazine=The New Yorker |volume=25 |issue=48 |pages=31–45}}
* {{cite magazine |author=Kahn, E. J. Jr. |author-mask=1 |date=28 January 1950 |title=The gentleman from New York - II |department=Profiles |magazine=The New Yorker |volume=25 |issue=49 |pages=30–42}}
* ''Who's Who in America, 1966–1967''

== External links ==
{{commons category|Jacob K. Javits}}
{{wikisource|works=or}}
* [http://www.library.stonybrook.edu/special-collections-university-archives/ Archive of Senator Jacob K. Javits] at the Special Collections Department at [[Stony Brook University]]
* {{Find a Grave|6856871}}
* {{Internet Archive film clip|id=gov.archives.arc.95852|description="Longines-Wittnauer with Jacob Javits"}}
* {{C-SPAN|9254587}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Javits, Jacob Koppel}}
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