Incumbent Democrat Bob Gordon will again be heading back to Trenton after 38th District State Senate challenger John Driscoll conceded defeat Tuesday in the state's most watched contest.

Gordon (D-Fair Lawn), a solar energy consultant who has served in the upper house of the legislature since his appointment in 2008, was up several thousand votes with just a few polling districts left to report after 10:30 p.m.

In his concession speech from Republican Headquarters in Hackensack, Driscoll said simply, "Can't win 'em all."

The battle for the newly re-drawn district, which counts Passaic County's Hawthorne among its Bergen County neighbors, intensified over the last month with a battery of attack ads on both sides.

Driscoll, buoyed by support from Governor Christie and other high profile Republicans, campaigned on a platform of making the 2 percent property tax caps permanent, limiting the growth of government, reallocating school funding away from "Abbott" districts and spurring small business.

Christie's star power, television campaign ads and Republican money wasn't enough for the Bergen County Freeholder to turn the tide on Gordon, a former mayor of Fair Lawn. Driscoll thanked Christie for his support in his speech.

Gordon had hoped a bump from Senate President Steven Sweeney (D-Gloucester) and a campaign centered on an exploration of shared services and consolidation, a greater focus on sustainable energy, as well as a return of slashed state aid, would propel him to victory Tuesday.

Republican Assembly candidates Fernando Alonso (R-Oradell) and Richard Goldberg (R-Hawthorne) also conceded defeat to incumbent Connie Wagner (D-Paramus) and running mate Tim Eustace (D-Maywood), giving Democrats a convincing victory in what many thought was a tossup.