Cory Booker, the Newark Mayor who has made a national name for himself and has been widely viewed as perhaps the most formidable potential challenger to Chris Christie in 2013, has reportedly decided to seek a path to Washington:
Newark Mayor Cory Booker will not challenge New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in next year’s gubernatorial race and will instead run for U.S. Senate in 2014, political sources familiar with his decision tell NBC 4 New York.
Booker will seek the U.S. Senate seat held by fellow Democrat Frank Lautenberg when his term is up in 2014, political sources tell NBC 4 New York. Lautenberg, 88, is the oldest current senator. He first served in the U.S. Senate from 1982 to 2001 and has served since his re-election in 2003.
Booker’s decision not to challenge Christie comes as the Republican incumbent enjoys record-high approval ratings in polls taken since Sandy hit the Garden State.
Booker will apparently make the decision official via an announcement on his Twitter feed later today.
Without a doubt, this certainly has a major impact on next year’s Governor’s race in the Garden State. Christie’s poll numbers remain high in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, and Booker has both a large statewide profile and access to prolific fundraising sources. While things are by no means certain, it seems fairly clear that this is good news for Christie’s re-election prospects. As for the Senate race, it’s widely anticipated that Senator Lautenberg will not stand for re-election at the end of his current term, leaving the seat open. While Booker is by no means a shoe-in for the Democratic nomination, he’s certainly going to be a strong contender and, in all honesty, whoever wins the Democratic nomination in 2014 will likely win the General Election.
