Booker wins U.S. Senate seat
Jonathan Tamari and Andrew Seidman, INQUIRER STAFF WRITERS
Posted: Wednesday, October 16, 2013, 9:48 PM

NEWARK, N.J. - Cory Booker, the Democratic Newark mayor whose sterling biography and star power have made him a political celebrity, will formally enter the national fray after winning New Jersey's special Senate election Wednesday.

Booker, 44, will become the Senate's seventh youngest member, and its ninth-ever African American and only the fourth black senator ever popularly elected. Even before winning the race, he was widely seen as a potential vice presidential contender as soon as 2016, though his credentials took a hit when the race turned out far closer than many expected.

With nearly all of the vote counted, Booker led Republican Steve Lonegan by about 10 percentage points - a convincing margin in most races, but much smaller than many had predicted for a rising star facing an underfunded opponent with views out of step with New Jersey's liberal leanings.
. . .
Lonegan was a longshot from the start but closed on Booker with a tenacious campaign.
. . .
Lonegan promoted his hard-right rhetoric in an attempt to rally the Republican base. He supported the government shutdown and praised Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), a tea party hero, for having the "guts to hold the line" on the opposition to the 2010 health law known as Obamacare. Cruz recorded robocalls on Lonegan's behalf in the campaign's final days
. . .

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politi...l_questions_top


I doubt the RNC or NJ's country club R's will take away from this election what I did, but here it goes.

1. NJ is among the bluest states
2. Booker had 10 X the money Lonegan did
3. The bulk of Lonegan's campaign funds were small donations.
4. The only political support Lonegan got was from 'tea party' types ( Paul, Levin , Palin, Cruz)
5. Lonegan did not waiver from his conservative message.
6. All the talking heads expected Booker to beat Lonegan by at least 40 points.
7. NJ's electronic voting has no audit trail and can be hacked by college students.
8. The only reported irregularities I saw were in heavily conservative districts. Yes we have them in NJ.
9. If you can fog a mirror in NJ you can vote, after all demanding proof of eligibility to vote is racist.

Taking all this into consideration Lonegan did really well. The talking heads on the news this a.m. couldn't believe Booker won by only 10 points.

Now imagine what would have happened if the RNC and NJ country club R's doubled Lonegan's funding, actively supported him, and took advantage of ZeroCare sticker shock ! Sadly such thoughts are just fantasy.

Quote: ThirstyMan wrote in post #5

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fine and dandy. is there an apb out on me?

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