Politics
Cory Booker elected as U.S. Senator from New Jersey
He will fill the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrat Frank Lautenberg, who died in June at age 89.
Booker, a Rhodes scholar and Yale Law School graduate, rocketed to fame as a booster for the state’s largest city, 12 miles from Manhattan, which has struggled with poverty and persistently high crime.
His first run for mayor was documented in the Oscar-nominated film “Street Fight.” Booker is known to rub shoulders with celebrities and is a near-constant presence on Twitter.
During Booker’s tenure as mayor, Newark received a $100 million gift to its schools from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who said he had met Booker and was impressed by his plans.
Lonegan is the former mayor of Bogota and former state director of Americans for Prosperity, a political advocacy group funded by the conservative Koch brothers.
He has said he opposed federal aid to victims of Superstorm Sandy and more recently voiced support for the Republican House members who forced the government shutdown.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Republican seeking re-election and a possible White House contender in 2016, chose October 16 as the special election date.
