Politics
Obama endorses Cory Booker in New Jersey Senate race
Newark Mayor Cory Booker. PHOTO/File
U.S. President Barack Obama has issued a formal endorsement of Democrat Cory Booker in New Jersey’s special U.S. Senate race.
In a statement released Wednesday by Booker’s campaign, Obama said Booker, who is mayor of Newark, will be “an important partner in our efforts to reduce gun violence, give every American a fair shot in a global economy, and make our country stronger.”
“His passion for his city has helped create new jobs and attract some of America’s top businesses to Newark,” he said.
Booker said he was humbled by the endorsement.
If elected in a special election October 16, “I will go to the Senate to advance our shared vision of a nation where opportunity is available to anyone willing to work for it,” he said.
Booker, now Newark’s mayor, faces former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan.
Lonegan, who stepped down as state director of the anti-tax group Americans for Prosperity to run for office, was endorsed Tuesday by New Jersey Govenor Chris Christie.
Lonegan said the Obama endorsement was no surprise. Booker is a “rubber stamp for the Obama agenda,” he said.
The special election will be to fill the 15 months left on the term of the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who died in June. New Jersey’s former attorney general, Jeffrey Chiesa, was appointed by the governor to fill the seat until the October election.
Obama also waded into the special U.S. Senate race in June in Massachusetts, endorsing Democrat Edward Markey, who was elected to succeed John Kerry.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press