Cory Booker moved a step closer to becoming New Jersey’s first African-American U.S. senator Tuesday when voters gave the Newark mayor a wide victory in the Democratic primary. Booker will face Republican Steve Lonegan, former mayor of Bogota, N.J., in a special election October 16. Turnout was low for the special election, which was necessitated by the death of Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg in June at age 89.
Booker leveraged his national name into prodigious fundraising: with the help of friends like Oprah Winfrey and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, he brought in more than $8.6 million, well ahead of his rivals. Booker defeated two members of the state’s congressional delegation, Reps. Frank Pallone and Rush Holt, as well as Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver. “This is our victory – thank you. Please continue to run with me,” Booker tweeted to his 1.4 million Twitter followers shortly after he was declared the winner.
Booker argued that his high profile would allow him to be more effective in Washington. “I find ways to break through the noise of the country and more effectively advocate and get things done,” he told the Asbury Park Press last month. In his victory speech in Secaucus Tuesday night, Lonegan said Booker was “anointed by Hollywood” and the candidate of “Silicon Valley moguls” who want to make him California’s third U.S. senator, the Associated press reported.
Booker, 44, was the front-runner from the moment he indicated in December that he wanted to run — even before Lautenberg had declared whether he intended to run for re-election. Lautenberg ultimately said he would not run, then died in June, setting up the special election. Booker’s choice to run for Senate disappointed Democrats who hoped he would take on popular Republican Gov. Chris Christie, who is up for re-election in November.
article by Martha T. Moore via usatoday.com
Posts tagged as “Newark Mayor Cory Booker”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzZolMOUSko&w=560&h=315]
Newark mayor Cory Booker has released his first television campaign ad for the New Jersey Democratic race for U.S. Senate. This ad is his first foray into the primaries which conclude in August. This ad is titled “Run”, and features Booker listing some of the successes he’s had tacking problems as mayor.
“I’ve proven that by bringing people together, even with big problems we can make big progress,” says Booker in the video. “Washington ducks our problems, I wont.” Booker is competing against his fellow Democrats Frank Pallone and Rush Holt to win the seat of the late Frank Lautenberg who passed away earlier this month.
article by Adrienne Green via thegrio.com
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Newark Mayor Cory Booker formally announced today he’s in the race to finish the U.S. Senate term of the late Frank Lautenberg. The 44-year-old Democrat made his candidacy official at a news conference Saturday in Newark, New Jersey’s largest city. He was joined by former U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley, a former pro basketball player who for 18 years held the seat Booker is seeking.
Bradley, who endorsed Booker, called him “the right person for the right office at the right time.” Booker began raising money for a Senate run even before Lautenberg, who died Monday, announced retirement plans in February. He had raised $1.9 million by the end of the last reporting period in March.
Reps. Frank Pallone and Rush Holt are also planning to enter the Democratic primary. Booker is considered the early front-runner. Pallone, 61, had $3.7 million in his campaign coffers at the end of March and has deep union support. Holt, 64, a former research physicist, had $800,000 on hand.
Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, announced this week that there would be party primaries Aug. 13 and a special general election Oct. 16 The only Republican running so far is Steve Lonegan, a former Bogota mayor who runs the New Jersey office of Americans for Prosperity.
Booker, 44, has 1.4 million followers on Twitter — or five for every resident of the city where he’s the mayor. He tweets frequently, answering questions about city services, posting about his workouts and, perhaps most often, trying to provide inspiration.
A man proposed to his girlfriend on Wednesday night “with a surprise assist from Cory Booker.” Less than 24 hours before popping the question, New York lawyer Israel Burns sent a tweet to Booker, the Newark, N.J., mayor known for going out of his way to help residents and fans. Burns, 26, became an admirer of Booker’s while attending a Newark-based law school.
When Booker responded 10 minutes after the tweet was sent, Burns couldn’t believe it. After comparing schedules, they decided that Booker would call Burns’ girlfriend Misha Wright, 35 and also a lawyer, at the Asian American Bar Association of New York’s annual dinner in Midtown Manhattan. It’s where the couple had met last year.
According to the New York Daily News, Wright initially ignored Booker’s call, thinking it was a prank. Burns almost lost hope. Booker called back, however, and Wright answered. “Hi, this is Cory Booker,” he said, instructing Wright to go upstairs.
Supposedly Booker would be waiting with her boyfriend in the event’s VIP area. In reality only Burns was there — but with champagne, a poem and a ring in tow. Wright said yes. Obviously. According to Time, the happy couple left for the Dominican Republic Thursday morning. Booker sealed the deal with a congratulatory tweet.
article via huffingtonpost.com
Newark Mayor Cory Booker has teamed up with jewelry designer Jessica Mindich to repurpose some of the guns and bullet casings to create bracelets that raise awareness about gun violence.
Newark has figured out a way to turn bullets into bling. Newark Mayor Cory Booker has teamed up with jewelry designer Jessica Mindich to repurpose some of the guns and bullet casings confiscated by the Newark Police Department. They’re using the metal to create bracelets that raise awareness about gun violence.
The bracelets are part of the Caliber Collection and range from $150 for a simple cuff to $375 for a bangle with an embedded diamond. The steel jewelry collection is melted down from confiscated guns that were used as evidence in Newark trials, according to Mindich. The brass bracelets are made from shell casings found at crime scenes. Twenty percent of each sale will go toward Newark’s gun buyback program.