Booker Coasts in Primary; 'Make Me Your Senator,' He Tells New Jersey
Raymond HernandezNew York Times
Cory A. Booker, the mayor of Newark, who rose to prominence with his efforts to remake a notoriously troubled city and then used that perch to build a national reputation as a charismatic and media-savvy star in the Democratic Party, easily won the Democratic nomination for United States Senate on Tuesday night.
With 98 percent of the vote counted, Mr. Booker had won nearly 60 percent of the vote, far more than his nearest challenger, Representative Frank Pallone Jr., who had about 20 percent of the vote. Representative Rush D. Holt trailed with about 17 percent and the State Assembly speaker, Sheila Y. Oliver, had less than 5 percent.
Mr. Booker gave a victory speech to more than 300 supporters gathered at Championship Plaza in Newark that looked ahead to the general election. “Make me your senator, New Jersey,” he said, “and I will be unwavering in my focus on finding common ground. I will not be concerned with right or left but going forward.”
Mr. Booker is a heavy favorite to win the October general election in an overwhelmingly Democratic state that has not elected a Republican senator in four decades. If he does he will become the country’s only elected black senator.
To read the full article, click here.
