Newark Mayor and Senate candidate Cory Booker answers a question after he voted in a primary election Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2013. (Photo: Mel Evans, AP)
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 Bogata, NJ, in a special election October 16.
Turnout was low for the special election, which was necessitate 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 Jeff 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.
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.
Booker, 44, was the frontrunner 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 disappointed Democrats who hoped he would take on popular Republican Gov. Chris Christie, who is up for re-election in November.
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