Cory Booker wins Democratic primary in New Jersey

[theworldismine13]

http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_new...er-wins-democratic-primary-in-new-jersey?lite

Newark Mayor Cory Booker won the Democratic nomination in New Jersey's special primary election by a landslide Tuesday night, putting him one step closer to a seat in the U.S. Senate.

Booker beat out three other Democratic competitors in the contest to succeed the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg, defeating Reps. Frank Pallone and Rush **** as well as Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver. With most precincts reporting late Tuesday, Booker had a 40 point lead over the runner up, Pallone.

In his victory speech Tuesday night, Booker thanked and praised his Democratic opponents, and said he planned to bring a new style of politics to Washington.

“They say we are being naïve, to them I say have you ever met us, do you know where I’ve been working for the last seven years. This is Newark, New Jersey, and we don’t do naïve," he said.

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Now, the popular celebrity mayor faces a special general election in just over two months, when he will face Republican Steve Lonegan.

The former Bogota, N.J., mayor and conservative activist won the GOP nomination over physician and first time candidate Alieta Eck. Lonegan, who is legally blind, unsuccessfully challenged Chris Christie in the 2009 Republican gubernatorial primary.

In a state mostly dominated by Democratic office holders, Booker will be a heavy favorite to win the Oct. 16 special general election.

During his victory speech he promised to fight for issues like child poverty, women's health and marriage equality.

“If you want someone in Washington that plays by the same old rules, you should find someone else," Booker said.

The most recent Quinnipiac University poll released last week showed Booker topping Lonegan by 25 points in a general election matchup.

Regarding his opponent, Booker promised a clean fight, on his part, saying, “I will match his negative attacks with positive vision.”

Lonegan meanwhile, in a fiery victory speech, blasted Booker as a candidate "anointed by Hollywood" and the top choice of "Silicon Valley moguls" who want to make him California's third U.S. senator.

"We know what we believe in," he said. "We're going to say what we believe, and when we go to Washington, D.C., we are going to do what we say."

Whoever wins in the fall will serve out the remainder of Lautenberg’s term. The seat is being temporarily filled by Republican Jeffrey Chiesa, the state’s former attorney general, who was Christie’s interim pick.

If Booker wins, the balance of power in the Senate would return to a 55-45 advantage for Democrats, meaning Republicans need to win six seats in next year’s midterms to gain control of the upper chamber.

The winner of the special election would face voters again in 2014 for a full six-year term. Christie set the controversial special election timeline — with the costly special election slated just three weeks before regularly scheduled statewide elections on Nov. 5 -— saying, he wanted to give voters a choice as soon as possible.

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But some critics charge that without a contested Senate campaign happening at the same time as his own re-election, turnout among Democrats is likely to be far lower, allowing Christie to run up the margin of victory in a race he is already a big favorite to win.

The shortened time 10-week sprint to the Democratic primary may have helped Booker, who has a close relationship with the GOP governor. The Twitter-savvy and energetic politician had the highest statewide name ID and a heavy financial advantage over his competitors, and he never relinquished his early lead.

Booker had already announced he was running for the open seat in 2014, but he did so even before Lautenberg announced in February that he would not run again, bristling the senior senator and many of his allies.

But when the 89-year-old passed away in June, the timeline was pushed into high gear.

The trio of Democratic competitors couldn’t make headway against Booker, who faced questions over his finances in the race's final week. Each tried, but all three were hamstrung by the crowded race.

Pallone had the backing of Lautenberg’s family, who praised him as a “workhorse” in the face of “showhorse” Booker. **** tried to woo the progressive crowd, talking about privacy issues and how he would work to stop controversial NSA surveillance programs.

And Oliver, who was hamstrung at the beginning by the ongoing legislative session, said the Garden State needed a female representative in Washington.

Either way, the Democratic leadership has already thrown their support behind Booker, with Colorado Senator Michael Bennet, Chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, issuing the following statement after the primary win:

"Mayor Cory Booker is going to be the kind of Senator New Jersey can be proud of, and I congratulate him on his victory tonight. I look forward to working side by side with Cory, and supporting his reelection next November."

 

[Julius Skrrvin]

Corporate America wins again

 

[theworldismine13]

Corporate America wins again

 

[The Real]

NJ lost, but it's not like the chances were high that he would lose.

 

[Hiphoplives4eva]

Who gives a fukk!

 

[theworldismine13]

Why Cory Booker is set to become the highest-profile Democratic senator

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...ecome-the-highest-profile-democratic-senator/

 

[superunknown23]

Yeah, they should vote for the teabagging republican now... Right?

 

[feelosofer]

Let's be honest the only person that could have gave him any opposition, was Rush **** and he was a DISTANT second. He did a shyt job in Newark but he is black, prominent and a Democrat. I would have preferred Sheila Oliver, but she came way too late in that race.

 

[Jello Biafra]

Booker is the future Democratic Party golden boy; barring some major scandal the guy is going to be pushed to the moon by the Dems.

 

[Liquid]

Let's be honest the only person that could have gave him any opposition, was Rush **** and he was a DISTANT second. He did a shyt job in Newark but he is black, prominent and a Democrat. I would have preferred Sheila Oliver, but she came way too late in that race.

He did the best he could. Newark has been a mess for decades

 

[feelosofer]

He did the best he could. Newark has been a mess for decades

No he didn't he sold out the police force to people outside the city, cracking heads and using the stop and frisk policy. He didn't reduce crime all that much in the grand scheme of things if anything it's about as bad as it was back in the mid 90's. The down area is being gentrified with none of that money really going back into the other parts of the city. He basically gave building contracts to his corporate campaign donors. He took credit for rebuilding the downtown area when Sharpe James was really the mastermind behind most of it, it just took years to get it to fruition. Unemployement in Newark is damn near 15 percent under this dude, in fact and a lot of people don't but the municipal television station doesn't even hire people from the city but outside contract workers work there. He used state tax money to pay Prudential to move its building a few blocks to the tune of 210 million dollars. He gave tax abatements to major corporations that could have easily paid the taxes needed to build in a growing city and use it for programs for the average citizen.

This guy essentially fleeced Newark for his own personal gain and he is going to do the same at the National level. God help us all.

 

[Liquid]

No he didn't he sold out the police force to people outside the city, cracking heads and using the stop and frisk policy. He didn't reduce crime all that much in the grand scheme of things if anything it's about as bad as it was back in the mid 90's. The down area is being gentrified with none of that money really going back into the other parts of the city. He basically gave building contracts to his corporate campaign donors. He took credit for rebuilding the downtown area when Sharpe James was really the mastermind behind most of it, it just took years to get it to fruition. Unemployement in Newark is damn near 15 percent under this dude, in fact and a lot of people don't but the municipal television station doesn't even hire people from the city but outside contract workers work there. He used state tax money to pay Prudential to move its building a few blocks to the tune of 210 million dollars. He gave tax abatements to major corporations that could have easily paid the taxes needed to build in a growing city and use it for programs for the average citizen.

This guy essentially fleeced Newark for his own personal gain and he is going to do the same at the National level. God help us all.

The same Sharpe James who didn't do shyt in all his years out there and then convicted for fraud? Bash Booker all you want, but James didn't get anything done in all his time there. Personal gain? I would assume that Sharpe selling those lots for a quick profit doesn't count in your book?

Crime has dropped in Newark, he has investors looking into the city, and got Zuckerberg to donate 100 million to the schools. 50 or which went towards that new teachers contract.

Unemployment is bad everywhere, not really something you can hang on Booker either.

 

[feelosofer]

The same Sharpe James who didn't do shyt in all his years out there and then convicted for fraud? Bash Booker all you want, but James didn't get anything done in all his time there. Personal gain? I would assume that Sharpe selling those lots for a quick profit doesn't count in your book?

Crime has dropped in Newark, he has investors looking into the city, and got Zuckerberg to donate 100 million to the schools. 50 or which went towards that new teachers contract.

Unemployment is bad everywhere, not really something you can hang on Booker either.

Never said Sharpe James was perfect and what he did back in 08 was bush league. But Cory Booker, got MILLIONS in 'donations' from corporate sponsors and got kickbacks from companies to set up shop. Again all of this 'investment' in Newark does not benefit any of the poor people looking for employment there. Unemployment went from 8.5% in 2008 to 14.4 percent and rising, that's a 40% increase, so all this investment means nothing. The crime rate in Newark is up not down, and the murder rate has gone up the past couple of years, as he laid off 1/6 of the police force back in '11 and then hired a bunch of non residents to some of those vacancies.

http://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Newark-New-Jersey.html

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Booker-Newark-senate-crime/2013/08/06/id/518929

That money from Mark Zuckerberg? Let me ask you a question? What happened to the other 46 million?

Nobody knows this but the money is being used in part to hire consultant, basically kids nearly half my age making 6 figure salaries to uproot school programs like sports, tutoring, counselors etc. Again Booker outsourced school security and custodial service to an agency that brings cheap outsourced labor that you don't have to pay benefits. He's selling out Newark jobs to corporations.

Again the revitalization of Downtown Newark with NJPAC, The Devil's Stadium and putting townhouses instead of the high rise projects was all Sharpe James, not Booker. All Booker did was create p2p contracts with big business to help them set up shop there huge tax breaks they couldn't get in NY.