Democrat Cory Booker, the mayor of Newark, N.J., came out as
the victor in Wednesday’s special senate election to fill the seat of the late Senator Frank R. Lautenberg. He won with 54.6 %
of the vote. Booker beat Republican and former Bogota, N.J. mayor, Steve
Lonegan. Booker will be the first African-American senator from New Jersey.
Although Booker won the election, the results were
much closer than initially anticipated, especially considering Lonegan’s tea
party ideologies in a historically left leaning state. These results may be a
result in part due to Booker’s delay in organizing public events in the early
stages of his campaign. Regardless, many NJ voters found Lonegan too
conservative.
Booker has received national recognition for his work as
mayor of Newark. He is credited with helping bring business to the city,
decrease unemployment rates, reduce crime rates, and reform the public schools
system. He is also known for his more heroic acts such as living in a Newark
housing project, helping neighbors shovel snow, living off food stamps, and
even rescuing a neighbor from a burning building.
Booker is an avid Twitter user, with a following
significantly greater than that of Newark. He is known for his inspirational
tweets, Instagram videos and interviews. He is also a regular on late night TV
shows and as a guest on various talk shows. Booker received strong endorsements
from President Barack Obama and many celebrities.
“I am very excited to see Cory Booker in the Senate,” said
GW College Democrats President Omeed Firouzi. “He'll be a unique Senator who
will urge his colleagues to focus on public policy issues, such as urban affairs
and drug sentencing reform that many incumbents fail to address.”
The GW
Democrats spent a weekend visiting New Jersey to campaign on Booker’s behalf.
Booker will finish Lautenberg’s term beginning in
early November and will face re-election in November 2014. He plans to continue living
in Newark and maintain a strong presence on Twitter.
No comments:
Post a Comment