Voters to decide Senate special election in New Jersey
October 15, 2013
Trenton, New Jersey: Newark Mayor Cory Booker (D) and former Mayor of Bogota Steve Lonegan (R) will face off tomorrow in the special election to succeed the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D).[1][2]
In June, Gov. Chris Christie chose to appoint Attorney General Jeff Chiesa to fill the vacant seat. Chiesa, who has not expressed interest in becoming a career senator, will serve in the Senate until after the special election.[3]
Gov. Chris Christie announced in July 2013 that counties will be reimbursed for the additional costs of holding the special elections in 2013.[4][5] The Office of Legislative Services estimated the cost for renting polling places, transporting voting machines, printing and mailing ballots and hiring additional staff would be close to $24 million.[6]
Other candidates running include Independent candidates Robert Depasquale, Eugene Martin Lavergne, Stuart David Meissner, Pablo Olivera, Antonio N. Sabas and Edward Stackhouse, Jr..[7]
As of October 4, 2013, Booker outraised Lonegan 8-to-1 during the campaign, pulling in $11.2 million to Lonegan’s $1.35 million.[8] Booker also consistently led in the polls.
The winner of tomorrow's general election will serve the remainder of Lautenberg’s term that expires in January 2015.[3]. The winner will then face voters again in 2014 for a full six-year term.[2][3]
Democrats are heavily favored to retain the seat, as New Jersey has not elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate in 40 years.[9][10] A win for Booker in the special election would make him the country’s only elected black senator currently serving and would shift the balance of power in the Senate to a 55-45 advantage for Democrats, meaning Republicans would need to win six seats in next year’s midterm elections to gain control of the Senate.[1]
See also
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- United States Senate special election in New Jersey, 2013
- New Jersey elections, 2013
- United States Senate
- U.S. Senate delegation from New Jersey
- Special elections to the 113th United States Congress (2013-2014)
- State Poll Opening and Closing Times (2013)
External links
- New Jersey Division of Elections
- New Jersey 2013 Election Information
- Writ of Election
- Important dates for candidates
- Important dates for voters
- Official list of primary election candidates
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 NY Times, "Cory Booker, Newark’s Mayor, Handily Wins New Jersey Senate Primary," accessed October 13, 2013
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 NBC Politics, "Cory Booker wins Democratic primary in New Jersey," accessed October 13, 2013
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Daily Princetonian, "Aug. 13 Senate primary requires different campaign strategy, sets stage for October special election," accessed October 11, 2013 (dead link)
- ↑ State of New Jersey, "Memorandum from Governor Christie," accessed October 7, 2013
- ↑ WNYC, "Special Election Will Cost NJ Taxpayers - But How Much?" accessed October 7, 2013
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedelectioncost - ↑ New Jersey Elections Division, "Official General Election Candidates," accessed October 14, 2013
- ↑ NJ.com, "Booker raises 8 times more cash than Lonegan in U.S. Senate race," accessed October 14, 2013
- ↑ CBS News, "Cory Booker fends off Democratic challengers in N.J. debate" accessed October 6, 2013
- ↑ LA Times, "Cory Booker wins New Jersey's Democratic primary for Senate," accessed October 13, 2013
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