Senate Candidates Set Sights On Cory Booker

Written by Keith Brown

Newark Mayor Cory Booker is a marked man.

Even Oprah Winfrey is lending her name to his campaign in a fundraiser scheduled for next month.

And with just less than a month left before the primary election, his competitors – U.S. Reps. Frank Pallone (D-6) and Rush Holt (D-12) and state Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-34) – have Booker in their sights.

Pallone in his first web ad released last week and in press releases has been loudly touting the endorsement of the Lautenberg family over Booker and criticizing Booker for agreeing to only two debates prior to the primary.

"Pallone knows that gimmicks and celebrity status won't get you very far in the real battles that Democrats face in the future," says the endorsement from the Lautenberg family. 

And in a 30-second spot released Monday, Pallone retreads his the working man image in the first web ad, punctuating the spot with the line:

"Let the other guys take the limo,'' Pallone says.

Holt sent out a mailer over the weekend taking veiled swipe at the two-term Newark mayor.

"Rush Holt believes we need more than bipartisan photo-ops," the flyer reads. "We need fact-based solutions."

And in a teleconference on Monday, Holt jabbed Booker for getting the majority of his campaign money outside of New Jersey. Booker had previously released a statement touting a $4.6 million haul since March, with about 7,000 donors – about 2,000 from New Jersey.

"Three-quarters of (Booker’s donors) – I think it’s roughly something like that- were from out of state," Holt said in a teleconference Monday. "I thought ‘Oh, he’s bragging about that?'"

Holt did not say exactly how much he raised or from where the donations have come, but said as of two weeks ago he had at least $1 million cash on hand.

“I would say I have more grassroots support than any of the candidates in New Jersey,” Holt said.

Oliver, who until last week has been the quietest of the quartet, needled Booker over his stance on Social Security on Twitter and in a fundraising email over the weekend.

On the tech-savvy mayor’s favorite online platform, Oliver took Booker to task for posting on Twitter a quote from Ezra Bayda.

“A sense of entitlement guarantees that you will eventually see yourself as a victim,’’ Booker posted on Friday.

Oliver pounced.

“Does this mean you would agree to cuts to Social Security & Medicare?’’ Oliver asked Booker in a Twitter message. “Or, would you take all cuts to SS & Med off the table?’’

Booker did not answer. Oliver persisted, later posting that as a Senator she would “never, ever vote to cut Social Security and Medicare.”

She used the same line in a fundraising email sent Saturday and included the full Twitter exchange.

“I saw something on Twitter yesterday that I just couldn't believe from one of my opponents, so I responded with an important question that I think needs answering,” Oliver said.

The winner of the Aug. 13 primary likely will face off in the Oct. 16 general election against Republican Steve Lonegan, former Bogota mayor and Tea Party favorite.

Lonegan, who leads his sole opponent, Parsippany physician Alieta Eck, by a huge margin -- 62 percent to 5 percent, in the latest poll -- has also began taking pot shots at Booker.