Jersey Fight: Sen. Frank Lautenberg, 88, faces a possible primary challenger in rising star Cory Booker, the mayor of Newark. Image by getty images

Cory Booker, the New Jersey mayor who is a rising star in the Democratic party, filed documents on Friday revealing his intention to run for the U.S. Senate in 2014, possibly setting up a primary challenge against 88-year-old Democratic incumbent Frank Lautenberg

Booker, the 43-year-old mayor of Newark, announced in December he would “explore the possibility” of running for Senate.

Lautenberg has yet to announce his intentions. His press office did not return a call seeking comment on Booker’s filing with the U.S. Federal Election Commission.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Lautenberg, who was diagnosed with a curable form of stomach cancer in 2010, has been senator for all but two years since 1982.

The Statement of Organization form named Booker’s committee “Cory Booker for Senate” and provided few details other than Booker’s name as candidate and the name of the committee treasurer, Judith Zamore, who signed the form.

The document was dated Jan. 7 and Jan. 8, but was received by the secretary of the Senate public records on Friday, according to a time stamp.

A survey by Public Policy Polling released in November found most New Jersey Democrats would like to see Lautenberg, who is the oldest sitting U.S. senator, retire at the end of his fifth term in 2014 rather than seek re-election.

The same survey found Booker leading the pack of potential Democratic candidates for the Senate seat, with six in 10 voters saying they want to see him run.

Booker had previously said he was also considering opposing New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie in this year’s gubernatorial election, but settled on the Senate option.

A Quinnipiac University poll released in November found two-thirds of New Jersey voters said Christie deserved to be re-elected, and a match-up between Christie and Booker had the Republican governor winning by 53 percent to 35 percent.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount