New Jersey Senate race 2013: Will Cory Booker choose the soapbox or the Senate?, Liberals and TV producers are already salivating over the thought of outspoken Cory Booker becoming the junior senator from New Jersey.
But if he agrees to become the go-to counter voice against camera-friendly Republicans like Sens. Rand Paul and Ted Cruz — an opportunity Elizabeth Warren passed up to avoid violating the unwritten rule that a freshman should neither be seen or heard — some warn that his Senate career could be doomed.
Now Booker still has to win the special general election on Oct. 16 before he gets a new soapbox. But the Republican nominee, Steve Lonegan, is polling miles behind the Newark mayor, and both the GOP and Democrats in the state are treating Booker’s election as a foregone conclusion.
The media agree. On Wednesday, Slate’s Dave Weigel dubbed him “Sen. Cory Booker (D-Morning Joe).” The Washington Post’s Fix blog already declared he’ll be the “highest-profile Democratic senator.” And The New York Times, which has all but given up covering New Jersey regularly, splashed Booker’s photo across Page One with the headline, “One Step Closer to Washington.”
Booker upped his profile through his prolific use of Twitter, highly publicized acts of heroism (he once pulled a woman from a burning building) and rubbing elbows with the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Mark Zuckerberg.
And few who know him in New Jersey, or who have watched from a distance in Washington, expect him to arrive at the Capitol this fall and suddenly fall silent.
(QUIZ: Do you know Cory Booker?)
But questions still remain: Could he surprisingly fall in line with the Senate tradition that a freshman should keep quiet if that legislator ever wants to get anything done? Will he bother trying to figure out the inner workings of the institution? And what role would he play as only the fourth African-American elected to the chamber and one of two who would be serving?
“He’s really got to make an important decision upon entering the Senate and keep that commitment to himself,” former New Jersey Sen. Rob Torricelli told POLITICO. “Senators quickly discern whether you’re interested in hard work and learning about the nation’s problems and solutions. He would do best to come to the Senate and disappear for a while and simply learn and grow.”
Those close to Booker cautioned that the mayor is smart enough to assess the situation and likely to measure his media appearances against any fallout. Booker already has scaled back — since deciding to run for Senate, he’s only done a handful of national media appearances.
Yet a full cease-fire seems unlikely.
But if he agrees to become the go-to counter voice against camera-friendly Republicans like Sens. Rand Paul and Ted Cruz — an opportunity Elizabeth Warren passed up to avoid violating the unwritten rule that a freshman should neither be seen or heard — some warn that his Senate career could be doomed.
Now Booker still has to win the special general election on Oct. 16 before he gets a new soapbox. But the Republican nominee, Steve Lonegan, is polling miles behind the Newark mayor, and both the GOP and Democrats in the state are treating Booker’s election as a foregone conclusion.
The media agree. On Wednesday, Slate’s Dave Weigel dubbed him “Sen. Cory Booker (D-Morning Joe).” The Washington Post’s Fix blog already declared he’ll be the “highest-profile Democratic senator.” And The New York Times, which has all but given up covering New Jersey regularly, splashed Booker’s photo across Page One with the headline, “One Step Closer to Washington.”
Booker upped his profile through his prolific use of Twitter, highly publicized acts of heroism (he once pulled a woman from a burning building) and rubbing elbows with the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Mark Zuckerberg.
And few who know him in New Jersey, or who have watched from a distance in Washington, expect him to arrive at the Capitol this fall and suddenly fall silent.
(QUIZ: Do you know Cory Booker?)
But questions still remain: Could he surprisingly fall in line with the Senate tradition that a freshman should keep quiet if that legislator ever wants to get anything done? Will he bother trying to figure out the inner workings of the institution? And what role would he play as only the fourth African-American elected to the chamber and one of two who would be serving?
“He’s really got to make an important decision upon entering the Senate and keep that commitment to himself,” former New Jersey Sen. Rob Torricelli told POLITICO. “Senators quickly discern whether you’re interested in hard work and learning about the nation’s problems and solutions. He would do best to come to the Senate and disappear for a while and simply learn and grow.”
Those close to Booker cautioned that the mayor is smart enough to assess the situation and likely to measure his media appearances against any fallout. Booker already has scaled back — since deciding to run for Senate, he’s only done a handful of national media appearances.
Yet a full cease-fire seems unlikely.
