Cory Booker, the Democratic mayor of Newark, N.J., is considering a run against New Jersey GOP Gov. Chris Christie in 2013, according to
The New York Observer.
Booker and his political consultant Mark Matzen are getting together with county Democratic chairmen to let them know about Booker’s interest, party sources told the paper. The mayor plans to make his decision by December, they said.
Many Democrats view Booker as their best – and perhaps only – chance to take down the popular Christie, who is giving the keynote speech at the Republican convention next week. Booker himself will speak at the Democratic convention in September.
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“He’s the most viable candidate who comes to mind at this moment,” Charlotte DeFilippo, chairwoman of the Union County Democratic Committee, told The Observer. Influential state Sen. Ray Lesniak also supports Booker.
His candidacy is by no means a certainty, one party source says. “I don’t know what he ultimately plans to do,” this source told The Observer.
In May, the Newark Mayor upset President Barack Obama, whom Booker strongly supports, when he upbraided the president’s campaign for criticizing the private equity firm Bain Capital. Bain was co-founded by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Booker subsequently took back his remarks.
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