Cory Booker re-elected to U.S. Senate in landslide

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker was re-elected to a third six-year term Tuesday.

Booker defeated Republican opponent Justin Murphy, the former deputy mayor of Tabernacle, 62.1% to 35.3%.

The Democratic victory extended the Republicans’ losing streak in Senate races to 19. The last Republican elected to the Senate from the Garden State was Clifford Case in 1972.

Booker, who was first elected in October 2013 in a special election to succeed the late U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, was strongly favored to win this year’s contest, especially as Murphy struggled to raise money to fund a campaign. The senator raised 526 times more money than his opponent through Oct. 14,  $35.9 million to $68,188.

“I think my Almighty Creator God has made all currency on this planet allergic to me because it avoids me at everything I do in my life,” Murphy quipped during an October debate with Booker.

The outcome was never in doubt, allowing Booker to spend some of his time in other states supporting fellow Democratic candidates instead of campaigning in New Jersey. He was a much sought-after surrogate, helping to raise his national profile and gaining chits should he want to move up in Senate leadership or seek higher office.

Booker gained national attention for breaking the Senate filibuster record last year, holding the floor for more than 25 hours on March 31 and April 1 as he spoke against President Donald Trump’s policies.

He played a key role in shaping legislation to overhaul criminal justice and offer alternatives to incarceration. Trump signed that measure into law in 2018. Booker was a lead sponsor of a bill signed into law in 2022 by President Joe Biden that made lynching a federal hate crime after more than a century of failed efforts. And he has led the fight on Capitol Hill to remove the federal ban on cannabis.

Booker, who unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, is mentioned as a potential candidate in 2028. He already has a head start by building up a campaign bank account of $22.9 million through Oct. 14. That’s more than all the money he raised for his unsuccessful 2020 presidential campaign, not including the $3.6 million he transferred from his Senate campaign account at the time, and all of those funds can be used for a presidential run.