The Democrats look well-positioned to expand their majority in the U.S. Senate next week as Newark Mayor Cory Booker has a solid lead in the polls over former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan, the Republican candidate, in a special election in New Jersey. The seat is currently held by U.S. Sen. Jeffrey Chiesa, R-N.J., who was appointed to the seat after the death of longtime U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J.
Quinnipiac University released a poll of likely voters on Wednesday which finds Booker taking 53 percent while Lonegan follows with 41 percent. Only 5 percent remain undecided as the race enters its final week, while 1 percent support other candidates.
Independents slightly lean to Lonegan, 50 percent to 44 percent, and 87 percent of Republicans back their candidate while 92 percent of Democrats support Booker. White voters are divided, with 49 percent backing the Republican and 46 percent supporting the Democrat, while 93 percent of blacks are for Booker.
The poll finds Bookers lead rests on women voters who break the Democrats way by a large margin, with 62 percent backing him and only 31 percent behind Lonegan. A slight majority of men -- 51 percent -- support Lonegan while 44 percent are for Booker.
"It's still not the predicted blow-out, but with a week to go, Newark Mayor Cory Booker hangs on to a nice, if not exactly comfortable, double-digit lead," said Maurice Carroll, the director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
Carroll noted that Bookers tweets to a stripper arent impacting the race and pointed to the Democrats support with women. A large majority -- 76 percent -- of those surveyed say the tweets are not a legitimate issue. Despite the gender gap in the election, 79 percent of men and 73 percent of women think Bookers tweets arent a major issue.
"Can a U.S. Senate candidate exchange Twitter messages with a stripper? Apparently so, at least in New Jersey," Carroll said. "Three-quarters of voters think it's a nonissue.
Carroll suggested Bookers financial advantage has helped propel him to the lead in the Garden State.
"Money talks, at least on TV, Carroll said. Booker's on a lot and Lonegan only a little, and almost a third of New Jerseyans haven't seen enough of Lonegan to make an up-or-down judgment."
The Quinnipiac poll of 899 likely New Jersey voters was taken from Oct. 5-7 and had a margin of error of +/- 3.3 percent.
A poll from Rasmussen Reports released on Tuesday showed the exact same results, with Booker taking 53 percent, Lonegan garnering 41 percent, with 1 percent supporting other candidates and 5 percent still undecided.
The Rasmussen poll of 1,000 likely New Jersey voters was taken on Oct. 7 and had a margin of error of +/- 3 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinDerbySSN.
