The Huffington Post is reporting that the Newark Mayor is talking with Democratic Party officials about a possible bid to oppose New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in 2013, when Christie comes up for re-election.
A quick excerpt from the article
Booker has reportedly been taking meetings with party chairs in the weeks ahead of the Democratic National Convention, which begins on September 3 in Charlotte, N.C. During these meetings, Booker and adviser Mark Matzen have expressed interest in challenging Gov. Chris Christie (R) next year.
This could be an interesting electoral matchup: The Republican Great White Hope for 2016, versus a rising star in the Democratic Party. A Booker victory would almost certainly put a major damper on Christie's Presidential ambitions. Further, it would mean that we could get Christie out of the Governors mansion, which is a big deal.
However, the glaring flaw with this plan, as noted within the HuffPo piece here, is the very warm and surprisingly friendly relationship between Christie and Booker. That alone could prove to be a handicap on any attempt to unseat Christie. Either way, it will be interesting to see whether he attempts to challenge Christie in 2013, or whether he waits for another year to try for a Senate seat in 2014.
I'm interested to see where this may go.
Edit 1: For those who still don't completely forgive him for the Bain comments, I understand entirely where you are coming from. But no matter what way you slice it, Booker would be a far superior Governor. If we can get guys like Christie out of the Governors mansions of the nation, it would be a net benefit. If Booker ends up running, I would hope a petty dispute with him over the Bain comment doesn't prevent you from helping remove Christie from office.
Plus, don't forget this gem from Mr. Booker.
He could be a good one.