# NJ special election for US Senate (Booker vs. Lonegan) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 16, 2013, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nj-special-election-for-us-senate-booker-vs-lonegan/671398 "2013-10-16T15:03:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2013, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nj-special-election-for-us-senate-booker-vs-lonegan/671398/21 "2013-10-17T03:09:28Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > I think at one point Lonegan’s people tried to suggest Booker was gay because he didn’t want to motorboat some stripper. That was almost as successful as this week’s “Booker doesn’t really live in Newark!” scandal. Spoiler alert: he does, and there are years and years of public data, Tweets, and articles to prove it. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2013, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nj-special-election-for-us-senate-booker-vs-lonegan/671398/22 "2013-10-17T03:11:22Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > That was almost as successful as this week’s “Booker doesn’t really live in Newark!” scandal. Spoiler alert: he does, and there are years and years of public data, Tweets, and articles to prove it. :eek: A man who lives in Newark and **admits it publicly** is too shameless even for the United States Senate! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2013, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nj-special-election-for-us-senate-booker-vs-lonegan/671398/23 "2013-10-17T03:12:32Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > :eek: A man who lives in Newark and **admits it publicly** is too shameless even for the United States Senate! Maybe, but it kinda went without saying since he was the mayor of Newark… ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2013, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nj-special-election-for-us-senate-booker-vs-lonegan/671398/24 "2013-10-17T03:16:29Z")
Booker will be the third sitting black Senator, but he’s the first African-American to be elected to the Senate since Barack Obama. He’ll also have to run for re-election next year because he’s completing Lautenberg’s term. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2013, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nj-special-election-for-us-senate-booker-vs-lonegan/671398/25 "2013-10-17T03:36:03Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I’ll probably regret asking this, but, “motorboat”? 😕 Here, we’ll all just let you Google that one yourself 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2013, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nj-special-election-for-us-senate-booker-vs-lonegan/671398/26 "2013-10-17T03:39:09Z")
Grats to Senator Booker! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2013, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nj-special-election-for-us-senate-booker-vs-lonegan/671398/27 "2013-10-17T04:07:57Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Here, we’ll all just let you Google that one yourself 😃 ☹ Last time I tried that I found goatse! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2013, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nj-special-election-for-us-senate-booker-vs-lonegan/671398/28 "2013-10-17T04:09:02Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Maybe, but it kinda went without saying since he was the mayor of Newark… That **ain’t** no excuse! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2013, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nj-special-election-for-us-senate-booker-vs-lonegan/671398/29 "2013-10-17T13:33:26Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I’ll probably regret asking this, but, “motorboat”? 😕 To actually answer your question: Motorboating is when you put your head between a woman’s breasts (they need to be somewhat large for this to work) and shake your head back and forth while making a buzzing sound. Apparently this sounds like a motorboat going through the water. I think it’s just an excuse to put your face in some boobs ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2013, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nj-special-election-for-us-senate-booker-vs-lonegan/671398/30 "2013-10-17T13:42:59Z")
It looks like the final margin was 55%-44%. I’m not sure why the race turned out to be closer than people originally expected, but I am wondering if Booker knew he was going to win and spent the bare minimum on campaigning because he’s going to have to raise money and run again in a year. I read that he spent very little on TV advertising even in a short campaign. I take it back about three African-Americans in the Senate. There are still two because Mo Cowan isn’t there anymore. He was there from February to July, but Ed Markey replaced him after winning the special election for Kerry’s old seat. However there have been three different African-Americans in the Senate this year, and when Cowan took office, it was the first time there had been two African-American senators at the same time. Scott will also be running in a special election next year and then he’ll have to run again in 2016 if he wants a full term. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2013, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nj-special-election-for-us-senate-booker-vs-lonegan/671398/31 "2013-10-17T15:20:09Z")
I am a registered NJ Dem who voted yesterday. Obviously I voted from Booker as Lonegan is nuts. He might have had a chance in South Carolina but he was toast here. People were not pleased at Christie’s messing with the election date. I only knew about it from upteen phone calls and a reminder from my husband. I remain amazed that Christie is doing so well in the polls. Property taxes are up all over this state and Christie has done little to stem the tide. He’s also a crude jackass who manages to embody all the ugly stereotypes that people have about residents of this state. Yet many of my neighbors apparently find him wonderful. The general perception is that he’s done the best he can with this state and that the alternatives are far worse. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2013, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nj-special-election-for-us-senate-booker-vs-lonegan/671398/32 "2013-10-17T15:44:22Z")
> [@LavenderBlue](#): > > . . . all the ugly stereotypes that people have about residents of this state. Down in Trenton, there is a bar, Where the bums come from near and far. They come by truck, they come by car, The lousy bums of New Jersey. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2013, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nj-special-election-for-us-senate-booker-vs-lonegan/671398/33 "2013-10-22T10:50:03Z")
Wow, wow, wow, is Lonegan a tool [October 4, 2013](http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20131003/NJNEWS11/310030057/) > [@](#): > > If some people are inconvenienced by the shutdown of the federal government in order to drive this issue, to drive this debate, to stop the implementation of this health care system before it causes more problems, then that’s a battle we need to have now. I would be holding the line on it until we can make that happen, [October 22, 2013](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/steven-lonegan-shutdown-is-why-i-lost-to-booker) > [@](#): > > There is no doubt in my mind or in the minds of any of my campaign staff that the shutdown cost me the election We in NJ dodged a very slow, very obvious, bullet on this one. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2013, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nj-special-election-for-us-senate-booker-vs-lonegan/671398/34 "2013-10-22T13:02:46Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Wow, wow, wow, is Lonegan a tool > > [October 4, 2013](http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20131003/NJNEWS11/310030057/) > [October 22, 2013](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/steven-lonegan-shutdown-is-why-i-lost-to-booker) > We in NJ dodged a very slow, very obvious, bullet on this one. I cannot believe that the race was only won by 10 points. On the one hand, you have a superhero who saves people or their dogs or something from fires, calls people personally, interacts with individuals on twitter and elsewhere, and has tons of name recognition. On the other hand, there’s a tea party patriot, which may work well in Texas or Oklahoma, but I thought had no real foothold in the Northeast, with little or no name recognition. At the end of the day, it was 55% to 45% or something. WTF? Personally, I was tempted to vote for Ed the Barber. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2013, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nj-special-election-for-us-senate-booker-vs-lonegan/671398/35 "2013-10-22T13:13:50Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > At the end of the day, it was 55% to 45% or something. WTF? It was a special election held on a Wednesday in October, which was a recipe for low turnout. And I still think Booker knew he had this race won and didn’t put the pedal to the metal. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nj-special-election-for-us-senate-booker-vs-lonegan/671398.md?page=1)