Codey Endorses Booker For U.S. Senate

Written By Keith Brown

Newark Mayor Cory Booker on Tuesday received a boost to his campaign for U.S. Senate when he picked up the endorsement of state Sen. Richard Codey (D-27).

Codey, who served as governor from 2004 to 2006 following the resignation of former Gov. Jim McGreevey, praised Booker for his work in Newark, saying that Booker is “the right person at the right time.”

"For more than a decade, Cory Booker has worked tirelessly to bring people together and find solutions to the challenges facing Newark families,” Codey said in a release. “That's exactly the kind of leadership that our state needs in Washington right now."

 “I’m grateful for the support of Governor Codey, someone who worked with distinction to guide New Jersey through a difficult chapter in its history,’’ Booker said in a release. “His continued advocacy for mental health awareness, including his work on postpartum depression, has helped thousands of people across New Jersey, and has raised the public profile of these crucial issues nationally.” 

Booker is the frontrunner in a race for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat of late Sen. Frank Lautenberg. He’s vying for the seat against U.S. Reps. Rush Holt (D-12) and Frank Pallone (D-6) as well as state Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-34) in the Aug. 13 primary.

The winner will face one of two GOP contenders—Steve Lonegan, former mayor of Bogota, or Alieta Eck, a Somerset County physician in the Oct. 16 special general election.