Internal polling conducted by New Jersey senatorial candidate Steve Lonegan’s campaign and obtained by National Review Online shows Newark mayor Cory Booker’s lead slipping to six points, 48 to 42. A Quinnipiac poll released last week showed Booker leading Lonegan by 12 points, and even that poll was considered a positive sign for the former Bogota mayor, as the earliest tallies showed Booker ahead by over 20 points.
The latest internal numbers for Lonegan also show Booker’s negatives inching up. “Booker is 37-27 net favorable, a major shift from the 42-18 numbers he held two weeks ago,” a memo from pollsters to the campaign reads. Nonetheless, the pollsters find significant advantages for the celebrity mayor, who, they note, is “still getting a significant share of the suburban and Republican vote.”
Regardless, it is clear that Booker — who was expected to waltz to victory in this race — now has a real competition on his hands.