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Democrat Cory Booker Re-elected to US Senate

New Jersey voters returned Democratic incumbent Sen. Cory Booker's to Washington for his first full term Tuesday, extending the party's firm grip on the office.

Booker, the former Newark mayor, defeated Republican challenger Jeff Bell, a conservative with low name recognition whose signature issue was backing the dollar through the gold standard.

Booker's victory comes despite a national Republican effort to cast President Barack Obama, whose approval ratings are sagging, and congressional Democrats as boogeymen. The approach failed in New Jersey, which voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012 and has not elected a Republican to the Senate since 1972.

Booker won a special election last year for the seat that was vacated after the death of Democratic U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg.

Though voters have alternated electing Republicans and Democrats as governor and the state's U.S. House delegation is roughly split, Booker's win keeps both Senate seats — Democrat Bob Menendez holds the other post — in Democratic hands.

The 45-year-old Booker focused his campaign on bipartisanship, highlighting his work with Republicans in Washington in cable TV ads. During his first year in the Senate, he struggled to pass signature legislation, but he did co-write a pilot program aimed at veterans with traumatic brain injuries included in legislation passed.

I'm not going down to Washington to be a partisan," Booker said in a recent interview. "I feel really blessed to be in the position and really excited about the future."

Booker spent Tuesday traveling the state. He voted early in Newark, then headed south to Camden and also stopped in Trenton. A prolific Twitter user, Booker filled his timeline with a mix of selfies and messages, some thanking supporters, telling opponents he "sincerely" loved them and saying he would work his heart out to earn voters' trust. He ended the day back in Newark.

Booker's win never seemed in doubt. Bell returned to New Jersey, where he defeated incumbent Republican Sen. Clifford Case in the 1972 Senate primary, from suburban Virginia where he lived for three decades. He served as the policy director of a conservative think tank and was a speechwriter for Ronald Reagan, too.

Bell conceded that he had been away from the state for a long time, but wanted to provide voters with a clear contrast in the election. He said he's satisfied with the campaign he ran and that he would like to stay in New Jersey.

"I feel happy. I really had a great time. I've been campaigning for nine months, and I really love the people of New Jersey and their willingness to listen," he said.

With his celebrity, overflowing campaign account and electoral advantage, Booker overshadowed Bell. Still, he said he ran his campaign as if he were behind. The latest Monmouth University poll showed him leading Bell by 14 points.

The contest for money between the candidates in a year that saw record spending on elections nationally has not been close. In the end, Booker had $2.6 million on hand compared with Bell's $117,000. Unlike in last year's special election, which saw more than $1 million in outside spending, this year's contest saw roughly a quarter of that spending, with much of it going to aid Bell.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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