A new poll shows a majority of New Jersey voters support Cory Booker for U.S. Senate, and they expect he will win a special election next month.
The Rutgers-Eagleton poll out Wednesday finds 64 percent of likely voters support Booker, while 29 percent back Republican Steve Lonegan. Poll director David Redlawsk says Booker "appears to be building an insurmountable lead."
"While special elections are notoriously hard to predict, given uncertainties about turnout, Booker’s name recognition, celebrity-type status and stances on issues that align more with New Jersey’s 'blue' political climate seem to be driving momentum toward him and away from Lonegan," said Redlawsk.
Most respondents, including Republicans and those who support Lonegan, think Booker will win. The poll finds the Newark mayor, who is a regular on talk and entertainment shows, benefits from name recognition.
Nearly two-thirds of respondents have a positive impression of Booker, compared with 22 percent for Lonegan.
The survey of 462 likely voters was conducted from Sept. 3-9 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
