The race for Senate in New Jersey is no longer a runaway for Cory Booker, accor🔥ding to a poll released Tuesday.
The Quinnipiac University survey shoꦬwed the Democratic Newark mayor at 53 percent, to Republican Steve Lonegan’s 41 percent among likely voters.
Last month, Booker was ahea꧑d by 25 percentage points in a poll of﷽ all voters.
“This poll reveals what my supporters and I already knew — New Jerseಌy is not the hopelessly liberal state everyone thinks it is. We are on a path to victor💙y,” Lonegan said.
Booker’s sinking numbers follow recent stories about his extensive travels, personal business deals, increased crime in Newark﷽, and his tendency to exaggerate his past heroics.
On Sunday, Th💃e Post revealed that Booker’s tale of𝕴 a man who bled to death in his arms after being shot wasn’t completely true.
Booker has also admitted that “T-Bone,” a drug dealer he once helped, wasn’t a real person but a “compo🐭site” character.
Lonegan, who was endorsed by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, has gone after Booker for traipsing around the country — recently att🐼ending a Hollywood fund-raiser with A-listers Matt Damon and Ben Affleck — as a rash of murders plagued New Jersey’s largest c🤪ity.
Lonegan’ꦍs campaign also released a new ad warꩵning voters: “Don’t let him do to America, what he’s already done to Newark.”
The special election is Oct. 16.
“Maybe that ‘show horse vs. workhorse’ charge from Republican Steve Lonegan is having an impact,” said po🐠llster Mauricꦏe Carroll.
“But if it’s not a blow-out, it still looks like a comfortable lead for Booker. New Jersey is a blue ꦐstate and it hasn’t elected a Republican senator — let alone a conservative one — since Sen. Clifford Case in 1972,” he added.
Booker campaign spokesman Kevi𒆙n Griffis calle🎀d the poll “out of sync” with other surveys.
He also sa🌺id Lonegan’s gain didn’t blinꩲdside the Booker camp.
“We have expected things toꦏ get a little bit tighter as more Republicans come home to their party’s candidate,” he said.
The poll of 948 likely voters was conducted S𒉰ept. 19-😼22 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.