Newark Mayor Cory Booker (D) charged Monday that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was "vulnerable" to a reelection bid, despite recent polling showing the Republican governor with record-high approval.
"Christie is vulnerable, as it should be, because there's a lot of issues in the state he's not falling in line with," Booker told CNN on Monday. "From women's issues, environmental issues, from really going in a balanced way."
Booker, a rising star in the Democratic Party who was given a prominent speaking spot at the national convention this summer, said this Sunday he is weighing a challenge of Christie or a bid for the U.S. Senate. But Christie has seen his poll numbers skyrocket in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, receiving high marks for his response to the storm.
A poll released last week by Rutgers-Eagleton gave Christie a 53-43 edge over Booker in a hypothetical head-to-head match-up, and comes as a separate poll from Quinnipiac University showed Christie with a 72 percent approval rating in his state. That's the highest approval rating on record for a New Jersey governor.
Those numbers are likely to dip some as the glow from Christie's hurricane response fades. But New Jersey will hold its gubernatorial election next year, giving Christie momentum heading into the race.
If Booker opts against a challenge of Christie, he could make a bid for the U.S. Senate. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) is at 89 the oldest member of the upper chamber, and is reported to be considering retirement rather than running again in 2014.
"I'm putting a lot of people I trust around me, trying to make the decision based simply on this: where I think I can make the most difference in the city I love and the state I love and the nation I pledged my life to," Booker told CNN.
