In a development that was widely ignored (by me, too) amidst yesterday’s drama, New Jersey held a special Senate election that was won by Democrat Corey Booker. Booker’s apparent final margin was just over ten points, which according to the standard definition, represents a “landslide.” But partly because of the hype surrounding Booker for much of his career, and partially because a significant number of progressive opinion-leaders join conservatives in really disliking the guy, his win will almost certainly be evaluated as underwhelming.
The Democratic margin in the Senate, BTW, has now returned to 55-45, which may prove handy in the potentially turbulent remainder of this Congress. And Booker’s election also means that the number of African-Americans in the Senate matches its all-time high of two, briefly attained earlier this year before Massachusetts appointee Mo Cowan was replaced by Ed Markey.
