TRENTON, N.J. – In a race for U.S. Senate that that touched upon a candidate's tweets with a stripper and a political strategist's profanity-laced rant, perhaps it's only fitting that the outcome will be decided on a Wednesday in October.
The two-month campaign in New Jersey between Democrat Cory Booker and Republican Steve Lonegan ends amid a lingering federal government shutdown, underscoring the different approaches each would take as a senator.
Booker, Newark's high-profile mayor, circulated a petition to end the shutdown and accused Congress of failing voters by not finding a way to work together.
Lonegan supports the shutdown fight, arguing that the Affordable Care Act should be delayed a year and objecting to the concept of government-directed health insurance.
The campaign has played out under a compressed schedule for the seat held by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, a liberal Democrat, until his death in June.
Republican Gov. Chris Christie appointed a GOP caretaker and ordered the election held Oct. 16, the soonest date the law allowed following an unprecedented August primary.
