Booker Campaign Calls Lonegan Aide’s Comments ‘Disgraceful And Demeaning’

Newark N.J. Mayor Cory Booker gestures as he speaks before first lady Michelle Obama at the Partnership for a Healthier America's second Building a Healthier Future Summit on childhood obesity, Friday, March 8, 2013,... Newark N.J. Mayor Cory Booker gestures as he speaks before first lady Michelle Obama at the Partnership for a Healthier America's second Building a Healthier Future Summit on childhood obesity, Friday, March 8, 2013, at George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium in Washington. MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

A spokeswoman for New Jersey Democratic Senate candidate Cory Booker on Friday evening slammed statements made earlier in the week by an aide for his Republican rival, Steve Lonegan.

“These comments are disgraceful, and demeaning, and beneath even the incredibly low bar set by the Lonegan campaign thus far. If you want insight into the kind of senator Mr. Lonegan would be, start here,” Booker campaign spokeswoman Silvia Alvarez said.

In an interview with TPM on Thursday, Rick Shaftan, a senior staffer on Lonegan’s campaign, made a series of raunchy comments about Booker’s personal life and performance in the Senate special election. Among other things, Shaftan criticized Booker for a Twitter exchange with a stripper that he characterized as “like what a gay guy would say.”

Latest Livewire
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: