Newark, N.J. Mayor Cory Booker (D) on Monday said he has yet to speak with Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), whose seat Booker will pursue in 2014, indicating he wants to give the 88-year-old incumbent “space to make his own decision.”
Appearing on CNN’s “Starting Point,” Booker said he was scheduled to meet with Lautenberg recently, but those plans fell through.
“I want to give him the space to make his own decision. I’ve announced my intention to run, but the reality is is we’ve got a good senator,” Booker said. “He’s been loyal. He’s been there for a long time. And I think he’s got a decision to make. So, I’m focusing on my job for now. And I hope to talk to him. We’ve reached out to him a number of times. In fact, I had a plane trip going down to meet with him, but unfortunately with a lot of the challenges going down in Washington, he had to cancel the meeting.”
Lautenberg has yet to announce if he will seek re-election, and Booker took a pass when asked if he would be open to a primary challenge to the five-term senator.
“I think it’s too even early to talk about those kind of hypotheticals because he hasn’t made his decision yet,” Booker said.
Watch the exchange:
