And The Winner Is

Cory Booker has been elected to retain New Jersey's U.S. Senate seat, defeating Republican Justin Murphy in the November 3 general election. ​

The Race

With 95 percent of votes reported as of November 4, The New York Times showed Booker leading Murphy 1,781,640 to 1,013,579, according to its results page; those figures are not final.

New Jersey's Division of Elections does not post official or unofficial statewide results on election night and directs readers to county sources.

Joanne Kuniansky of the Socialist Workers Party and Veronica Fernandez of the End the Corruption! party were both also on the New Jersey general election ballot, and both lost.

Money and Outside Spending

Booker's total receipts of $35.91 million through October 14 exceeded Murphy's $68,189 by more than $35.84 million. The cash-on-hand contrast ran in the same direction: Booker held $22.9 million as of October 14, while Murphy held $10,191, a ratio of more than 2,200 to one.

Outside spending was minimal on both sides, as of November 4.

Advertisement
  • Democratic-side independent expenditures in support of Booker totaled $135.34; no outside spending in opposition to either candidate was recorded.
  • on the Republican side, the Unity & Justice Fund, a super PAC, made two transactions supporting Murphy, each for $2,925.72, dated Oct. 30 and Nov. 2, totaling $5,851.44.
  • UnidosUS Action PAC, a super PAC, reported a $3,000 expenditure supporting Booker's campaign, dated October 30.
  • New Jersey Right to Life Committee Federal PAC filed a $1,059.61 transaction in support of Murphy on October 5.

Murphy won the Republican primary on June 2 with 33.36 percent of the vote in a certified four-way race, edging Richard Tabor by 10,357 votes out of 246,650 cast.

Robert Lebovics spent $178,219 in the Republican primary yet received 10.65 percent of the vote, the lowest share among the four Republican primary candidates. Alex Zdan lost the Republican primary with 26.83 percent of the vote.

The Incumbent's Record

Booker has served in the Senate for approximately 13 years, having first taken office in 2013.

In the 119th Congress, Booker sponsored S.5687, the Presidential Pardon Integrity Act, and S.2018, a bill to modify certain limitations and exclusions relating to the provision of certain services by certain federally funded health centers.

Pre-Election Indicators

One well-documented direct attack came in August. Booker condemned Murphy's remarks about Islam, calling them "bigotry" and "vile," according to Booker's post on X as quoted and linked by POLITICO on August 31. That characterization is Booker's claim; POLITICO reported that Murphy said at a forum he meant "radical Islam," not Muslims generally. In an October debate, the candidates generally eschewed personal attacks, according to the New Jersey Monitor's October 8 debate report.

All three major handicappers rated the race in Booker's favor before election day.

  • Cook Political Report, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and Inside Elections each rated the race Solid Democratic as of November 3 per the race record's consensus rating; Cook's page is dated November 2.
  • Kalshi's prediction market gave Booker a 99.8 percent probability of winning on a volume of 561,622, according to the Kalshi market page.

New Jersey certifies its results through county boards of election. A certified statewide total and final margin will be available once that process is complete.

Access the Legis1 platform for comprehensive political news, data, and insights.

Spot something wrong? Report an issue with this article