IT’S OFFICIAL!

Cory Booker Announces Senate Run

Newark Mayor going for Lautenberg's seat.

If anyone can save the Senate, its Newark’s hero mayor, Cory Booker. The Democratic politician, who can seemingly do no wrong, officially declared his candidacy today for the U.S. Senate seat left vacant after the death of Sen. Frank Lautenberg last week. At a press conference announcing his much-anticipated run, Booker acknowledged the gridlock in Congress and his critics (“Too much Twitter! Too much exposure!”), but said, “I do not run from challenges. I run towards them.” Booker will now move on to a three-way race against two Democratic congressmen, where he is a favorite to win. But will Washington change the down-to-earth leader? Not on Twitter at least, where he promised his 1.4 million followers that if elected, he’ll still respond to them on the social site.