TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Democrat Cory Booker has won a second full term in the U.S. Senate in New Jersey's first mostly mail-in election, the Associated Press is projecting.
Booker, who won a special election in 2013 after the death of Democrat Frank Lautenberg and won his first full term in 2014, successfully fended off a challenge on Tuesday from Republican Rik Mehta, a business executive with a law degree and a doctorate in pharmacy.
The Associated Press also projects Joe Biden will win the presidential race in the Garden State, pocketing New Jersey's 14 electoral votes.
Their victories confirm Democrats' firm control of the state's presidential electors and the party's lock on Senate seats. The last Republican elected to the Senate was Clifford Case in 1972.
In an interview with WCBS 880 ahead of Election Day, Booker said he was feeling confident and looking forward to another six years in the Senate, vowing to fight for issues that impact New Jerseyans, such as fixing the tunnels under the Hudson River, as well as the country as a whole, including bringing manufacturing back to the United States.
Booker endorsed Biden in March following his own unsuccessful bid for the White House. Asked whether there might be a job for him in a possible Biden administration, Booker said that while he'd be flattered by an offer, his "full intention" is to be "team Biden from the U.S. Senate."
WCBS 880 contributed to this report