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Senator-elect Cory Booker, right, and Sen. Robert Menendez, left, will make New Jersey the first state to have a black and Latino senator.
(Robert Sciarrino/The Star-Ledger)
NEWARK — When Newark Mayor Cory Booker joins U.S Sen. Robert Menendez in Washington, New Jersey will become the only state with two minority lawmakers in the nation's upper house.
It also becomes the first state to have an African-American and Hispanic senator sit simultaneously.
What that means for New Jersey depends on whom you ask. Some say it won’t make a difference. Others say their ethnicities can’t help but inform their policies.
But one thing can be certain, New Jersey voters are somewhat unique in their embrace of ethnic diversity.
"It shows the relative strength of both the black and Latino electorate in New Jersey politics," said Andra Gillespie, a political science professor at Emory University. "New Jersey is a state that has a robust Democratic Party ,and you’ve got whites who are willing to vote for candidates of color as well."
Menendez and Booker both noted the historic aspect of their positions this week.
"As the first Hispanic American senator from New Jersey, I join New Jerseyans in celebrating the historic election of Cory Booker, the first African American senator from our state," Menendez said in a statement. "I’m proud that we have shown America that our state — and by extension our politics — is, indeed, a melting pot."
In an interview with NJTV, Booker said racial politics was not a significant issue on the campaign trail.
"They weren’t caring about the color of my skin; they were like, ‘What are you going to do for us? How are you going to help? How are you going to partner? How are you going to bring resources?’ " Booker said. "I mean, I love my state for that reason. At the end of the day we are diverse: Indian, Asian, black, white, Latino. And we’re getting more diverse by the second."
Clement Price, a distinguished professor of history at Rutgers-Newark, said Menendez and Booker have had an easy time appealing to nonminority voters because they’re images are not too closely tied to the color of their skin.
"These guys have never siloed themselves in terms of their ethnicity," Price said. "Cory (has) presented himself as an elected official who reaches across the proverbial aisle. ... He’s a conglomeration of elements that make him less of black senator than multifaceted in terms of his identity."
What Booker’s ethnicity translates into in terms of his policies is up for debate. "Honestly, I’m not sure it means a lot," said Jennifer Duffy, senior editor of the Cook Political Report. "Does it mean anything that California, New Hampshire and Washington each have two female senators?"
But Gillespie, who wrote the book, "The New Black Politician: Cory Booker, Newark, and Post-Racial America," said Booker is likely to be drawn into advocating for policies that disproportionately affect black Americans. "There will probably be a lot attention and some pressure from black politicians to speak out on certain issues," she said.
And while it may not seem like a big deal in New Jersey to elect Booker — who’s statewide popularity was one of his biggest electoral advantages — a black Democrat winning statewide office is still a rarity in America.
"The comparison would be looking at places like Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi where you’ve got large black populations but they can’t seem to elect black candidates to statewide office," Gillespie said. "Whites in those states are overwhelmingly Republican."