Obama Endorses Cory Booker

Newark mayor is running for the Senate seat left vacant after Frank Lautenberg died

President Barack Obama endorsed Cory Booker, the Newark mayor and Democratic nominee in the New Jersey Senate race, in a statement released by the Booker campaign Wednesday morning.

Booker, who served as one of Obama's most prominent surrogates during his 2012 reelection campaign, is expected to win the special election next month, replacing the late Frank Lautenberg in the Senate.

In the statement, Obama praised Booker's work as Newark mayor and what he described as a lifelong career of taking on "tough challenges."