I wouldn't be so pessimistic about Booker's chances.
1. NJ is a clearly Democratic leaning state.
2. NJ Democrats have picked consistently poor quality candidates and won anyway.
3. Christie received only 48% of the vote against Jon Corzine.
4. Cory Booker is an extremely talented candidate, who can raise a ton of money.
5. A lot can happen between now and November 2013.
1. Christie's approval rating is around 55%
Certainly Christie is quite popular--though Booker is equally or perhaps even more popular. Gubernatorial races are generally less partisan than federal elections, but between two very popular candidates, it seems that the underlying political fundamentals would again become important. I think it's very hard to say who would win. One thing that is often overlooked about 2009 is the complete abandonment of Corzine by the NJ county machines (amusingly, out of staters often referred to Corzine as a machine politician--nothing could be further from the truth). Booker would not have the same problem.
