Frank Pallone Senate Run Could Pose Competition For Cory Booker

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) said Thursday he is seriously considering running for the U.S. Senate in 2014, making him a possible challenger to Newark Mayor Cory Booker (D), the Asbury Park Press reports.

“I’m pursuing that and working on it on a daily basis,” Pallone said at a news conference. “It’s a very important part about what I want to do in the future.”

Pallone has represented New Jersey's sixth district since 1988.

In February, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) announced he would not be seeking reelection.

But in the month before Lautenberg made his announcement, Booker filed paper with the Federal Election Committee -- the first step toward pursuing a Senate seat. Booker has said he won't make an official statement about a Senate run until after the 2013 New Jersey gubernatorial race.

Pallone also said he won't be publicly declaring until after that race, hoping to focus his efforts on getting a Democrat elected to the governor's seat.

"You probably know that none of us have actually announced that we’re running because we really want to concentrate on the governor’s race and the state legislative races between now and November” Pallone said, according to PolitickerNJ.