Cory Booker Almost Unbeatable in Senate Primary, Poll Says [POLL/AUDIO]

On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate primary will be held, giving Democrats and Republicans the chance to pick their nominees to run in October's U.S. Senate election. According to a new poll, one candidate remains ahead of the pack. A new Quinnipiac University poll released this morning clearly suggests things couldn't look much better for Democrat Cory Booker.

The mayor of Newark garners 54 percent of the Democratic vote from likely primary voters. U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone gets 17 percent, with 15 percent for U.S. Rep. Rush Holt and 5 percent for State Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver. Only 8 percent of voters remain undecided.

Among likely Republican primary voters, Steve Lonegan beats Alieta Eck 74 to 10 percent, with 13 percent undecided. In a general election match-up, Booker tops Lonegan 54 to 29 percent among registered voters.

"Unless the sky falls, Newark Mayor Cory Booker can start looking for a Washington apartment," said Mickey Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "He dominates both the Democratic primary and a general election against Steve Lonegan."

In the general election matchup, Booker leads among all but one group in every region of the state, ranging from a 46 to 38 percent lead among voters at the shore, and 72 to 14 percent among voters in urban areas. Booker tops Lonegan 81 to 5 percent among black voters, 61 to 12 percent among Hispanic voters and 48 to 35 percent among white voters.

The Democrat leads among all age groups, ranging from 47 to 35 percent among voters over 65 years old, and 60 to 24 percent among voters 30 to 44 years old. Lonegan gets the majority of support from only one group and as you might expect, it's Republicans. They back him 68 to 18 percent.

These primary numbers sound great for Booker and Lonegan, but Carroll wonders how many people will actually bother to vote.

"The first question is if voters will abandon the Shore for the day for this oddly-timed August primary," said Carroll. "The second question is if they'll take their eyes off the Governor and legislative races for the oddly-timed October vote for U.S. Senate."

From August 1 to 5, Quinnipiac surveyed 2,042 New Jersey voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.2 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones. The poll includes 388 likely Democratic primary voters with a margin of error of +/- 5 percentage points and 257 likely Republican primary voters with a margin of error of +/- 6.1 percentage points.