Booker Faces Newark Crime Wave Amid Campaign

Democratic Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker has to focus on a surge in crime in his city with six weeks left in his campaign for a U.S. Senate seat.

The state's largest city recorded its ninth homicide in as many days Tuesday.

At a campaign event Wednesday, Booker announced the city is working on a program to put more police on the streets. He calls the run of violence "unacceptable" and has outlined plans to extend the summer deployment of increased patrols and deploy additional police to target gun violence.

Booker is a rising star in the Democratic Party. His U.S. Senate opponent, Republican Steve Lonegan, has frequently accused him of having spent too much time building a national profile and not enough on Newark's problems.

The special Senate election is Oct. 16.

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