WASHINGTON — There’s a Jersey brawl brewing for the national political conventions.
Democrats yesterday said telegenic Newark Mayor Cory Booker will present the party platform at their national convention in Charlotte, NC — just days after New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie delivers the keynote address for Republicans in Tampa, Fla.
It’s a brash move to try to elevate Booker on the national stage, tapping a young rising star in the party who is laying the groundwork to battle Christie, who is up for re-election in 2013 and is viewed as presidential timber in the future.
The announcement came as word broke in Jersey political circles that Booker had met with county chairs and other bigwigs about a possible run against Christie.
One Democratic county chair said Booker sought a meeting with him last week and told him he was mulling a run against Christie and would make a decision in December.
A top Democrat close to President Obama said Booker was back in good stead following a flap when he blasted Obama’s attacks on Mitt Romney’s former investment-banking firm, Bain Capital, as “nauseating.”
“Cory Booker continues to be a close ally of the president. He continues to work hard to get our message out,” the insider said.
Christie has been working hard prepping for his speech — a plum gift from Romney. The prime-time slot next week provides an opportunity for Christie to build his profile and possibly run for president in 2016 if Romney falters this year.
“It’s funny to me that people are so fascinated with what I’m doing next,” Christie said on his call-in radio show this week. “I like what I’m doing now.”
Christie is also tamping down talk he would land a key slot in a Romney Cabinet as the nation’s top law-enforcement officer.
“I’m telling you now, I have no interest in being in a Romney Cabinet. I just have no interest in being attorney general,” he said.
“For Christie, its his debut for 2016. The Democrats, I think, have always looked upon Cory Booker as a rising star. He certainly, among younger African- American politicians, stands out.”
Booker responded to a report by Politicker NJ that he was canvassing Jersey bigs about a run for governor, saying he’s just trying to boost Obama.
There will be “a lot of things to consider,” Booker said on WGBO’s “Newark Today.” He said that lots of people are asking him about a run for governor but that “my response is that those decisions have to wait.”
Charlotte De Fillipo, chairwoman of the Union County Democratic Committee, said that she hadn’t met with Booker to discuss it but that she’d like him to take on Christie.
“He has the ability to raise money. He certainly has the intellect and the drive,. Those are requisites,” De Fillipo said. “I’m not sure who else will be.It’s a long way between now and next year, but he makes an entrancing candidate.”
Additional reporting by Carl Campanile and Post Wires