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In N.J. Senate race, it's star power vs. firepower

Contributors get a bang for their buck with Booker or Lonegan

Republican Steve Lonegan, left, takes on Democrat Cory Booker in the Oct. 16 special election for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the death of Frank Lautenberg. (AP photos)
Republican Steve Lonegan, left, takes on Democrat Cory Booker in the Oct. 16 special election for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the death of Frank Lautenberg. (AP photos)Read more
    by Sam Wood, PHILLY.COM
    Published 

One candidate is counting on Hollywood star power to raise money to win the Oct. 16 special election to fill New Jersey's open U.S. Senate seat.

His opponent? He's calling on big guns of a different sort.

Matt "Bourne" Damon and Ben "Batman" Affleck are uniting with some of Hollywood's top power brokers in Los Angeles on Sept. 23 to raise campaign cash in for Newark Mayor Cory Booker, the Democratic Party's candidate for Senate.

A fundraiser for Booker's opponent Steve Lonegan, scheduled for Sept. 21, will rely on firepower of a different sort. And contributors to Lonegan's campaign will be able to do a bit more than just shoot the breeze with the candidate.

Lonegan, the former mayor of Bogota, N.J. and the GOP's candidate for the senate seat, will attend a "Fundraiser Shooting Event" at the South Jersey Shooting Club in Winslow sponsored by the New Jersey Second Amendment Society.

According to a report by the Sunlight Foundation:

As opposed to a more run-of-the-mill congressional fundraiser, (the Lonegan event will offer) contributors a clear --and immediate -- return on investment. Instead of tying contribution levels to cheesy titles like 'Friend' or 'Platinum Level Sponsor,' Lonegan is literally providing a bigger bang for bigger bucks: The amount donors give directly corresponds to the amount of firepower they'll get your hands on at the firing range.

Instead of fish or steak, attendees have the option to choose from rifles or pistols. For $40, a contributor gets to blast five rounds from a Desert Eagle 50, or 20 rounds from an AR15. Guests also have the option of paying $50 for the chance to take one of the event's two "mystery rifles" for a spin.

For those with deep pockets, throwing  down $125 will buy five shots from the "Barret M107 .50BMG."

Two days later, Damon and Affleck will be among the hosts of a decidedly more conventional affair for Booker at the L.A. home of supermarket mogul Ron Burkle.  According to the Hollywood Reporter, a contribution of $1,000 to $10,000 will allow party-goers to rub elbows with actress Jennifer Garner; former Disney CEO Michael Eisner; film producers JJ Abrams and Jerry Weintraub; Lady Gaga's manager (and West Philly native) Troy Carter; Netflix's Ted Sarandos and his wife, U.S. Ambassador Nicole Avant.

The September event is Booker's second star-studded West Coast soiree. Hizzoner raised $500,000 during a March event that was hosted by Steven Spielberg, actor Bruce Willis, director Rob Reiner, Abrams and Weintraub.