Cory Booker is a rock star. The Newark, New Jersey mayor is young and exciting. He heroically rescued a woman from a burning building. He was named America’s sexiest mayor. He is considered to be a rising star among Democrats and even a potential presidential candidate in the future and now he is exploring a run in the race for a U.S. Senate seat in New Jersey.

A run by the popular Booker could throw a wrench into the works of an opportunistic 2014 race for Republicans. Incumbent Democratic senator Frank Lautenberg will be 90 by the election, which means there is a good chance he will decline to run for another term. The lack of an incumbent often spells opportunity for the opposing party. In this case, generally blue New Jersey – whose governor is already a Republican – could split its senators between the two parties.

So far, the only major polling done on a potential Republican candidate was done in late November by Public Policy Polling with current New Jersey Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of State Kim Guadagno. (For the moment, I’ll consider her as a proxy for generic Republican opposition in this poll.) Guadagno polled neck and neck with lesser known potential Democrat candidates, Frank Pallone and Rob Andrews, and a solid, but closable, 15% behind the incumbent Lautenberg. Mayor Booker, however, has a commanding 23-point lead (52-29%).

This is unfortunate for a potential Guadagno run, as Booker is a likely opponent; he solidly beats out every other potential Democrat in the primary – including the incumbent Lautenberg and Congressman Frank Pallone, who has the backing of many New Jersey state party leaders – according to polls by PPP, Quinnipiac and others.

If Kim Guadagno does decide to make a run for the senate, it will be an uphill battle, especially if she faces Booker. However, there are two reasons to be optimistic. First, although most respondents (around 70 percent) do not have an opinion of her job performance, if she can associate herself with the Christie administration of which she is a part as she introduces herself to voters, she may be able to ride the governor’s coattails into the senate. Governor Chris Christie is far more popular among New Jersey voters than even Cory Booker, and that is despite a broadly favorable opinion of Booker by respondents. If Guadagno can tie the good things done in the Christie administration back to her in the minds of voters, it may be her key to closing the gap.

The second reason to be optimistic as a Republican in New Jersey is that the election is more than a year and a half away. And that’s an eternity in politics. Anything can happen.