Pelosi takes the stage at the 2019 N.J. Democratic State Committee conference in Atlantic City. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media)

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The folks at the event center at Harrah’s Friday night came for a show.

It's the annual N.J. Democratic State Committee conference, and Nancy freaking Pelosi is here (in New Jersey! Really! Amidst impeachment talk!).

Not only that, but presidential candidate Cory Booker is here — not just, ya know, regular ole Senator Cory Booker from years past.

I’ve never been to the conference before, but I’m told it’s much more business as usual (what? policy and campaign strategy don’t excite you?) than tonight’s seriously well-timed high-stakes impeach-a-ganza.

The turnout was the best in years by far, with 2,000-plus attendees. A bunch of the state’s VIP legislators stayed home, due in part to the Murphy-Sweeney feud, and the crowd was packed with anyone who could shell out $49 for a ticket.

It was all bigger, more important, more high-profile than ever, a chance for New Jersey to have a moment in the national circus. But if you put Cory, Nancy and Phil in a room, do you get genuine Democratic magic or just a hangover? I was here to find out.

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Rep. Bill Pascrell with Booker. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media)

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Booker the appetizer

While Pelosi played the queen of the night, Booker, as New Jersey’s Democratic prince, was the opening act.

The crowd erupted when he merely walked in for his first speech as part of a panel, then lost it again when he was introduced by Vice Chair Peg Schaffer, who called him “adorable.” She went on about Newark’s rise, said he was a champion in D.C., and that even though he’s taken a lot of heat over that Spartacus moment – cue audience laughter — he made us proud.

She closed with: “It is my hope that one day we all get to say, let’s welcome President Cory Booker.”

Roars.

You wouldn’t know Booker is fourth in the polls in his own state from this warm hug of a crowd. And if the senator has lost any steam in his battle to break out, they were here to give him a homecoming pep rally and send him back on the road with gusto.

At the end of this month, he created urgency with a 10-day fundraising push: $1.7 million in donations by Sept. 30, or, for real y'all, he’d drop out. He’s at $1.55 million with a day left. (Was it a mark he knew he'd hit? I'll let you decide.)

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Booker speaks at a panel before the main event. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media)

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He made his dad jokes — he rolled with a jab Schaffer made about beating him in a bowling match, punning that at the very least she “bowled him over with her leadership.” He explained that he and Bob Menendez are minorities in the Senate “and it’s not because he’s Latino and I’m black!” And when Rep. Bill Pascrell fell getting back on the stage, Booker didn’t miss a beat, quipping, “he’s been falling for me all his life.”

There were intermittent "amens" as Booker talked about grassroots, about change not coming from Washington but to Washington. He credited Jersey for helping to flip the house and put Pelosi where she is. He even did a Strom Thurmond impression.

After his signature Booker crescendo at the end of his speech — "We're going to stand together and fight together and work together and love together and we are going to win together – watch out 2020, HERE WE COME!" — a standing ovation followed. Then a two-person chant of "Pres-i-dent Book-er!"

He was mobbed by selfie hopefuls waving their smartphones as he left the stage. And this was just Act I.

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Senator @CoryBooker and @TeamPelosi find some time to step out and catch up on current events at the @NJDSC convention. pic.twitter.com/Oe1I0ti3SM — Matt Klapper (@mattklapper) September 27, 2019

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Awaiting the queen

I didn’t know what to expect of the main event, which wasn’t so much a dinner but a struggle to find a seat and buffet lines of people who looked like they would kill over the last shred of capicola. I saw a man stack a bread plate so high with charcuterie that he had to put one hand over the top to steady it. I wasn’t brave enough to elbow it out and instead made nice with the servers passing hors d’oeuvres of beef wellington and pigs in a blanket.

Were there deep pockets here to plumb for campaign funds? I couldn't tell. When Democratic Committee Chair John Currie introduced Booker, he encouraged the crowd to dig deeper, “even if it’s just one dollar.”

And then Booker hit the stage with the energy of a rocker, bellowing, "HEEEELLLOO New Jersey! Are we ready for November? Are we ready for 2020!?"

He gave his stump speech and riffed on who Democrats are: “We’re the party that cares as much about the people here for the convention on the floor as we do the people here afterwards cleaning up, clearing the tables.”

He got cheers when he mentioned getting rid of Mitch McConnell and again when he spoke about “putting in Supreme Court justices who represent the people.”

This speech ended with his campaign slogan: “We, America, We. Will. Rise!” to even bigger cheers than an hour earlier.

Oh, and also, he introduced Governor Murphy.

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This video intro for Pelosi was a hit.

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NAN-CY, NAN-CY, NAN-CY

We’re here in Atlantic City, a place where Trump’s name once decked three casinos – and now none.

The governor was the first to note it: "We had our fill of Trump before America did," Murphy said to applause. (That went over better than his first bit — he started with a joke about how he brought his Sharpie because he was there to give a weather report. Womp womp.)

But the governor was wise to speak quickly — the crowd wanted Pelosi and they wanted her now.

The show began with a hype video set to Christina Aguilera’s “Fighter” that made the speaker look like the coolest kid in Congress.

When it ended, she took the stage, the Democratic fairy godmother in a shimmery pink pantsuit and stiletto heels, to chants of “NAN-CY! NAN-CY! NAN-CY!”

She wouldn’t go much into impeachment, except to say this: "None of us came to Congress to impeach a president. We came to fight for working families. This is not a cause for any joy that we have to go down this path. It’s a difficult decision to make, but we have that obligation.”

But this crew was too rowdy for the “prayerful” moving forward she espoused. They were ready for pitchforks.

A woman behind me shrieked, “IM-PEEEACH!”

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Selfie madness

The real circus began when Pelosi, Booker and Murphy came down from the stage and walked the rope line separating the VIPs from the hordes. Alicia Keys’ “Girl is On Fire” blasted from the speakers.

There was pushing, shoving, a woman screamed, “NANCY, I LOVE YOU!” over and over in my ear, desperate to get the speaker’s attention. It had descended into madness, everyone with his or her phone out hoping for a selfie with Pelosi, or maybe Booker, or, if not, I guess, the governor.

When it finally died down, I tried to grab Murphy for a second to talk about Booker’s campaign, and he rejected me at first. Then he took another selfie, and came back, saying, “Hold on, I do want to answer that.”

He reset: “I have one sentence. What do I think about his campaign? He's the next president of the United States.”

When I turned around the room had emptied. The ball was over and the circus moved on.

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Read more

I trailed Cory Booker as he ate fried PB&J, charmed a baby and got a standing ovation in Iowa

Pelosi tells cheering N.J. Dems she launched Trump impeachment inquiry to defend Constitution

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Jessica Remo is a columnist and supervising reporter on the features team. She can be reached at jremo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessicaRemoNJ.

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(Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media)

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(Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media)

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(Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media)

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(Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media)

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(Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media)

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(Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media)

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(Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media)

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(Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media)