NEWARK — It's a question he has been asked in the past, but this time it came amid a campaign for the U.S Senate.

In a profile that appeared in the Washington Post on Monday, Newark Mayor Cory Booker was asked about the persistent rumor that he is gay.

"People who think I'm gay, some part of me thinks it's wonderful," Booker told the interviewer, "because I want to challenge people on their homophobia. I love seeing on Twitter when someone says I'm gay, and I say, 'So what does it matter if I am? So be it.'"

When asked about the interview by The Star-Ledger today, Booker said it was his plan to stick to the major issues in his race against former Mayor Steve Lonegan of Bogota, a Republican, and that sexual preference should not be an issue when voters go to the polls on Oct. 16.

"I don't intend to answer," said Booker, who was returning from Washington after attending a meeting with President Obama on gun violence. "It should not matter. That was my point."

Lonegan said in a telephone interview that he's not concerned about Booker’s sexuality.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker said he isn't bothered by questions about his sexual orientation.

"I don’t really care about this guy’s lifestyle," he said. "I care about his failed record in Newark."

He added, "He’s too liberal for New Jersey and he wants to bring his failed policies to the federal level."

Lonegan later expanded on his remarks in an interview with the conservative website Newsmax, saying that "maybe that helps to get him the gay vote, by acting ambiguous."

“It’s kind of weird,” he said.

“I don’t know if you saw the stories last year ... about how he likes to go out at three o’clock in the morning for a manicure and a pedicure," Lonegan said. "I don’t like going out in the middle of the night, or any time of the day, for a manicure and pedicure. It was described as his peculiar fetish ... I like a good Scotch and a cigar. That’s my fetish, but we’ll just compare the two.”

As early as 10 years ago, when Booker was trying to unseat Mayor Sharpe James in 2002, allies of James spread the word that the Booker was gay.

It was not the last time the issue would come up.

When talk of his sexuality emerged last year as he considered challenging Gov. Chris Christie, Booker again denied the loose talk. And when a phony Facebook page in Booker’s name declared that he had come out of the closet, a staff member said he "likes the ladies."

Even in 2006, when he was about to assume the mayoral office, a voter asked Booker about the rumor. He again denied it, but declined to go any further. He said today that answering the question was tantamount to judging someone’s abilities based on faith or race.

"We need to understand that race, religion, sexual orientation, all of these things are not germane to a person’s ability to lead the state of New Jersey," Booker said.

Although Booker maintains a close relationship with Christie, a Republican, he has been publicly critical of the governor’s conservative stance on the issue of same-sex marriage.

Indeed, when Christie proposed putting the issue on a referendum for voters to decide, Booker bristled.

"I shudder to think what would have happened if the civil rights gains, heroically established by courageous lawmakers in the 1960s, were instead conveniently left up to popular votes in our 50 states," the mayor said.

Over the years, the 44-year-old Booker has attracted attention because of his friendships and public appearances with such women as Gayle King and Arianna Huffington — and even a recent campaign appearance with Eva Longoria. But he has consistently denied his involvement in any long-term relationships, and has kept that part of his life private because he says he needs some sacred spaces.

As he put it, “How unfair is it to a young lady to put them in the spotlight if they haven’t signed up for that yet?”

The way he sees it, the issue is not something that voters are overly concerned about.

"Here I am a candidate in a statewide election and ... what people talk about with me is my ideas, my vision, my ability to get things done," he said. "That’s what the campaign will continue to do."

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