Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey made it official Friday morning and jumped into the race for the White House.
The Democrat from New Jersey announced his presidential bid in a tweet and email to supporters that included a two minute campaign launch video.
“I believe that we can build a country where no one is forgotten, no one is left behind; where parents can put food on the table; where there are good paying jobs with good benefits in every neighborhood,” Booker said in the video.
The former Newark mayor, known for his powerful oration, added that he envisions a country “where our criminal justice system keeps us safe, instead of shuffling more children into cages and coffins; where we see the faces of our leaders on television and feel pride, not shame.”
Booker’s entry into the race for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination was no surprise. A jam-packed visit in December by Booker to New Hampshire, the state that holds the first primary in the race for the White House, had the look and feel of a presidential campaign trip and appeared to be a preview of things to come. And aides confirmed that in recent weeks, Booker’s been hiring staffers for his emerging campaign.
Booker joins Sen. Kamala Harris of California and former San Antonio, Texas mayor and former Housing and Urban Development secretary Julian Castro, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, and former representative John Delaney of Maryland in announcing for president. Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York have set up presidential exploratory committees, as has South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
Booker’s announcement comes less than two weeks after Harris jumped into the race on Martin Luther King day, followed by a massive rally in her hometown of Oakland, Calif., days later. The two senators, who are both African-American, are expected to battle for the influential black vote in the Democratic primaries.
Campaign aides said that next weekend Booker will visit Iowa – the state that votes first in the presidential primary and caucus calendar – and then head straight to South Carolina – which holds the first southern contest. They added that Booker – who turns 50 in April – would return to New Hampshire over President’s Day weekend.
In his December visit to the Granite State, Booker keynoted the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s post-midterm election “victory celebration” in Manchester. The event at the New Hampshire Institute of Art was packed, with fire marshals directing latecomers to a separate overflow room.
In an interview with the Monitor during that trip, Booker said coming to the Granite State is “really helpful to me in understanding what a potential presidential campaign would be about.”
He added that coming to New Hampshire makes “me feel a lot more centered, a lot more grounded, and a lot more confident in making decisions going forward.”
Booker, who headlined two rallies in the state a week before the midterm election and who contributed more money to the New Hampshire Democratic Party and various candidates than any other potential White House hopeful during the 2018 cycle, was described by state party chairman Ray Buckley as a “best friend” to New Hampshire Democrats.
The senator’s top adviser in the Granite State is veteran Concord-based lobbyist and longtime Democratic consultant Jim Demers – who helped steer then-presidential candidate Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign in New Hampshire.
Demers told the Monitor that “clearly there’s going to be a significant focus on New Hampshire as part of the strategy.”
He shared that none of the upcoming Booker trips to New Hampshire has been put together yet, but shared that “since 7 this morning, seven invitations have already arrived.”
He said that Booker’s “very close to wrapping up some New Hampshire hires, so I wouldn’t be surprised if in the next week or two weeks are there are some announcements there as well.”