Sen. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat who rose to prominence as Newark's charismatic and ambitious mayor, announced Friday that he is running for president.
Booker chose the first day of Black History Month to launch his campaign, timing that nods to Booker's own heritage and suggests he will put it at the center of his pitch to voters.
"The history of our nation is defined by collective action; by interwoven destinies of slaves and abolitionists; of those born here and those who chose America as home; of those who took up arms to defend our country, and those who linked arms to challenge and change it," Booker narrates in a video released on Friday morning, which features him walking through his Newark neighborhood.
"I'm Cory Booker and I'm running for president of the United States of America," he says in the video.
Booker joins a crowded and growing Democratic field that is already the most diverse in history -- with multiple women, one g*y candidate, a Latino and, with Booker now in the mix, two black candidates.
His announcement comes nearly a year to the day from the Iowa caucuses and the start of the primary calendar. Booker plans to head to Iowa February 8-9 and then to South Carolina on February 10. He also intends to visit New Hampshire over Presidents Day weekend.
Booker is one of several senators running for president or seriously considering it. At 49, he is the youngest among his Senate colleagues in the race. His age is not all that sets him apart: Booker is unmarried and vegan, two unique qualities among the emerging Democratic field.
In his announcement video, Booker also notes that he is "the only senator who goes home to a low-income, inner city community" in Newark, "the first community that took a chance on me."
In the Senate, Booker has at times favored a pragmatic approach, teaming up with like-minded Republicans on issues like criminal justice. But he has also emerged as a passionate interrogator of President Donald Trump's nominees -- including Justice Brett Kavanaugh, at whose confirmation hearing Booker memorably unloaded in a heated "Spartacus moment."
Public polling suggests Booker is unknown to many Americans. But in a field where there is no clear front-runner, he brings a raw political talent that some Democrats believe could make him a powerful contender.
The campaign message of Booker, who's a gifted orator on the stump, will center on his signature themes of finding "common purpose" and a bringing about a "revival of civic grace" in American society, drawing a stark, if implicit, contrast with President Donald Trump's harsh rhetoric.
While Booker has been reluctant to attack the President directly, not wanting to emulate his tactics, Trump has not hesitated to target the senator -- saying during a White House event in October that Booker "ran Newark, New Jersey, into the ground."
Here are the Democrats who have said they're running for president
Here are the Democrats who have said they're running for president
It's unclear how Booker's record as mayor will play in the Democratic primary or beyond. Critics say Booker did not meet his lofty promises to reshape the city, with some progressives faulting his support for school choice, among other issues. But Booker's allies believe this chapter of his story will be an asset, affording Booker some distance from Washington and demonstrating his executive chops.
As a senator, Booker has sought to sand off some of his rough political edges ahead of 2020, burnishing his progressive credentials by signing on to policies such as "Medicare-for-all." Last year, he announced he would no longer accept corporate PAC money; some progressives have been skeptical of Booker for the support he has received from Wall Street donors. Booker will also oppose super PACS supporting his candidacy or others.
Reflecting its central place in Booker's story, Newark will be the headquarters for his campaign. Logistically, that home base will offer the candidate and his team easy access to the power hubs of Washington and New York, plus proximity to three major airports to facilitate travel to key primary states and fundraising hotspots around the country.
His campaign manager will be Addisu Demissie, a veteran of Booker's 2013 Senate race, who most recently ran Gavin Newsom's successful bid for California governor. Demissie also boasts experience on the ground in Iowa, having cut his teeth as a field organizer for John Kerry's 2004 caucus campaign, returning in the 2008 cycle on behalf of Hillary Clinton.
Other top campaign officials announced Friday include Jenna Lowenstein, who formerly ran Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy's 2018 re-election campaign, as deputy campaign manager; Booker's Senate chief of staff Matt Klapper as senior adviser; and Modia Butler, a longtime Booker adviser dating back to his days in Newark, as senior strategist.
Booker's path to the nomination would almost certainly run through South Carolina, where African-American voters compose a majority of the Democratic primary electorate. But Booker has also aggressively cultivated a network in Iowa, recognizing that a strong performance there would build valuable momentum for later contests.
To steer his Iowa operation, Booker has already lined up a team of sought-after operatives: Michael Frosolone, who led Iowa Democrats' statehouse campaigns in 2018; Joe O'Hern, who ran the Democratic coordinated campaign in Ohio during the midterms and oversaw Martin O'Malley's 2016 caucus efforts; Haley Hager, most recently the Iowa director for Tom Steyer's NextGen group targeting young voters; and Tess Seger, outgoing communications director for the Iowa Democratic Party.
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