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Booker chose the first day of Black History Month to launch his campaign, a calendar that recalls his own legacy and suggests placing it at the center of his speech to voters.
"The history of our country is defined by collective action, by the intertwined fates of slaves and abolitionists, of those born here and of those who have chosen to live. America as a country of origin, of those who took up arms to defend our country and of those who united their arms to challenge and change it, "says Booker. a video released Friday morning in which he walks in his neighborhood of Newark.
"I'm calling Cory Booker and I'm running for the presidency of the United States of America," he says in the video.
Booker joins a densely populated and growing Democratic group, which is already the most diverse in his history – with several women, a gay candidate, a Latino and, with Booker now in the mix, two black candidates.
His announcement comes almost in a year. Iowa caucus day and the start of the main schedule. Booker plans to visit Iowa on February 8th and 9th, and then South Carolina on February 10th. He also plans to travel to New Hampshire during President's Day weekend.
Booker is one of many senators to get elected or to think seriously about it. At 49, he is the youngest of his colleagues in the Senate in the race. His age is not everything that sets him apart: Booker is single and vegan, two unique qualities among emerging democrats.
In his announcement video, Booker also notes that he is "the only senator who returns home, neighborhood community" in Newark, "the first community to try my luck."
In the Senate, Booker sometimes advocated a pragmatic approach, teaming up with like-minded Republicans as criminal justice. But he also became a passionate interrogator of President Donald Trump's candidates – including Judge Brett Kavanaugh, at Booker's hearing confirmation hearing in a "Spartacus moment" inflamed
. Public poll suggests that Booker is unknown to many Americans. But in an area where there is no avant-garde, he brings a raw political talent that, according to some Democrats, could make him a powerful competitor.
Booker's campaign message, a gifted speaker on the stump, will focus on his signature themes of finding a "common goal" and provoking an "awakening of civic grace" in American society by creating a brutal contrast, even implicit, with the harsh rhetoric of President Donald Trump.
While Booker was hesitant to take it to the President directly, not wanting to imitate his tactics, Trump did not hesitate to target the senator – asserting at an event at the White House in October Booker "had Newark (New Jersey) sink into the ground".
It is not clear exactly how Booker will play the role of mayor in the Democratic primaries or beyond. Critics say that Booker has not kept his noble promises of reshaping the city. Some progressives have criticized his support for the choice of school, among other problems. But Booker's allies believe that this chapter of his story will be an asset, allowing him to move away from Washington and demonstrate his leadership qualities.
As a senator, Booker sought to reduce some of his political difficulties by 2020, by developing progressive benchmarks by engaging in policies such as "Medicare-for-all". Last year he announced that he would no longer accept PAC business funds. Some progressives were skeptical of Booker for the support he had received from Wall Street donors. Booker will also oppose the support of super PACS to his candidacy or to others.
Reflecting its central place in Booker's history, Newark will be the seat of his campaign. Logistically, this local base will provide the candidate and his team with easy access to the Washington and New York power hubs, as well as the proximity to three major airports, to facilitate travel to major states. and the hotspots of fundraising across the country.
Addisu Demissie, a veteran of Booker's Senate race in 2013, recently won the Gavin Newsom bid for the governor of California. Demissie also gained experience in the field in Iowa, having gained ground as a field organizer for the John Kerry Caucus Campaign in 2004, before returning to 2008 cycle on behalf of Hillary Clinton.
Jenna Lowenstein, another campaign leader, announced Friday formerly responsible for the 2018 Democratic Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy's re-election campaign as deputy campaign director; Senator Booker's chief of staff, Matt Klapper, as Senior Advisor; and Modia Butler, a long-time consultant to Booker since arriving in Newark as senior strategist.
Booker's candidacy would almost certainly run through South Carolina, where African-American voters constituted a majority of the Democratic primary electorate. But Booker also aggressively cultivated a network in Iowa, recognizing that a solid performance would create a valuable boost for future competitions.
To run his operations in Iowa, Booker has already lined up a team of sought after assets: Michael Frosolone, who led the Iowa Democrats' state campaigns in 2018; Joe O 'Hern, who led the Coordinated Democrats campaign in Ohio at the mid-point and oversaw Martin O' Malley's 2016 caucus efforts; Haley Hager, most recently director of Tom Steyer's NextGen Group, in Iowa, targeting young voters; and Tess Seger, outgoing director of communications for the Democratic Party of Iowa.
Comparisons with Obama
Born in 1969 in Washington, Booker has enjoyed a comfortable education in the post-civil rights era. attributes to a "conspiracy of love" that allowed his parents to break down barriers. Cary and Carolyn Booker were among the first black leaders at IBM and, because of anti-discrimination laws, they were able to buy a home and raise their children in the wealthy, mostly white community of Harrington Park, New Jersey .
Booker He attended Stanford as a rookie football star, played for four years, but, by his own admission, he never managed to break into college. Booker's interests, however, were vast: he was also president of the student body and ran an emergency telephone line for students. He continued his studies at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar and then at Yale Law School.
With an elite law degree, Booker avoids more lucrative opportunities and settles into an affordable housing complex in one of Newark's poorer neighborhoods. lend your skills to a non-profit organization. However, he quickly turned to local politics, replacing a long-time city council member
In 2002, Booker again engaged in a tough political battle, challenging Sharpe James, Mayor of Newark, an old school avatar. Corruption. Although Booker failed by a few thousand votes, he conquered and became a political and political darling in the process.
Four years later, Booker ran again and won, consolidating his rising star status in the Democratic Party.
As a talented and ambitious black politician, Booker made predictable comparisons with former President Barack Obama, whom he endorsed at the 2008 primary and for which he campaigned in 2012.
Booker has recognized the trope and jokes about it, but it does not fit the mold perfectly. While Obama was often kept and serious, Booker is an extrovert whose unbridled enthusiasm and overflowing energy can seem almost comical.
Booker also did not take the route of the presidential election, as did Obama. Instead, he served as mayor for nearly eight years, giving the opportunity to lead the Obama Bureau of Urban Affairs in 2009, before successfully presenting himself to the Senate in 2013 during of a special election following the death of Senator Frank Lautenberg.
Booker will be reelected in New Jersey in 2020; the law of his state would allow him to appear simultaneously in the Senate and the President.
Booker's central message remained consistent for many years in politics, with emphasis on the love and unity that underpinned everything else.
In some respects, Booker is a political heir to former President Jimmy Carter, who after the Nixon government's coup has promised a government "as good, honest, decent, compassionate, and filled with love as the American people ". Booker recently described Carter as a "giant (moral) in America" and a model for "what I want my message to be in leadership". Carter, for his part, had asked Booker to run for president.
Sen. Kamala Harris, of California, who looks set to become one of Booker's main rivals, also adopted some of Carter's signature themes during his first rally last week, repeatedly citing Carter's term. , the word "truth".
call, with a slender oratory, often similar to a sermon. Last year, he said that he did not know whether he had exploited "a winning political message or not, but I will always talk about trying to unify this country, to try to get together. "
And he has not done it yet.
"He is a person who operates between instincts, instincts and faith," said Representative Cedric Richmond, Democrat of Louisiana and former President of the Congressional Black Caucus. "What he did when he decided to appoint an outgoing mayor, I think he is more motivated by faith and purpose than by politics."
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