Democratic presidential candidate Cory Booker walks the line between business and the left

[DonViejo]

PUBLISHED AN HOUR AGO UPDATED AN HOUR AGO

John Harwood
@JOHNJHARWOOD

KEY POINTS

New Jersey senator and 2020 presidential candidate Cory Booker sat down with CNBC’s John Harwood in a Des Moines coffee shop to discuss his ideas for expanding the reach of American prosperity.

He faces big challenges - from better-known veterans Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, to emerging young contender Pete Buttigieg. Polls show him mired in single digits.

But Booker’s strengths mean no one can write him off yet, fewer than two weeks before the first televised debates.

Of all the Democratic presidential candidates, none delivers a speech any better than Cory Booker. The New Jersey senator declares his commitment to the disadvantaged with the passion of a preacher, the intellect of a Rhodes Scholar, the street-smarts of a former Newark mayor. At 50, he retains the imposing presence of his days playing top-level college football at Stanford.

Those gifts marked this African-American politician as a rising star before Barack Obama smashed racial barriers to win the White House. Now Booker seeks to leverage them in the jam-packed race for his party’s 2020 nomination.

He faces big challenges - from better-known veterans former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders, to formidable female colleagues Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Kamala Harris, to emerging young contender and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Polls show him mired in single digits.

But Booker’s strengths mean no one can write him off yet, fewer than two weeks before the first televised debates. He has assembled an extensive on-the-ground campaign team in Iowa, whose caucuses kick off the nominating process next February.

more
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/12/democratic-presidential-candidate-cory-booker-walks-the-line-between-business-and-the-left.html

[comradebillyboy]

1. I like Booker but he's not getting any traction at all.

His campaign is almost invisible on the national level.

[RLG]

2. I think Booker will be the one to watch in the debates.

It'll be interesting to see him and Buttigieg (two mayors, two Rhoades Scholars) debating African American issues.