Poor guy.
He stood a chance. He really might have. But he never got traction.
Was it too many players? What?
IMO, he focused too hard on appealing to African-American voters and poverty issues. This hurt him with both black and white voters. He was a black candidate focusing on black voters, which doesn’t help him with white voters, and for black voters, it doesn’t show that he can *win *with white voters, so they never got behind him. Dem candidates need to win with both black *and *white voters, so focusing too much on one over the other hurts. This is what happened with Cory I think.
On the bright side, I think Mayor Pete just got himself a running mate.
I am sad about this as I think he was a very good presence on the debate stage. I do think what doomed both the Harris and Booker campaigns is that they anticipated African-American support, but did not think that Biden would suck ALL that air out of the room (it’s still very surprising to me).
I’d be okay with that. And Harris as Attorney General.
that was just my thought.
Erastz Obama.
Unsurprising. Obama was a once in a generation politician. Copying him is a fools errand.
Made a mistake as Harris did by trying to sell themselves to the “progressive” wing of the party. Those people were entrenched with Sanders and a lesser extent to Warren. Those people were never going to support them. The moderate/center-left of the party was the place to be and take voters away from Biden. I think Booker realised that and started calling for more unity and less purity tests but it was too late.
I’m from New Jersey and really don’t get the love for Booker. His record is nothing special. His speaking ability is not particularly motivating. I am glad he ended his campaign. It was the right time.
If Mayor Pete gets the nom, would Booker bring in enough extra African American vote to be worth more than lets say Warren for Progressive and Women votes? I believe if a non-Prog gets the nom they really need Warren or Sanders to shore up the party support and widen appeal to independents.
*Disclaimer: part of my apathy for Booker, is he got the Senate seat as a party leader favorite over long term (green) congressman Frank Pallone who should have got the Senate seat. *
That has always been Booker’s deal though. He was talking about unity before he became a Senator. And when he announced for President.
Booker’s voting record is very progressive as well, so running as a moderate may have been difficult.
I get not liking Booker, but dinging his speaking ability is baffling to me. He’s arguably the best speaker and most charismatic politician in the Democratic race. His “We Will Rise” speech at the 2016 DNC was a major highlight of the convention. Even among the people who didn’t like him, I heard acknowledgments that he was a very talented speaker.
Booker’s record didn’t see him gain any support or acknowledgement from progressive media or activists. They make up a lesser percentage of the party base, but are a vocal bunch.
Biden’s support at least six months ago might have been a mile wide and an inch long. He had the numbers but not the enthusiasm it seemed. Sanders is the opposite. A low ceiling but high enthusiasm. Booker wasn’t going to out-flank Sanders on the left, but he could have broken Biden’s electability aura by appealing to a broader tent of voters in the middle, the black voter demographic (older and younger), unite the generational gap existing between Biden’s wing and Sanders wing, and be the unity candidate.
Instead I don’t think anyone knew who he was pitching himself to.
Please let me re=phrase it more specifically then.
I don’t find Booker’s speaking to be special. Obama was a great speaking, a motivating speaker, a “special” speaker. Booker is better than many but not special. Reagan was another example of a “special” speaker.
Biden-Booker. With Harris as AG. Hillary as Special Prosecutor to investigate previous admin.
Worth the price of admission.
Priceless!
I’m listening to Ezra Klein’s interview with Booker, which dropped today, ironically. I’ve heard him interviewed before, and I’ve always thought he had a great story, was a thoughtful guy, and had policies that made a decent amount of sense.
I’d love to see him as VP, but since the high probability is that the Dems will nominate a (likely old) man, he’s got no chance. Harris or Abrams seem more plausible.
So Cory’s booking it right out of the race, right after we saw our Marianne walking away.
They’re not saying “Booooo,” they’re saying…wait, yep, they’re saying “Boooo.”
Don’t make me call security.
Booker like Harris had no real chance of winning the nomination and to me they weren’t that serious about running.
Favorite Cory Booker piece of trivia is that in his mayoral re-election campaign he appeared in a commercial shaking hands with the man who killed Malcolm X.