New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker is the latest Democrat to enter the race for president of the United States. Booker shared a video announcement on his Twitter page Friday morning, the first day of Black History Month.
“We are better when we help each other,” Booker says. “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; 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.”
I’m running for president. Join me on this journey. https://t.co/fEDqOVIfwh pic.twitter.com/h1FTPUYRzo
Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) February 1, 2019
He continues, “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.”
Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Harrington Park, N.J., Booker, 49, is the first African-American U.S. Senator from New Jersey, serving since 2013. He was previously the mayor of Newark from 2006 to 2013.
Booker currently serves on the Senate judiciary, foreign relations, environment and public works and small business and entrepreneurship committees. He is also the ranking member of the Senate Subcommittee on Surface Transportation.
During the 2018 midterm elections, Booker had spent time “campaigning for congressional candidates and testing the waters for a presidential bid in the early states,” according to CBS News.
Democratic senators who have announced bids for president or exploratory committees include Sens. Kamala Harris of California, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York.
