Cory Booker | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2025 | |
| United States Senator fromNew Jersey | |
| Assumed office October 31, 2013 Serving with Andy Kim | |
| Preceded by | Jeffrey Chiesa |
| Chair of theSenate Democratic Strategic Communications Committee | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2025 | |
| Leader | Chuck Schumer |
| Vice Chair | Tina Smith |
| Preceded by | Debbie Stabenow (Policy and Communications) |
| 38thMayor of Newark | |
| In office July 1, 2006 – October 31, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Sharpe James |
| Succeeded by | Luis Quintana |
| Member of theNewark Municipal Council from the Central Ward | |
| In office July 1, 1998 – June 30, 2002 | |
| Preceded by | George Branch |
| Succeeded by | Charles Bell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Cory Anthony Booker (1969-04-27)April 27, 1969 (age 56) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Domestic partner | Alexis Lewis (engaged since 2025) |
| Relatives | RuPaul (distant cousin) |
| Education | Stanford University (BA,MA) Queen's College, Oxford (MA) Yale University (JD) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | Senate website Campaign website |
| College football career | |
| Stanford Cardinal – No. 81 | |
| Position | Tight end |
| Class | 1991 |
| Major | Political science |
| Personal information | |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight | 220 lb (100 kg) |
| Career history | |
| High school | Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Cory Anthony Booker (born April 27, 1969)[1][2] is an American politician and lawyer serving as theseniorUnited States senator fromNew Jersey, a seat he has held since 2013. A member of theDemocratic Party, Booker is thefirst African-American U.S. senator from New Jersey. He was the 38thmayor of Newark from 2006 to 2013, and served on theMunicipal Council of Newark for theCentral Ward from 1998 to 2002.
Booker was born inWashington, D.C., and raised inHarrington Park, New Jersey. He attendedStanford University, receiving a BA in 1991 and a master's degree a year later. He attendedQueen's College, Oxford, on aRhodes Scholarship before attendingYale Law School. He won anupset victory for a seat on theMunicipal Council of Newark in 1998, staging a 10-dayhunger strike and briefly living in a tent to draw attention tourban development issues in the city. He ran for mayor in2002 but lost to incumbentSharpe James. He ran again in2006 and defeated Deputy MayorRonald Rice. Booker's first term saw the doubling ofaffordable housing under development and the reduction of the citybudget deficit from $180 million to $73 million. He was reelected in2010.
Booker was elected to the U.S. Senate inNew Jersey's 2013 special election and reelected in2014 and2020. He became New Jersey's senior senator whenBob Menendez resigned on August 20, 2024.
Booker became the first senator to evertestify against another senator during attorney general nomineeJeff Sessions's2017 confirmation hearing. Bookerran for the Democratic nomination in the2020 U.S. presidential election, and suspended his campaign on January 13, 2020. From March 31 to April 1, 2025, he delivered thelongest speech in U.S. Senate history, lasting 25 hours and five minutes, in protest of thesecond presidency of Donald Trump.
Booker was born inWashington, D.C.; he grew up inHarrington Park, New Jersey, 20 miles (32 km) northeast ofNewark.[1][2] His parents, Carolyn Rose (née Jordan) and Cary Alfred Booker (1936–2013), were among the first blackIBMexecutives.[2][3][4] Booker has said that he was raised in a religious household and that he and his family attended a smallAfrican Methodist Episcopal Church in New Jersey.[5] Booker hasSierra Leonean ancestry, which he learned when featured on thePBS television programFinding Your Roots.[6]
Booker graduated fromNorthern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan, where he playedvarsity football and was named to the1986 USA Today All-USA high school football team. He graduated fromStanford University with aBachelor of Arts inpolitical science in 1991 and aMaster of Arts insociology in 1992. He playedfootball for Stanford attight end and was teammates withBrad Muster andEd McCaffrey,[7] making the All-Pacific-10 Academic team. He was elected senior class president.[8][9] In addition, Booker ran The Bridge Peer Counseling Center, a student-run crisis hotline, and organized help from Stanford students for youth inEast Palo Alto, California.[10]
Booker was awarded aRhodes Scholarship to study atThe Queen's College, Oxford, earning a degree in United States history in 1994.[9] At Oxford, Booker served as president of theOxford University L'Chaim Society and became a close friend ofShmuley Boteach.[11][12] He obtained hisJuris Doctor in 1997 fromYale Law School and operated free legal clinics for low-income residents ofNew Haven, Connecticut. At Yale, Booker was a founding member of the Chai Society (nowShabtai).[13] He also was a Big Brother withBig Brothers Big Sisters of America and active in theNational Black Law Students Association.[14]
Contemplating advocacy work and a run for city council in Newark after graduating from law school, Booker lived in the city during his final year at Yale.[15] After graduation, he served as staff attorney for theUrban Justice Center in New York and program coordinator of the Newark Youth Project.[16] In 1998, Booker won an upset victory for a seat on theMunicipal Council of Newark, defeating four-term incumbent George Branch.[17] To draw attention to the problems of open-air drug dealing and associated violence, he went on a 10-dayhunger strike, living in a tent and later in a motor home near drug-dealing areas of the city.[18] Booker also proposed council initiatives that affected housing, young people, law and order, and the efficiency and transparency of City Hall, but was regularly outvoted.[19]
On January 9, 2002, Booker announced his campaign formayor of Newark rather than running for reelection as councilman.[20][21] That pitted him against longtime incumbentSharpe James. James, who had easily won election four consecutive times, saw Booker as a real threat and responded withmudslinging. At one campaign event, James called him "a Republican who took money from theKKK [and]Taliban ... [who's] collaborating with theJews to take over Newark."[22] In the campaign James's supporters questioned Booker's suburban background, calling him acarpetbagger who was "not black enough" to understand the city.[23] Booker lost the election, garnering 47% of the vote to James's 53%.[21] The Oscar-nominated documentaryStreet Fight chronicles the election.[24]
During the campaign, Booker founded the nonprofit organization Newark Now.[25]
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On February 11, 2006, Booker announced that he would run for mayor again.[26] Although James filed paperwork to run for reelection, he announced shortly thereafter that he would instead cancel his bid to focus on his work as astate senator, a position to which he was elected in 1999.[27] At James's urging, Deputy MayorRonald Rice decided to run for mayor.[28] Booker's campaign, raising over $6 million, outspent Rice's 25 to 1, for which Rice attacked him. Booker, in turn, attacked Rice as a "political crony" of James.[29][30] Booker won the May 9 election with 72% of the vote. His slate of city council candidates, known as the "Booker Team", swept the council elections, giving Booker firm leadership of the city government.[31]
On April 3, 2010, Booker announced his candidacy for reelection. At his announcement event, he remarked that a "united government" was crucial to progress, knowing his supporters in the city council faced tough reelections.[32] Heavily favored to win, Booker faced former judge andEssex County prosecutor Clifford J. Minor and two minor candidates.[33][34] Booker was reelected with 59% of the vote.[35]
Before taking office as mayor, Booker sued the James administration, seeking to terminate cut-rate land deals favoring two redevelopment agencies that had contributed to James's campaigns and listed James as a member of their advisory boards. Booker argued that the state's "pay-to-play" laws had been violated and that the land deals would cost the city more than $15 million in lost revenue. Specifically, Booker referenced a parcel at Broad and South Streets that would generate only $87,000 under the proposed land deals yet was valued at $3.7 million under then-current market rates.[36] On June 20, 2006, Superior Court Judge Patricia Costello ruled in Booker's favor.[37]
In late June 2006, before Booker took office, New Jersey investigators foiled a plot to assassinate him led byBloods gang leaders inside four New Jersey state prisons. The motive for the plot was unclear, but was described variously as a response to the acrimonious campaign[38] and to Booker's campaign promises to take a harder line on crime.[38]
Booker took office as mayor of Newark on July 1, 2006.[39][40][41] After his first week in office, he announced a 100-day plan to implement reforms. The proposed changes included increasing police forces, ending background checks for many city jobs to help former offenders find employment in the city, refurbishing police stations, improving city services, and expanding summer youth programs.[42]
One of Booker's first priorities was to reduce the city'scrime rate. In furtherance of this, he appointed former deputy commissioner of operations of theNew York City Police DepartmentGarry McCarthy director of theNewark Police Department.[43] Crime reduction was such a central concern of Booker's administration that he and his security team were known to personally patrol Newark's streets until as late as 4 a.m.[44]
Booker was a member of theMayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition,[45] a bipartisan group with a stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets". In October 2009, theBrady Center to Prevent Gun Violence gave him the Sarah Brady Visionary Award for his work in reducing gun violence.[46] During his mayoralty, crime dropped significantly in Newark, which led the nation inviolent crime reduction from 2006 to 2008.[44] March 2010 marked Newark's first murder-free month in over 44 years,[47] although murder and overall crime rates began to rise again after 2008.[48] In addition to his crime-lowering initiatives, Booker's first term saw the doubling ofaffordable housing under development, quadrupling of the amount under pre-development, and the reduction of the city budget deficit from $180 million to $73 million..[49][50][51]
After taking office, Booker voluntarily reduced his own salary twice, first by 8% early in his first year as mayor.[52] He also raised the salaries of many city workers.[44] But his administration imposed one-day-a-monthfurloughs for all non-uniformed employees from July through December 2010, as well as 2% pay cuts for managers and directors earning more than $100,000 a year.[53] In 2008 and 2009, the City of Newark received theGovernment Finance Officers Association's Distinguished Budget Presentation Award.[54][55] In an effort to make government more accessible, Booker held regular open office hours during which city residents could meet with him to discuss their concerns.[56] In 2010, Booker was among the finalists for theWorld Mayor prize, ultimately placing seventh;[57] he was also an unsuccessful candidate for the 2012 award.[58] In March 2010, Booker won aShorty Award in the government category for having the bestmicroblog.[59]
In July 2010, Booker attended a dinner at a conference inSun Valley, Idaho, where he was seated withFacebook founderMark Zuckerberg.[60] Zuckerberg, who had no known ties to Newark, announced in September 2010 that he was donating $100 million to the Newark school system. According toThe New York Times, Booker and Zuckerberg continued their conversation about Booker's plans for Newark.[61] The initial gift was made to start a foundation for education. The gift was formally announced when Booker, New Jersey GovernorChris Christie, and Zuckerberg appeared together onThe Oprah Winfrey Show.[62] Some considered the timing of Zuckerberg's donation a move for damage control to his image, as it was announced on the opening day of the movieThe Social Network, a film that painted an unflattering portrait of Zuckerberg. But on her show, Winfrey told the audience that Zuckerberg and Booker had been in talks for months, had planned the announcement for the month before, and that she and Booker had to force Zuckerberg to put his name on the donation, which he had wanted to make anonymously.[63]
On October 10, 2010, Booker established Let's Move! Newark as part ofFirst LadyMichelle Obama's nationalLet's Move! initiative againstchildhood obesity.[64]
Booker gained national attention on December 28, 2010, when a constituent asked him onTwitter to send someone to her elderly father's house to shovel his driveway because he was about to attempt to do it himself. Booker responded by tweeting, "I will do it myself; where does he live?" Other people volunteered, including one person who offered his help on Twitter, and 20 minutes later Booker and some volunteers showed up and shoveled the man's driveway.[65][66]
In October 2011, Booker expanded the Let's Move! Newark program to include Let's Move! Newark: Our Power, a four-month fitness challenge for Newark public school students run by public health advocateJeff Halevy.[67]
On April 12, 2012, Booker saved a woman from a house fire, suffering smoke inhalation and second-degree burns on his hands in the process. Newark Fire Chief John Centanni said that Booker's actions possibly saved the woman's life.[68] AfterHurricane Sandy destroyed much of New Jersey's and New York's shoreline areas in late October 2012, Booker invited Newarkers without electricity and similar services to eat and sleep in his home.[69] In February 2013, responding to a Twitter post, Booker helped a nervous constituentpropose to his girlfriend.[70] Booker rescued a dog from freezing temperatures in January 2013 and another dog that had been abandoned in a cage in July 2013.[71][72]
On November 20, 2012, amelee occurred at a Newark City Council meeting Booker attended.[73] The nine-seat council was to vote on the successor to the seat vacated by newly electedU.S. RepresentativeDonald M. Payne, Jr. Booker's opponents on the council, includingRas Baraka, sought to appoint John Sharpe James, son of former mayor Sharpe James, while Booker and his supporters favored Shanique Speight. Booker attended the meeting to deal with the eventuality of the lack of a quorum or a tie vote, in which state law would allow him to cast a deciding vote. After acting council president Anibal Ramos Jr. refused Baraka an opportunity to address the council, Baraka and two other council members walked away in protest. Booker cast the deciding vote for Speight. Supporters of James stormed the stage and were held back by riot police, who eventually usedpepper spray on some members of the crowd.[74] Baraka later blamed Booker for inciting the disturbance. Booker refused to comment to the media after the vote.[73][74]
In December 2012, after discussions with a constituent about New Jersey'sSupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Booker began a weeklong challenge attempting to live on a food budget of $30 per week—the amount he said that New Jersey paid SNAP recipients.[75] When critics noted that the very name of the SNAP program shows that it is intended to "supplement" an individual's food budget, not be its sole source, Booker replied that his aim was to spark a discussion about the reality that many Americans rely solely on food stamps to survive.[76]
Throughout Booker's mayoralty,Fairleigh Dickinson University's public opinion pollPublicMind asked New Jersey residents whether they had heard of Booker and whether they had a favorable or unfavorable opinion of him. The results were:
September 2008[77]
| April 2009[78]
| May 2010[79]
| May 2012[80]
| January 2013[81]
| March 2014[82]
|
Booker's mayoralty and celebrity drew substantial media attention to Newark. While he had high ratings from Newarkers, his legacy has received mixed reviews. During his tenure, millions of dollars were invested in downtown development, but underemployment and high murder rates continue to characterize many of thecity's neighborhoods.[83][84][85] Despite legal challenges initiated during his term,Newark Public Schools remained under state control for nearly 20 years.[86] Newark received $32 million in emergency state aid in 2011 and 2012, requiring amemorandum of understanding between Newark and the state that obligated the city to request and the state to approve appointments to City Hall administrative positions.[87]
While mayor, Booker claimed in an interview that Newark's unemployment rate had fallen by two percentage points.[88]PolitiFact rated the claim "false" because he used data that had not been seasonally adjusted; the adjusted rate was 0.7 percentage points.[88]
On December 20, 2012, Booker announced that he would explore running for theU.S. Senate seat then occupied byFrank Lautenberg in the2014 election, ending speculation that he would challengeGovernorChris Christie in the2013 gubernatorial election.[89] On January 11, 2013, Booker filed papers to form a campaign committee[90] without announcing whether he would run.[91] About a month later, Lautenberg—then 89 years old—announced that he would not seek reelection in 2014.[92]
On June 3, Lautenberg died ofviral pneumonia; five days later, Booker announced his intention to run for Lautenberg's seat in a 2013 special election. Booker announced his candidacy at two events, one in Newark and the other inWillingboro.[93]
On August 13, 2013, Booker was declared the winner of the Democratic primary, with approximately 59% of the vote. On October 16, he defeated RepublicanSteve Lonegan in the general election, 54.9% to 44.0%.[94] Booker was the first African-American to be elected to the Senate sinceBarack Obama in 2004.[95][96][97][98] The night before his victory, he visited the gravesite of RabbiMenachem M. Schneerson, offering prayers and lighting a vigil candle in memory of his father.[99][100]
Booker resigned asmayor of Newark on October 30,[101] and on October 31 was sworn in as the juniorU.S. senator from New Jersey.[102] He is thefirst African-American U.S. senator from New Jersey.[95][96][97][98]
On January 9, 2014, Brian D. Goldberg, aWest Orange resident and New Jersey businessman, announced that he would seek the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.[103] On January 27, 2014,Freehold Township businessman Richard J. "Rich" Pezzullo announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination. Pezzullo had run for theUS Senate in 1996 as theConservative Party candidate.[104] On February 4, 2014, conservative political consultantJeff Bell announced his bid for the nomination. Bell was the Republican Party nominee for U.S. Senate in 1978.[105] Ramapo College professorMurray Sabrin, who ran for the Senate in 2000 and 2008, announced his candidacy on February 13.[106]
Bell won the Republican primary and received support from the conservative American Principles Fund, which ran a direct-mail operation costing over $80,000, and the National Organization for Marriage, an organization opposing same-sex marriage, which paid for $6,000 of automated calling.[107] Booker defeated Bell in the general election with 55.8% of the vote to Bell's 42.4%.[108]
In his reelection campaign, Booker faced Republican nominee Rik Mehta, a pharmaceutical executive and attorney.[109] The election was primarily conducted bymail-in ballots, as mandated by theNew Jersey Legislaturein response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[110] Booker and Mehta participated in a virtual debate sponsored by theNew Jersey Globe, in which they sparred over issues including theTrump presidency,COVID-19 lockdowns, thenomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, andsystemic racism.[111][112]
In the November 3 general election, Booker defeated Mehta, 57%–41%.[113]
Booker has filed for reelection in 2026.[114]
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In November 2013, Booker co-sponsored and voted for theEmployment Non-Discrimination Act.[115] In December 2013, he was one of the original cosponsors ofBob Menéndez's Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2013, which would toughensanctions against Iran.[116] He also voted for theNational Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014[117] and theBipartisan Budget Act of 2013.[118] In January 2014, he cosponsored theRespect for Marriage Act.[119] In February 2014, Booker voted against theFederal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013.[120] In March, Booker pledged to meet with each of his Republican colleagues in the Senate in order to find common ground, and was spotted having dinner with SenatorTed Cruz in Washington.[121]
Leading up to the2016 presidential election, Booker endorsedHillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. He was considered a potential vice-presidential candidate during the primary and as the general election began, though he said on June 16 that he was not being vetted.[122] After the election, in whichDonald Trump defeated Clinton, Booker testified on January 11, 2017, against attorney general nomineeJeff Sessions, the first instance of a sitting senator testifying against another during a cabinet position confirmation hearing.[123]
Booker supported fellow New Jersey SenatorBob Menendez when Menendez faced trial on federalcorruption andbribery charges. During the trial, Booker was a character witness for Menendez, and praised him effusively.[124] After the judge declared a mistrial, Booker argued that prosecutors ought not to try Menendez again.[125] When Menendez ran for reelection, Booker said he was "so grateful for Bob Menendez and that I get to work with him and stand beside him".[126] He downplayed the corruption allegations, saying "to try to continue to try to throw this kind of mud at him, it's not going to stick. It didn't stick when the government tried to do it and it should not stick now."[127] He became New Jersey's senior senator after Menendez resigned on August 20, 2024.[128]
In 2018,Politico named Booker part of the "Hell-No Caucus", along with SenatorsKamala Harris,Kirsten Gillibrand,Elizabeth Warren, andBernie Sanders, after he voted "overwhelmingly to thwart his [Trump's] nominees for administration jobs" (includingRex Tillerson,Betsy DeVos, andMike Pompeo). The senators were all considered potential2020 presidential contenders,[129] and all five later launched 2020 presidential campaigns, losing in the primary toJoe Biden, who then chose Harris as his running mate.
In April 2018, after the FBI raided the hotel room and offices of Trump's personal attorney,Michael Cohen, Booker,Chris Coons,Lindsey Graham, andThom Tillis introduced new legislation to "limit President Trump's ability to fire special counselRobert Mueller." Termed theSpecial Counsel Independence and Integrity Act, the legislation would allow any special counsel, in this case Mueller, to receive an "expedited judicial review" in the 10 days following being dismissed to determine if said dismissal was suitable. If not, the special counsel would be reinstated. At the same time, according toThe Hill, the bill would "codify regulations" that a special counsel could be fired by only a senior Justice Department official, while having to provide reasons in writing.[130]
On September 5, 2018, during the Senate Judiciary Committee'sconfirmation hearings forBrett Kavanaugh (nominated by Trump to replace retiringAssociate JusticeAnthony Kennedy on theSupreme Court), Booker questioned Kavanaugh on a series of emails marked "committee confidential" dating to Kavanaugh's time in the office of theWhite House Counsel duringGeorge W. Bush's presidency. The emails, which Booker's office released to the public the next day, show Kavanaugh and others in the Counsel's office discussingracial profiling as a means to combat terrorism, particularly after9/11. Booker said that he was violating Senate rules in releasing the documents, with the penalty including possibleexpulsion from the Senate; he nonetheless defended his decision, referring to the process of producing documents for the hearing as a "sham" and challenging those who warned him about the consequences to "bring it on".[131][132] Booker also described the release as "probably the closest I'll ever have in my life to an 'I am Spartacus' moment", referring to a line in the 1960 filmSpartacus.[133][134] Committee chairmanChuck Grassley said the documents had already been cleared for public release the night before, and that Booker was not violating any rules, leading some Republicans to accuse Booker of engaging in "theatrics" and "histrionics".[135] Supreme Court JusticeClarence Thomas mocked Booker in comments the following week, saying, "Honorable—if we could use that word about more people who are in public life, people who actually ask the questions at confirmation hearings, instead of 'Spartacus.'"[136] Booker was also one of several Democratic lawmakers and critics of President Trump whowas targeted with a mailed pipe bomb.[137]
Booker played a leading role in the push to pass theFirst Step Act, a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill.[138] In 2018, he introduced theMarijuana Justice Act, which wouldlegalize cannabis in the United States on the federal level, defund some law enforcement in jurisdictions that have shown racial bias in marijuana arrests, and increase funding to communities affected by thewar on drugs.[139][140]
Booker announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination forpresident in the 2020 election on February 1, 2019.[141]
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Booker was participating in the certification of the2021 United States Electoral College vote count on January 6, 2021, when Trump supportersstormed the U.S. Capitol. Minutes after rioters breached the Capitol, Booker and his fellow senators were evacuated from the chambers.[142] Booker blamed Trump for inciting the attack.[143][144] After the attack, Booker called for the invocation of theTwenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution while writing onTwitter: "Trump incited a violent insurrection against our own government. Congress should be prepared to impeach & remove the President if the Vice President and Cabinet fail to adhere to their constitutional duty. We must protect our national security."[145]
On March 31, 2025, Booker begana marathon speech, vowing to speak "for as long as I am physically able". Before taking the stand at 7 p.m.EDT, he posted a video explaining his rationale for the speech, saying that he had heard his constituents and those in other states asking Congress to "do things that recognize the ... crisis of the moment" regarding changes made by theTrump administration.[146] Booker gave the longest speech in U.S. Senate history, surpassingStrom Thurmond's 24-hour-and-18 minute-longfilibuster of theCivil Rights Act of 1957. He said: "To hate him is wrong, and maybe my ego got too caught up in if I stood here maybe, maybe—just maybe—I could break this record of the man who tried to stop the rights upon which I stand. ... I'm not here, though, because of his speech. I'm here despite his speech. I'm here because as powerful as he was, the people were more powerful." Booker's address was 25 hours and five minutes long.[147]
In May 2025, Booker was the only Democrat to vote to confirmCharles Kushner asUnited States Ambassador to France.[148] According to theNew Jersey Globe, "Booker and Kushner have a relationship that goes back decades, dating to when Kushner provided financial support for Booker's first unsuccessful run for mayor in 2002."[149]
Source:[150]
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On February 1, 2019, Booker announcedhis campaign for theDemocratic nomination forPresident of the United States in the2020 presidential election. Before his announcement, it was widely speculated that he would run for president but he expressed uncertainty about it.[155] Within a month after Booker announced his candidacy,GovernorPhil Murphy,[156]Bob Menendez,[157] and every Democratic member of the House of Representatives from New Jersey endorsed him.[158] Booker held a campaign kickoff rally in Newark on April 13.[159] After qualifying for the first five Democratic Party presidential debates, he failed to meet the polling thresholds to participate in the sixth debate in December 2019.[160] On January 13, 2020, Booker announced that he was suspending his campaign.[161] In March 2020, Booker endorsed former vice presidentJoe Biden for president.[162]
Booker has been called aliberal andprogressive Democrat.[163][164] As a senator, he has a liberal voting record.[138][165] In a July 2013Salon interview, Booker said, "there's nothing in that realm of progressive politics where you won't find me."[166] In a September 2013 interview withThe Grio, when asked whether he considered himself a progressive, he said he was aDemocrat and anAmerican.[167] According to theHumane Society, Booker has had the most pro-animal welfare voting record in the Senate year after year.[168]
Booker supports long-term deficit reduction efforts for economic growth,cap and trade taxation to combatclimate change, and increased funding for education.[169] He has spoken in favor of creating a federaljob guarantee andbaby bonds (low-risk savings accounts that minors get access to at age 18).[138] In the Senate, he has emphasized issues of racial and social justice.[138] He played a leading role in the push to pass theFirst Step Act, a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill.[138] He supports ending thewar on drugs and thelegalization of cannabis.[170][171] Booker supportsabortion rights andaffirmative action.[167][172][173] He supports LGBTQ+ rights, voting for theRespect for Marriage Act in 2022.[174] Booker also supports a single-payer health care plan: in September 2017, he joinedBernie Sanders and 14 other co-sponsors in submitting a single-payer health care plan to Congress called the "Medicare for All" bill.[175] Booker opposes abolishing private health insurance.[176] Along with Senate Republicans in 2017, he voted against a measure to allow cheaper prescription drugs to be imported from Canada, citing concerns about the safety of Canadian drugs, which lead to the measure's defeat. He faced progressive criticism for his vote. Booker is one of the Senate's top financial recipients from the drug industry.[177][178][179]
After theUS strike on Syria in April 2017, Booker criticized military action "without a clear plan" or authorization from Congress.[180]
Booker supports atwo-state solution to theIsraeli–Palestinian conflict. He has said thatIran is a direct threat to U.S. and Israeli security and feels all options should be on the table for dealing with the conflict,[181] but his decision to back theIran nuclear deal framework[182] damaged his long-term relationship with some Jewish voters and supporters.[183] In an attempt to reduce the damage, he initiated an emergency summit for Jewish leaders, which some of his longstanding supporters did not attend.[182][183][184] Booker was the sole Democratic co-sponsor of theIsrael Anti-Boycott Act, receiving criticism from free speech advocates.[185] From 2013 to 2024, he declared receiving $871,563 in funding from pro-Israel donors.[186] In 2025, Booker was in a minority of Senate Democrats that voted not to block the sale of military arms to Israel despite rising death tolls from itswar on Gaza and restrictions on humanitarian aid resulting in severe cases of starvation.[187][188] He has consistently voted for arms sales to Israel and againstBernie Sanders's resolutions to condition military aid to Israel amid theGaza Strip famine andhumanitarian crisis, saying it "would restrict our country's ability to provide future security guarantees without achieving the goal of ending this war now or increasing vital humanitarian aid".[189]
Despite his reputation as a progressive, progressives have criticized Booker for various reasons.[190] In 2017, he voted against a proposal to lower prescription drug prices, which led to criticism that he was too dependent on corporate support.[191] In 2021,The American Prospect criticized Booker andBob Menendez for recommending Christine O'Hearne to a federal judgeship after she had spent much of her career defending employers against discrimination and sexual harassment claims, and had defended a school against allegations that its swim coach had sexually abused a girl from ages 13 to 19.[192]
In 2019, Booker said that he and the president of theAIPAC, a pro-Israellobby, "talk often" and "text message back and forth like teenagers."[193]
According to campaign finance data compiled byOpenSecrets, Booker's campaign received about US$23,370 from political action committees categorized under the "Pro-Israel / Single-Issue" sector during the 2023–24 election cycle.[194]
The website Track AIPAC lists Booker's cumulative lobbying total from AIPAC and related pro-Israel interests at approximately US$871,563 over his career.[195]
Booker has expressed consistent support forIsrael in Congress, including co-sponsoring theIsrael Anti-Boycott Act and opposing efforts to condition U.S. aid to Israel.
In 2009, afterBarack Obama becamePresident of the United States, Booker was offered the leadership of the newWhite House Office of Urban Affairs. He turned the offer down, citing a commitment to Newark.[44]
Booker generated controversy on May 12, 2012, when he appeared onMeet the Press as a surrogate for Obama's reelection campaign and made remarks critical of that campaign.[196] Booker said that the attacks on Republican presidential candidateMitt Romney's record atBain Capital were "nauseating to me on both sides. It's nauseating to the American public. Enough is enough. Stop attackingprivate equity. Stop attackingJeremiah Wright."[196] The Romney campaign used the comments against Obama.[197] Booker made follow-up comments clarifying that he believed Obama's attacks on Romney's record at Bain were legitimate but did not retract his point about attacking private equity in general.[198] Two weeks later, Booker's communications director Anne Torres tendered her resignation, although she maintained it was unrelated toMeet the Press.[199]
Booker sits on the board of advisers of thepolitical action committeeDemocrats for Education Reform.[200] He is a member of theboard of trustees atTeachers College, Columbia University and was formerly a member of the executive committee atYale Law School and the board of trustees atStanford University.
In 2010, Booker received the U.S. Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official, an award given out annually by theJefferson Awards.[201]
In May 2009, Booker received anhonorarydoctor of humane letters degree from the Newark-basedNew Jersey Institute of Technology for "his outstanding career in public service as the Mayor of Newark."[202] In May 2009, he received an honorary doctorate fromBrandeis University and was acommencement speaker that year.[203] Booker received another honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree in December 2010 fromYeshiva University for "his bold vision for Newark and setting a national standard for urban transformation."[204] In June 2011, Booker received an honorarydoctor of laws degree for the urban transformation of Newark and served as that year's commencement speaker atWilliams College.[205] In May 2012, Booker received an honorary doctor of laws degree fromBard College and gave the commencement speech.[206] In 2010, he delivered the commencement addresses atPitzer College on May 15; atColumbia University'sTeachers College on May 17; and atSuffolk University Law School on May 23. Booker gave the commencement address toNew York Law School graduates on May 13, 2011, at Avery Fisher Hall (nowDavid Geffen Hall) atLincoln Center. He gave the commencement address at the University of Rhode Island in May 2011; he also received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.[207] He delivered a commencement address toStanford University graduates on June 17, 2012, at Stanford Stadium.[208] He also received an honorary degree atFairleigh Dickinson's 69th commencement ceremony in May 2012.[209]
In May 2013, Booker gave the commencement address atWashington University in St. Louis and received an honorary doctorate of law.[210]
On May 16, 2014, Booker gave the commencement speech atRamapo College of New Jersey at the IZOD Center.[211]
During the2016 presidential election, when Clinton had an illness described as pneumonia,Donna Brazile, the then-DNC interim chair considered that her ideal replacement ticket would consist of Biden and Booker. But the possibility of a divisive reaction and the possibility of "allowing Trump to capture votes in confusion" caused her to "not entertain any more thoughts of replacing Hillary."[212]
FilmmakerMarshall Curry chronicled Booker's 2002 mayoral campaign in the documentaryStreet Fight. The film was nominated in 2005 for theAcademy Award for Best Documentary Feature.[213]
Since 2009, Booker has starred in the documentary seriesBrick City. The series focuses on Booker's efforts to improve Newark by reducing crime and bring about economic renewal.Brick City won aPeabody Award in 2009 and was nominated for aPrimetime Emmy in 2010.[214]
Booker contributed to the 2011 documentaryMiss Representation and commented on the representations ofwomen in politics inmass media.[215]
Booker appeared in a scene in the 2015Parks and Recreation episode "Ms. Ludgate-Dwyer Goes to Washington" alongsideOrrin Hatch.[216]
Booker appeared in the 2024 Netflix documentaryYou Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment.[217]
In the fall of 2009,Tonight Show hostConan O'Brien engaged in asatirical on-air andYouTube feud with Booker, with O'Brien jokingly insulting Newark and Booker responding that he would ban O'Brien from theNewark airport.[218][219] Then-Secretary of StateHillary Clinton called for the feud to end during a prepared comedy skit, telling Booker to chalk it up to a head injury O'Brien suffered less than two weeks earlier.[220] Booker then appeared on O'Brien's show and assured viewers that the feud was over and that he was actually a big fan of O'Brien, who agreed that every time he made a joke about Newark, he would donate $500 to the City of Newark, and also made a $50,000 donation to the Newark Now charity, whichNBC Universal matched.[221]
In 2012, Booker and tech executives Sarah Ross and Nathan Richardson formedWaywire, a company focused onvideo sharing technology.[222] Early investors includedOprah Winfrey,Eric Schmidt,Jeff Weiner, andTroy Carter.[222] After Booker's relationship to Waywire was discussed in a front-pageNew York Times story,[223] board member Andrew Zucker stepped down from his position.[224] Shortly thereafter, Waywire CEO Richardson departed the business as the company shifted its focus from content creation to content curation.[225] In August 2013, Booker toldNBC News he intended to resign from the Waywire board and put his holdings in a trust if elected to the Senate;[226] by September, he had resigned from the board and donated his share of the company to charity.[227] Waywire was sold to another video curation business the next month.[228]
In 2016, Booker wrote an autobiography,United: Thoughts on Finding Common Ground and Advancing the Common Good.
In an article inHuffPost,Shmuly Yanklowitz said of the book:
If there is anything that Booker repeatedly returns to in United, it is that the myopia of contemporary politics leads citizens astray, and leaves them vulnerable to ignoring issues of tangible importance. "I believe that this broken system, which afflicts us all, will be repaired" writes Booker near the end of the book. To repeat an earlier point, what sets Senator Booker's work apart from that of similar political books is that it seeks to elevate discourse rather than bring down opponents of the opposite partisan persuasion.[229]
Booker regularly exercises and has been avegetarian since 1992, when he was a student at Oxford University.[230] He abstains from alcohol and "has no known vices or addictions (except books)".[231][232] In 2014, Booker began practicing avegan diet[230][233] and has expressed his vegan ethical philosophy and advocacy foranimals.[234] As of June 2016, Booker worshiped at the Metropolitan Baptist Church in Newark.[235]
In 1992, Booker recounted in his column forThe Stanford Daily a sexual encounter during his teenage years and the messages he received that sex was a game. The column described Booker's changed attitudes towards sexual relations and how "skewed attitudes" lead to rape.[236]The Daily Caller andFox News brought up the column during theKavanaugh confirmation hearings in September 2018.[237]
From 1998 to 2006, Booker lived inBrick Towers, a troubled housing complex in Newark'sCentral Ward. In November 2006, as one of the last remaining tenants in Brick Towers, Booker left his apartment for the top unit in a three-story rental on Hawthorne Avenue in Newark's South Ward, an area described as "a drug- and gang-plagued neighborhood of boarded-up houses and empty lots."[238] Brick Towers has since been demolished, and a new mixed-income development was built there in 2010.[239]
Since 2013, Booker has lived in a townhouse he owns in theLincoln Park section of Newark's Central Ward, also known as "the Coast" for its arts, jazz, and nightlife history.[240]
Booker speaksSpanish; he attended a Spanish immersion program inEcuador.[241][242][243]
In 2020, Booker learned that he and entertainerRuPaul are cousins, after both appeared on the TV showFinding Your Roots.[244]
In November 2022, Booker wrote a letter of support and leniency forTheranos founderElizabeth Holmes to the federal judge before her sentencing hearing. In the letter, Booker said that Holmes "holds onto the hope that she can make contributions to the lives of others and that she can, despite mistakes, make the world a better place."[245]
Booker has never been married, and in 2013 he was named one ofTown & Country's "Top 40 Bachelors".[232] Although he has generally tried to keep his personal life private, Booker has in the past referred to himself as a "straight male" and said that he is trying to date more in hopes of finding someone with whom to settle down.[246] He has been romantically linked to poetCleo Wade.[247] In March 2019, actressRosario Dawson confirmed toTMZ that she was in a relationship with Booker.[248] Their relationship ended in February 2022.[249][250] In September 2025, Booker announced his engagement to Alexis Lewis.[251] Lewis is Senior Vice President of Investments at Brasa Capital Management (a real estate investment manager inLos Angeles), and was formerly the Economic Policy Manager for theLos Angeles Mayor’s Office of Economic Development.[252][253]
In a 1992 column inThe Stanford Daily, Booker admitted that as a teenager he had "hated gays."[254][255] He has himself been rumored to be gay and has generally refused to address rumors like these on principle, as he explained in 2013:
Because I want to challenge people on their homophobia. I love seeing on Twitter when someone says I'm gay, and I say, "So what does it matter if I am? So be it. I hope you are not voting for me because you are making the presumption that I'm straight."[256][257]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Sharpe James (incumbent) | 28,363 | 52.9 | |
| Nonpartisan | Cory Booker | 24,869 | 46.5 | |
| Nonpartisan | Dwayne Smith | 339 | 0.6 | |
| Total votes | 53,571 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Cory Booker | 32,134 | 72.1 | |
| Nonpartisan | Ronald L. Rice | 10,337 | 23.2 | |
| Nonpartisan | David Blount | 1,831 | 4.1 | |
| Nonpartisan | Nancy Rosenstock | 238 | 0.5 | |
| Total votes | 44,540 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Cory Booker (incumbent) | 22,745 | 59.1 | |
| Nonpartisan | Clifford J. Minor | 13,570 | 35.3 | |
| Nonpartisan | Yvonne Garrett Moore | 1,703 | 4.4 | |
| Nonpartisan | Mirna L. White | 444 | 1.2 | |
| Total votes | 38,462 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Cory Booker | 216,936 | 59.2 | |
| Democratic | Frank Pallone | 72,584 | 19.8 | |
| Democratic | Rush Holt Jr. | 61,463 | 16.8 | |
| Democratic | Sheila Oliver | 15,656 | 4.3 | |
| Total votes | 366,639 | 100.0 | ||
| Majority | 144,352 | 39.4 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Cory Booker | 740,742 | 54.9 | ||
| Republican | Steve Lonegan | 593,684 | 44.2 | ||
| Ed the Barber | Edward Stackhouse Jr. | 5,138 | 0.4 | ||
| Independent | Robert DePasquale | 3,137 | 0.2 | ||
| Alimony Reform Now | Stuart David Meissner | 2,051 | 0.2 | ||
| Unity is Strength | Pablo Olivera | 1,530 | 0.1 | ||
| Freedom of Choice | Antonio Nico Sabas | 1,336 | 0.1 | ||
| Democratic-Republican | Eugene Martin Lavergne | 1,041 | 0.1 | ||
| Total votes | 1,348,659 | 100.0 | |||
| Majority | 147,058 | 10.9 | |||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Cory Booker (incumbent) | 1,043,866 | 55.8 | +0.9 | |
| Republican | Jeff Bell | 791,297 | 42.3 | −1.7 | |
| Libertarian | Joseph Baratelli | 16,721 | 0.9 | +0.4 | |
| Economic Growth | Hank Schroeder | 5,704 | 0.3 | +0.3 | |
| Independent | Jeff Boss | 4,513 | 0.2 | +0.2 | |
| Democratic-Republican | Eugene Martin Lavergne | 3,890 | 0.2 | +0.1 | |
| Independent | Antonio Nico Sabas | 3,544 | 0.2 | +0.12 | |
| Total votes | 1,869,535 | 100.0 | +38.6 | ||
| Majority | 252,569 | 13.5 | +2.6 | ||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Cory Booker (incumbent) | 366,105 | 89.4% | |
| Democratic | Lawrence Hamm | 43,195 | 10.6% | |
| Total votes | 409,300 | 100.0% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Cory Booker (incumbent) | 2,541,178 | 57.23% | +1.39% | |
| Republican | Rikin Mehta | 1,817,052 | 40.92% | −1.41% | |
| Green | Madelyn Hoffman | 38,288 | 0.86% | N/A | |
| Independent | Veronica Fernandez | 32,290 | 0.73% | N/A | |
| Independent | Daniel Burke | 11,632 | 0.26% | N/A | |
| Total votes | 4,440,440 | 100.0% | |||
| Democratichold | |||||
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{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)I finally just made a decision that I was going to become vegan. I remember my last non-vegan meal was Election Day, November 2014.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Mayor of Newark 2006–2013 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromNew Jersey (Class 2) 2013,2014,2020 | Most recent |
| Preceded by | Senate Democratic Chief Deputy Whip 2017–2021 Served alongside:Jeff Merkley,Brian Schatz | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Vice Chair of theSenate Democratic Policy and Communications Committee 2021–2025 Served alongside:Joe Manchin | Succeeded byas Vice Chair of the Senate DemocraticSteering andPolicy Committee |
| Succeeded byas Vice Chair of the Senate Democratic Strategic Communications Committee | ||
| Preceded byas Senate Democratic Policy and Communications Committee | Chair of theSenate Democratic Strategic Communications Committee 2025–present | Incumbent |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | United States Senator (Class 2) from New Jersey 2013–present Served alongside:Bob Menendez,George Helmy,Andy Kim | Incumbent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | Order of precedence of the United States as United States senator | Succeeded by |
| Seniority in the U.S. Senate 46th | Succeeded by | |
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| National | |
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