NEWARK — Lagging in the early polls and in fundraising, Cory Booker returned home to re-energize his presidential campaign Saturday, kicking off a new phase designed to sharpen his message and distinguish himself from the pack of 17 other Democrats vying for the White House.
The New Jersey senator rolled out his “Justice for All” tour, a two-week national stint designed to stake out policy positions and frame his campaign around the theme of justice —economic justice, environmental justice and criminal justice, among other forms.
“Too many people believe the forces that are tearing us apart are stronger than the bonds that hold us together. I don’t believe that,” Booker said, kicking off the tour in New Jersey’s most populous city. “I believe we will achieve things that other people say are impossible. I believe we will make justice real for all.”
He pledged to build a clean energy economy by hold polluters to task, spoke about the need to end mass incarceration by treating addiction and called for investments in education and mental health. Booker also highlighted the need to create an economy where there are fair wages for all, in part by giving newborns a savings account to help close the wealth inequality gap.
Booker chose Newark as the launch for a reason: it’s the city where he got his start in politics, first as a city councilman and then as mayor.
Newark, he said, is a city that has always been “impatient for justice.”
“Well, here in Newark, we refused to wait,” Booker said. “We didn’t just talk about the injustice of people not being able to buy fresh fruits and vegetables — we opened grocery stores in food deserts. We got people to invest here. We opened new businesses here, created thousands of new jobs here together.”
Booker sought to use his hometown as the backdrop for a reset of sorts. While he has established an extensive early presidential state infrastructure, he’s posted modest first quarter fundraising numbers and is struggling to break out of the pack in the early polls.
“We’ve gone from four candidates when Cory announced in early February to 18 in the race now,” Booker campaign manager Addisu Demissie said on a Thursday conference call with reporters. “This is a moment to be able to say clearly, and above the din of what’s happening on the day to day basis, why Cory is in the race and what he’s fighting for.”
The senator’s campaign dismisses his standing in the polls (Booker is hovering around 3 to 5 percent) and the modest fundraising haul (coming in right now at about $5 million). Not only is it early in the primary, aides say, they are putting their energy into what’s important right now: the campaign has already held more than 60 events, and continues to build out robust organizing efforts in key states like Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada.
“No candidate can boast the staff infrastructure and local support that we have,” Demissie said. “We’re not building this campaign to win a poll in April of 2019, we are trying to win the election.”
Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine
Source: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/04/13/cory-booker-2020-1273819
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The Article Was Written/Published By: klandergan@politico.com (Katherine Landergan)
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