Updated Sep 20, 2019 - Health

Cory Booker on the issues, in under 500 words

Cory Booker at his 2020 campaign announcement in Newark, N.J.

Photo: Dominick Reuter/AFP/Getty Images

Editor's note: Booker dropped out of contention for the Democratic presidential nomination on Jan. 13, 2020. Below is our original article on his candidacy.

Democrat Cory Booker is a New Jersey senator known for his optimistic views. The former mayor of Newark lived in one of the city's most distressed buildings until 2006 in a show of defiance against the landlord and the city.

Key facts about Cory Booker:

  • Current position: Senator from New Jersey — 5 years served
  • Age: 49
  • Born: Washington, D.C.
  • Undergraduate: Stanford (Rhodes Scholar)
  • Date candidacy announced: Feb. 1, 2019
  • % of votes in line with Trump, per FiveThirtyEight: 15.4%
  • Previous roles: Newark, N.J. city council, mayor of Newark

Cory Booker's stance on key issues:

  • Advancing reproductive health care rights like access to abortions and birth control.
  • "Rise Credit": Proposed a policy aiming to expand eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit to more working and middle-class families.
  • Voter rights: If elected, Booker plans to introduce a "new Voting Rights Act" to end gerrymandering, cut voter suppression, expand voting and registration.
  • Housing plan: Booker proposed a tax credit for renters to prevent them from spending more than 30% of their incomes on rent, among other policies.
  • Immigration: Proposed a plan targeting "inhumane" detention centers.

Key criticisms of Cory Booker:

  • Corporate interests: Booker was the top recipient of Wall Street money in the 2014 election cycle. He also has a reputation as a friend of the pharmaceutical industry as well as Silicon Valley.
  • Self-promotion: He has been criticized as a grandstanding politician, highlighted by his "I am Spartacus" moment when he said he would jeopardize his Senate seat by releasing confidential documents during the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings.

1 fun thing about Cory Booker:

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