Scoop: Cory Booker wastes no time hitting the 2028 trail
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Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) is heading back to South Carolina this weekend to speak to Black voters, celebrate Democrats' success in a deep-red state and lay out his vision for the party's future.
Why it matters: For Senate Democrats, the 2028 presidential primary is getting underway before they formally vote on their next Senate leader.
- That likely leader — Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) — will have to manage the ambitions of at least half a dozen senators looking to distinguish themselves in a crowded, wide-open presidential field.
Zoom in: Fresh off his 27-percentage-point reelection victory in New Jersey, Booker isn't wasting any time between his last campaign and his (likely) next one.
- Booker appears to be the first senator — and first potential 2028 presidential contender — to visit South Carolina since the midterms. The state will hold the first Democratic presidential primary in 2028.
- In October, Booker campaigned in South Carolina for Annie Andrews, who went on to upset Republican Darline Graham to become the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from the state since Fritz Hollings in 1998.
Driving the news: On Friday night, Booker is scheduled to speak at the Sumter County NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet in Sumter, S.C.
- He'll return to the state on Nov. 20 to attend the Charleston Branch NAACP's annual Freedom Fund Gala. It's the oldest NAACP branch in the state.
Zoom out: The midterms weren't necessarily a proving ground for potential 2028 candidates, but they gave them an opportunity to hit the road, meet local officials and raise their national profiles.
- Pete Buttigieg was among the most active, campaigning at more than 50 events for Democrats up and down the ballot and visiting 37 states since leaving office.
