Of all the candidates vying for the Democratic nomination for president, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey may be the best-educated. He has three solid debate performances under his belt with no real slip-ups. His past is relatively scandal-free, and sources say that Cory Booker’s drug dealer friend would kick Joe Biden’s thugged-out homeboy’s ass if T-Bone ever had to square up with Corn Pop. Still, Booker has struggled with fundraising, leading to speculation that the former Brick City mayor was on the verge of ending his White House run.
On Monday, buoyed by support from New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, Booker announced that he’d hit his fundraising goal and would stay in the fight to unseat Donald Trump, the Associated Press reports. Booker had previously informed reporters that he was considering calling it quits because of a lack of momentum and capital. His campaign raised $4.5 million in the last quarter but spent $1 million more than that.
“I don’t believe people should stay in this just to stay in it. You either have a trajectory to win or not and right now if we don’t raise $1.7 million we won’t be able to make the investments necessary,” Booker told reporters after a Sept. 21 fundraiser in Des Moines, Iowa. “If we don’t have a pathway to win, we should get out of this race.”
RealClear Politics’ polling average has the two-term senator polling at 1.5 percent nationally, languishing behind everyone but fellow senator Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) and two dudes whose last name are Bennet and Steyer who could possibly become president if there happens to be a particularly frigid day in hell.
“Booker’s problem is that he has no base of support,” noted The Root’s Jason Johnson. “He has the resume but there isn’t anyone clamoring for him to become president.”
Maybe T-Bone could lend him some money.