Cory A. Booker
Bio | Cory Booker serves as a senator from New Jersey. He previously served as the 36th Mayor of Newark and is a member of the Democratic Party. |
Status and Position | Current US Senator of New Jersey |
Political Party and Jurisdiction | Democrat, New Jersey |
Elections | Election Jurisdiction | Started Campaign | Campaign Status | Poll Rankings (of the vote) |
| 2020 Presidential Election United States | United States | Yes | Dropped Out | N/A |
Campaign Financing | The Booker campaign is rejecting campaign contributions from PACs, federal lobbyists, and fossil fuel corporations and executives. Booker is an advocate for overturning Citizens United. |
Voting Rights | Booker is supportive of a number of measures to strengthen voting rights in the United States. If elected, he would seek to restore the Voting Rights Act to protect the enfranchisement of marginalized groups. He would also make Election Day a national holiday, combat political gerrymandering, implement automatic voter registration, and restore voting rights for felons who have finished serving their sentences. |
Opinions on Issues
Issues | Stance | Summary |
| Universal Healthcare | Against | When asked if he would eliminate private insurance he said no. Booker is supportive of efforts to expand access to healthcare and has advocated for several plans to do so. He is now an advocate for Medicare-for-All, bill which he cosponsored, but he had previously endorsed plans to expand the Affordable Care Act. If elected, he would seek to address public health crises such as maternal mortality and the opioid epidemic by allocating more resources to healthcare providers and researchers. |
| Socialized Healthcare | For | Booker was supportive of the Affordable Care Act but would now seek to replace it with Medicare-for-All. |
| Private Healthcare | For | When asked if he would eliminate private insurance he said, “No.” |
| LGBT Rights | For | Is an advocate for LGBT rights. Booker is supportive of LGBT rights, and supports anti-discrimination legislation such as the Equality Act. He has expressed specific intention to reverse the transgender military ban if elected. |
| Taxes | For | Booker is supportive of several measures that would raise tax rates. Booker is especially supportive of capital gains taxes. |
| Flat Tax Rate | Against | Supports progressive tax rates. Booker is especially supportive of capital gains taxes. |
| Abortion | For | Booker has promised to protect abortion rights if elected president. Booker is a pro-choice candidate who has received endorsements from the Planned Parenthood Action Fund in previous elections. He has outlined several steps that his administration would take to protect reproductive rights, which include creating a White House Office of Reproductive Freedom, repealing the Hyde Amendment, and introducing pieces of federal legislation to protect abortion access. Booker also supports policies that require employers to cover contraception in their insurance plans. |
| Gun Control | For | Booker is an advocate for several gun control measures. Booker is a vocal advocate for gun control, and would prioritize reducing gun violence through a number of preventative measures. These include implementing universal background checks, implementing a federal gun licensing program, and banning assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and bump stocks. He would also allocate more funds to researching gun violence. |
| Assisted Suicide | For | Said it should be available after psychological exam. Booker is a vocal advocate for gun control, and would prioritize reducing gun violence through a number of preventative measures. These include implementing universal background checks, implementing a federal gun licensing program, and banning assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and bump stocks. He would also allocate more funds to researching gun violence. |
| Government Interference | For | Supports measures such as gun control and environmental regulations. Also supports increased government oversight in several arenas. |
| Planned Parenthood | For | Believes Planned Parenthood provides essential healthcare services for women. |
| Welfare | For | Booker is an enthusiastic supporter of welfare programs. Booker is supportive of welfare and has advocated to expand the Medicaid and Social Security programs. He has also participated in campaigns to reduce stigma surrounding welfare recipients, including a publicized week in which he attempted to feed himself at costs equivalent to food stamps. He has also proposed an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit program. |
| Welfare | For | Is supportive of labs that conduct stem cell research. |
| Death Penalty | Against | Would abolish the death penalty. Booker does not believe that capital punishment contributes productively to the justice system and would seek to abolish it. |
| Mandatory Prison Sentence | Against | Supports abolishing mandatory minimums. |
| Military Spending | For | On average, Booker has voted to increase military spending more times than he has voted to cut it. |
| War on Terrorism | Against | Would withdraw troops from Afghanistan. |
| Foreign Policy International Interaction | For | Booker has committed to working closely with allies if elected. Booker is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he has vocally opposed many of the Trump Administration’s foreign policy approaches. He has been especially critical of the Trump Administration’s alienation of foreign allies, who he has said he would recommit to if elected. |
| United Nations power | For | He has disagreed with some UN policies, however, he has supported the UN overall. |
| Nationalism | Against | Has criticized Trump's nationalist tactics. |
| Free Markets | For | Supports free-markets. Booker supports free-trade, but has been has expressed concern that some free-trade agreements don’t do enough to protect US interests. If elected, he has said he would only support trade deals that provide clear and tangible benefits to American workers. |
| Brexit | Unknown | Has not been vocal on the issue. |
| Affirmative Action | For | Has been critical of individuals seeking to dismantle affirmative action programs. |
| Government Spending | For | Supports increasing government spending on social programs and defense. |
| Charter Schools | For | Founded the Newark Charter School Fund. |
| Common Core | For | Booker believes in the concept of the Common Core, but not its current implementation. Booker would adjust the standards and enforcement of Common Core standards. |
| Clean Energy | For | Booker believes that the US should increase use of sustainable energy sources. Booker is an environmentalist with unique experience in crafting environmental policy from his time on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. He has endorsed the Green New Deal. As a Senator, he co-sponsored multiple pieces of legislation to set clean energy goals. If elected, he would also recommit to the Paris Climate Agreement. |
| Religious Freedom | For | Does not believe that religious freedom includes the right to discriminate. Booker is an advocate for religious freedom, and has said he would rush to defend anyone who has been persecuted for their religious beliefs. At the same time, however, he does not believe that religious freedom can be used as justification to discriminate against others. |
| Separation of Church and State | For | Believes there should be separation between church and state. |
| Slavery Reparations | For | Has proposed the development of a commission to explore the idea. |
| Border Control | Against | Booker has been critical of ICE. Booker has called on communities in his state of New Jersey to divest from ICE. He has also advocated for several programs to increase oversight on ICE. Booker opposes proposals to build a southern border wall. |
| Passenger Profiling | Against | Was extremely critical of Brett Kavanaugh for allegedly condoning racial profiling in policing. |
| DACA | For | Would grant citizenship to DREAMers. |
| Sanctuary Cities | For | Believes that sanctuary cities should be protected. |
| Legalizing Marijuana | For | Booker supports the federal decriminalization of marijuana and has advocated to expunge the records of all marijuana-related offenses. |