Cory Booker | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2015 | |
| United States Senator from New Jersey | |
| Assumed office October 31, 2013 Serving with George Helmy | |
| Preceded by | Jeffrey Chiesa |
| 38th Mayor of Newark | |
| In office July 1, 2006 – October 31, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Sharpe James |
| Succeeded by | Luis Quintana |
| Member of the Newark Municipal Council from the Central Ward | |
| In office July 1, 1998 – June 30, 2002 | |
| Preceded by | George Branch |
| Succeeded by | Charles Bell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Cory Anthony Booker April 27, 1969 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Relatives | RuPaul (cousin) |
| Education | Stanford University (BA, MA) Queen's College, Oxford (MA) Yale University (JD) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | Senate website |
| College football career | |
| Stanford Cardinal – No. 81 | |
| Position | Tight end |
| Class | 1991 |
| Major | Political science |
| Personal information | |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight | 220 lb (100 kg) |
| Career history | |
| High school | Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Cory Anthony Booker (born April 27, 1969)[1][2] is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from New Jersey, a seat he has held since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Booker is the first African-American U.S. senator from New Jersey. He was the 38th mayor of Newark from 2006 to 2013, and served on the Municipal Council of Newark for the Central Ward from 1998 to 2002.
Booker was born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Harrington Park, New Jersey. He attended Stanford University, receiving a BA in 1991 and a master's degree a year later. He attended Queen's College, Oxford, on a Rhodes Scholarship before attending Yale Law School.
He won an upset victory for a seat on the Municipal Council of Newark in 1998, staging a 10-day hunger strike and briefly living in a tent to draw attention to urban development issues in the city. He ran for mayor in 2002 but lost to incumbent Sharpe James. He ran again in 2006 and defeated Deputy Mayor Ronald Rice. Booker's first term saw the doubling of affordable housing under development and the reduction of the city budget deficit from $180 million to $73 million. He was reelected in 2010. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in a 2013 special election and reelected in 2014 and in 2020.
Throughout his Senate tenure, Booker has written, sponsored, and voted for legislation advancing women's rights, affirmative action, same-sex marriage, and single-payer healthcare. He has pushed for economic reforms to address wealth inequality in the U.S., particularly the racial wealth gap. Booker has pursued measures to reform the criminal justice system, combat climate change, and restructure national immigration policy.
In foreign policy, he has voted for tougher sanctions against Iran, voiced support for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, and lobbied for increased diplomacy in the Middle East. He was the first senator to ever testify against another senator during attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions's 2017 confirmation hearing. Booker was a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, suspending his campaign on January 13, 2020. He became New Jersey's senior senator when Bob Menendez resigned on August 20, 2024.[3]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:1was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
pathwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Pager, Tyler; Cheeseman, Abbie; Markus, Nicole; Goodwin, Liz (July 23, 2024). "Bob Menendez to resign Senate seat after federal bribery conviction". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved July 23, 2024.