Daniel Acker/The New York Times
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), then a Democratic candidate for president, campaigns in North Liberty, Iowa, on Jan. 9, 2020. Booker endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden for president on Monday, March 9, 2020, adding to what has become a nearly complete consolidation of support from Biden’s former top rivals to push him to the Democratic nomination.
The New York Times Company
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden for president Monday, adding to what has become a nearly complete consolidation of support from Biden’s former top rivals to push him to the Democratic nomination.
Booker’s endorsement comes one day after Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., endorsed Biden, and the two senators will appear with him at a rally in Detroit on Monday night. Booker will also campaign alongside Biden in Flint, Michigan, earlier in the day and attend a fundraiser with him.
“It a time for us to beat Donald Trump and it became very clear to me that Joe Biden is the right person to do that,” Booker said in an interview on “CBS This Morning,” after announcing his endorsement in a tweet.
“We have to unify and show our strength and I think this Tuesday could be a pivotal day in our primary progress, but it’s about time that we start unifying as a party and begin the work to beat Donald Trump, and frankly save our nation.”
Erin Schaff/The New York Times
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 16, 2020. Harris endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden for president on Sunday, March 8, becoming the latest of his formal rivals for the Democratic nomination to get behind his presidential bid.
It recalls last Monday night, when Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas all spoke out for Biden on the eve of Super Tuesday.
Booker and Harris were two of the most prominent black candidates to run for president, and their endorsements come as Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont scrambles to make up ground among black voters in Michigan, where they make up a sizable part of the electorate.
Booker pointed to Biden’s deep connections with black voters and what Booker saw as “understanding the issues of race and frankly racial reconciliation and racial justice, and even saying things now about choosing a black woman on the Supreme Court.”
Biden also picked up two major endorsements, as two national gun control advocacy groups — Everytown for Gun Safety and the Brady Campaign — announced their support for Biden, evidence that Sanders’ past positions on gun control could undermine his support on an issue popular with many Democratic voters.
