WASHINGTON, D.C. (KCCI/CNN) Get out your scorecard again for the 2020 presidential race—there’s another name that’s jumped into the mix.
New Jersey Senator Cory Booker made his presidential ambitions official as the field of Democratic contenders just keeps growing.
On the first day of Black History Month, Booker joined an already crowded primary, making clear his biography will be at the forefront of his campaign.
“It’s really what my mom challenged me to do as a kid,” Sen. Booker said. “And she just said, ‘Look, you have a debt to pay back and you can’t really pay it back. You’ve got to pay it forward.’”
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who’s also running, welcomed Booker to the race, saying, “I’ll be cheering you on. Just, you know, not too hard.”
It’s shaping up to be the most diverse, and among the largest slate of candidates in Democratic Party history. Booker becomes the fourth senator in the race, and the second black candidate. Five women could also be on the ticket. And at least a dozen more are eyeing a run.
The president also made clear he’s carefully following the opposition, telling the New York Times he believes Senator Kamala Harris has had the best start with “a better crowd, better enthusiasm.”
The Democratic field also has ideological diversity, with candidates already taking sides on defining issues like Medicare-for-all, immigration and trade.
Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, on a three-day visit to Iowa, is also exploring a presidential bid. He’s urging Democrats to consider geographical diversity.
A reporter asked Sen. Brown, “Do you think your party needs a candidate from the middle of the country to defeat Donald Trump?” Brown replied, “I think that our party needs to nominate somebody that can win the industrial Midwest, the Heartland, the Great Lakes states, the Plains states from Pennsylvania to Iowa.”
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