Sen. Cory Booker launched a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination on Friday.
He is the second black candidate to enter the race, following Sen. Kamala Harris of California. Friday is the first day of Black History Month.
The New Jersey Democrat’s entrance into the race was widely expected. The charismatic senator and former mayor of Newark, New Jersey, has been crisscrossing key primary states in recent weeks while telegraphing that a decision was coming.
Booker, who served as mayor until he was elected to the Senate in 2014, is one of several Democratic senators including Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Sen. Kamala Harris of California who have their eyes on the 2020 nomination.
The liberal Democrat has been an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump.
He scored a crucial policy victory recently when Congress passed a major piece of bipartisan criminal justice reform that Booker worked closely with Republicans to advance.
Earlier in 2018, Booker, 49, took the spotlight during the contentious confirmation hearings for now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh when Booker dramatically threatened to release what he said were confidential documents but turned out not to be.
If Booker is elected president he will be the first bachelor sent to the Oval Office in more than 150 years.
Mitch McConnell is going to force the Senate to vote on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal. To more electionsowl.com