U.S. Sen. Cory Booker called for generational change in Senate Democratic leadership Wednesday, declaring that “it’s time for new leadership” and predicting that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer will be the last baby boomer to lead the party in the Senate, while stopping short of endorsing Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan or calling for Schumer’s ouster.
Booker made the comments during a Trenton stop on his annual tour of New Jersey’s 21 counties. Mayor Reed Gusciora joined him for visits to the Greater Mount Zion Community Development Corporation and the Mercer County Restorative Justice Hub operated by Salvation & Social Justice.
Booker began Wednesday’s tour at Greater Mount Zion’s food pantry on Pennington Avenue, where food was being distributed to local residents.
They also toured Back in Our Hands, Greater Mount Zion’s planned birthing center. The facility will offer an alternative for low-risk mothers who want to avoid hospital births, along with prenatal and postnatal services, lactation assistance, fitness classes, programs for fathers and children, and other wellness services.
The birthing center is located near the construction site for the future headquarters of the New Jersey Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Authority.
Booker connected the visit to his work in Washington on legislation intended to reduce maternal mortality.
“I lead maternal mortality efforts to curb the rates of maternal mortality in Washington, D.C., with my collection of bills called the Momnibus Act,” Booker said
Booker then visited the recently reopened Mercer County Restorative Justice Hub on West Front Street.
The youth-centered facility serves people between the ages of 12 and 26 who are experiencing conflicts, exposure to community violence, school or court involvement, and emotional stress. Its programs include restorative conflict-response services, youth mentorship, leadership development, fitness and wellness activities.
Booker met with the Rev. Charles Boyer, founder of Salvation & Social Justice and pastor of Greater Mount Zion AME Church, to discuss the programs, their successes, and their broader outreach.
“These programs demonstrate both the unique challenges facing our City and the incredible power & dedication of our community to face them head-on,” said Gusciora. “Trenton has produced these spectacular examples of transformative impact- examples that Senator Booker will help take far beyond our City limits.”
Booker said visiting community organizations helps him stay connected to the people whose work shapes his legislative agenda.
“You need to stay connected to the communities doing the work, and this is one of them,” Booker said.
He also pointed to his role in crafting the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022. Booker said his advocacy was informed by his experiences as mayor of Newark from 2006 to 2013 and by visits to organizations like the restorative justice hub.
“I was the one in the one gun bill we’ve passed in the last 30 years that got the community violence intervention money, and these guys are doing that work.”
“It’s vital to stay connected to the people doing the work,” Booker said.
Booker’s visit came as he takes a prominent role in Democratic efforts to reclaim control of the Senate, where the party faces a difficult national map.
In Michigan, El-Sayed is running against former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers for the seat held by retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters. El-Sayed’s narrow primary victory over Rep. Haley Stevens, a more moderate Democrat, left divisions within the party in a state Donald Trump has carried twice.
Asked about the race, Booker declined to join some House Democrats in criticizing El-Sayed. But he also stopped short of endorsing the Democratic nominee, instead directing attention to other states where he believes the party can compete.
“There’s a lot of focus on that race; my focus is about winning back the Senate. Cook Political Report has put Iowa in play; Texas is in play, Alaska, Maine.”
Booker went beyond the Cook Political Report’s current ratings by suggesting that Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith could be vulnerable in Mississippi, where she faces Democratic lawyer Scott Colom.
“I think Mississippi is in play, and a lot more,” he said.
The Cook Political Report currently rates the Mississippi Senate race as Solid Republican.
Booker said his own political efforts would remain heavily focused on New Jersey, where Democrats are seeking to gain U.S. House seats.
“My work is going to be doubling down here in New Jersey and trying to get my state to pick up some House seats.”
Booker did not call for Schumer’s ouster, but stopped short of offering the Democratic leader an outright endorsement. He argued that most New Jersey voters are more concerned about household expenses than the Senate leadership fight.
“I sincerely think maybe 5% of the state knows who Chuck Schumer is. New Jerseyans are concerned about the rising cost of gas and the challenges facing families,” Booker said.
Still, Booker made clear that he expects Schumer’s eventual successor to come from a younger generation.
“It’s time for new leadership,” he said. “There is a generation of new leadership rising; I think Chuck Schumer will be the last baby boomer head of our party in the Senate.”
Schumer is 75. One of Booker’s closest Senate allies, Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), 53, is likely to become Democratic whip next year following the retirement of Richard Durbin (D-Illinois), 81.
The three-term senator, who is widely expected to seek the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028, is running his fourth race for the U.S. Senate in New Jersey. He faces Republican Justin Murphy, a U.S. Navy veteran and former Tabernacle deputy mayor, in November.
Booker and Murphy will meet in their first and only debate on October 8, sponsored by the New Jersey Globe and Rider University.