Booker unveils New Jersey campaign team as 2026 Senate race doubles as potential springboard for 2028

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker has assembled a campaign team heavy on New Jersey political operatives, presidential campaign veterans, and Democratic organizing specialists as he seeks re-election this year and positions himself for a potential second run for president in 2028.

Adam Silverstein, who managed Booker’s 2020 Senate campaign and has served as his New Jersey political director, will again oversee the senator’s re-election effort.

Mo Butler, one of Booker’s closest advisers since his days as Newark mayor, will serve as a senior adviser.

The campaign announced a 15-person leadership team that will also work with the New Jersey Democratic State Committee on a coordinated campaign intended to help congressional and local Democratic candidates across the state.

Booker is seeking his fourth statewide victory since winning a 2013 special election following the death of U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg.  He won full terms against former Reagan speechwriter Jeff Bell in 2014 and ex-U.S. Food and Drug Administration official Rik Mehta in 2020.

He faces Republican Justin Murphy, a former Tabernacle deputy mayor, in November.

Booker received 2.54 million votes in 2020, the most ever cast for a statewide candidate in New Jersey, and beat Mehta by 16 percentage points.  His ability to match or exceed that margin this year could affect competitive congressional races and provide an early measure of his political strength ahead of 2028.

With more than $22.2 million in his campaign account and a Republican opponent who lacks comparable financial resources or statewide name recognition, Booker enters the race as a substantial favorite. No Republican has won a U.S. Senate election in New Jersey since 1972.

But the size and composition of his operation suggest ambitions beyond simply winning another term.

A strong statewide victory, an extensive organizing network, relationships with Democratic candidates, and a national fundraising apparatus would all be useful assets if Booker seeks the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028.  Several members of his new team worked on his previous presidential campaign or have experience organizing in early-primary states and national battlegrounds.

Booker ran for president during the 2020 Democratic primary but ended his campaign before the Iowa caucuses. He has not formally announced another presidential bid.

“I’m honored to have such an incredibly talented team leading my Senate campaign. They bring deep experience, innovative ideas, and, most importantly, a commitment to the people we’re fighting for,” Booker stated. “With so much at stake in this election, I am confident we have the team in place that will not only help earn my re-election to the Senate but also ensure, in partnership with our state party and Chairman Leroy Jones, Democrats win up and down the ballot.”

Silverstein previously helped guide Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco’s 2014 victory and Rep. Josh Gottheimer’s 2016 congressional win, both campaigns that defeated Republican incumbents.

“Cory is building a strong and talented team that will ensure New Jersey Democrats win at every level of the ballot in 2026,” Silverstein said. “In every part of New Jersey, we are building the organizing infrastructure to mobilize voters, engage communities, and ultimately deliver a historic victory for Democrats in this critical midterm election.”

Butler served as Booker’s chief of staff at Newark City Hall and later became his New Jersey chief of staff in the Senate.  A Democratic National Committee member, he has worked as a senior strategist on each of Booker’s previous campaigns, including his 2020 presidential bid.

Sam Blackwood will serve as campaign chief of staff.   Blackwood previously worked for State Sen. Vin Gopal and advised campaigns for U.S. Sen. Andy Kim and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. He most recently managed Dr. Thomas Fisher’s congressional campaign and has also worked for Michelle Obama’s When We All Vote organization.

Katie Brennan will direct the coordinated campaign.  She organized in Monmouth County during Gopal’s successful 2017 State Senate campaign and worked in Iowa as a regional organizing director for Booker’s presidential campaign.  She later served as organizing director for U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock’s 2022 re-election campaign in Georgia and voter protection director for U.S. Sen. Jon Tester’s 2024 campaign in Montana.

Brad Raimondo will serve as statewide organizing director after working on Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s first congressional campaign in 2018 and her successful gubernatorial campaign last year.  He also worked on the 2025 statewide Democratic coordinated campaign.

Allie Brotherton, the special projects director, worked on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign in Michigan and held organizing positions with Michigan’s 2024 coordinated campaign and New Jersey’s 2025 coordinated campaign.

Anne Sciaino returns as national finance director, a position she held during Booker’s 2020 Senate campaign.  She worked on Booker’s 2013 and 2014 Senate races and served as chief of staff to the finance operation of his presidential campaign.  Her résumé also includes fundraising work for Clinton and Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman.

Emma Davis will serve as deputy finance director.  She has worked with Booker’s finance team since 2020 and assisted fundraising efforts for the Harris-Walz transition team in 2024.

Booker’s fundraising operation could carry significance well beyond November. He raised approximately $10 million during a single quarter following his 25-hour Senate floor speech criticizing President Donald Trump last year, attracting more than 200,000 individual donors.

Kinn Badger, the state Democratic committee’s coalitions director since 2022, will oversee coalition-building and community outreach for the campaign. A former executive director of the Monmouth County Democrats, Badger has worked on campaigns for Barack Obama, Clinton, and U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff.

Ayinde Martin will lead African-American outreach.  Martin previously worked on the late Rep. Donald Payne Jr.’s congressional campaign and served as chief of staff for East Orange.

Sam Beson will serve as data and analytics director after working for the state Democratic committee, the Middlesex County Democratic Organization, and the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee.

Shea Seiff will be data operations director.  She previously organized for Booker’s presidential campaign in Iowa, worked on a congressional race in New Jersey’s 7th district, and served as executive director and coordinated campaign director for Democratic organizations in Morris and Somerset counties.

Rob Bingham, the operations director, worked on Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign and served as Iowa state director for Andrew Yang’s presidential campaign.

David Steele will direct digital fundraising after working as a senior digital strategist at Grassroots Analytics.

Chad Stouffer, the voter protection director, previously worked on voter protection efforts in Georgia for Kamala Harris and Ossoff.  Before entering politics, he worked as a systems engineer at Lockheed Martin in Moorestown and as a patent attorney in Philadelphia.