U.S. Senator Cory Booker has endorsed Kamala Harris, his onetime rival during the 2020 presidential primaries, to be the Democratic nominee for president, joining with the vast majority of his fellow Democrats in rallying behind the vice president.
“For the last decade, I’ve had the privilege of calling Kamala Harris a friend, a Senate colleague, my Vice President — my sister,” Booker said in a statement. “I cannot wait to do everything I can to help her make history, and call her Madam President.”
In the 24 hours since President Joe Biden announced that he would abandon his re-election bid and support Harris instead, Harris has drawn a tremendous amount of support for her nascent campaign, both nationwide and in New Jersey. Gov. Phil Murphy and every Democratic member of the House from New Jersey are all supporting Harris, as are an increasingly large number of lower-level elected Democrats.
With Booker’s endorsement, the most prominent New Jersey Democrat left who hasn’t endorsed Harris is fellow Senator Bob Menendez, who was convicted last week on federal bribery charges.
New Jersey has 145 delegates at the Democratic National Convention in August who, in the event of a contested convention, would be able to vote (though 19 of them are automatic delegates who would be ineligible to vote on the first ballot). But with Harris consolidating so much support so early, a serious contest seems unlikely, and there will be a mandatory New Jersey delegate meeting tonight to discuss a potential delegation-wide Harris endorsement.
Instead, the real question may be who Harris chooses as her vice president. New Jersey Democratic State chairman LeRoy Jones has floated Booker as a potential option, and sources close to Murphy say that he could emerge as a contender as well.