Cory Anthony Booker born April 27, [ 1 ] [ 2 ] is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from New Jersey , a seat he has held since He was the 38th mayor of Newark from to , and served on the Municipal Council of Newark for the Central Ward from to Booker was born in Washington, D. He attended Stanford University , receiving a BA in and a master's degree a year later. He won an upset victory for a seat on the Municipal Council of Newark in , staging a day hunger strike and briefly living in a tent to draw attention to urban development issues in the city.
He ran for mayor in but lost to incumbent Sharpe James. He ran again in and defeated Deputy Mayor Ronald Rice. He was reelected in He was elected to the U. Senate in a special election and reelected in and in Throughout his Senate tenure, Booker has written, sponsored, and voted for legislation advancing women's rights , affirmative action , same-sex marriage , and single-payer healthcare. He has pushed for economic reforms to address wealth inequality in the U.
Booker has pursued measures to reform the criminal justice system , combat climate change , and restructure national immigration policy. In foreign policy, he has voted for tougher sanctions against Iran , voiced support for the withdrawal of U.
He was the first senator to ever testify against another senator during attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions 's confirmation hearing. Booker was a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the U. He graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelor of Arts in political science in and a Master of Arts in sociology in He was elected senior class president. Contemplating advocacy work and a run for city council in Newark after graduating from law school, Booker lived in the city during his final year at Yale.
On January 9, , Booker announced his campaign for mayor of Newark rather than running for reelection as councilman. James, who had easily won election four consecutive times, saw Booker as a real threat and responded with mudslinging.
