Booker: I will be ‘looking to women first’ for potential running mate

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who announced this month he is running for president, said Tuesday he would prioritize finding a female running mate if he is the Democratic nominee. 

Booker told MSNBC host Rachel Maddow that while he does not want to box himself in, he would be “looking to women first” as his pick for vice president.

{mosads}The New Jersey Democrat is running in a primary field with unprecedented diversity, with six women already running for president, as well as multiple people of color.

“You will rarely see a Democratic ticket anymore without gender diversity, race diversity,” Booker told Maddow, noting that he wished there was a female president right now, referring to Hillary Clinton.

Booker is one of several high-profile candidates who have already announced their intention to run. Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), along with several others, have already announced their presidential bids, with heavyweights such as former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) still considering whether to jump in.

Appealing to female voters has become a top priority for presidential campaigns after a blue wave, largely fueled by women, helped Democrats flip 40 seats in the House in 2018 and ushered in a record number of female representatives in Congress.