Senate

Booker snags first Senate endorsement

by Jordain Carney - 02/01/19 1:32 PM ET

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) endorsed fellow New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker’s (D) presidential bid on Friday, making him the first senator to endorse a colleague in the party’s crowded 2020 race.

“I can’t think of anyone better to represent and unite the American people. Cory makes a great friend, and will make an even greater president. I can’t wait to support you on this journey—I’m all in!” Menendez said in a tweet on Friday.

I can’t think of anyone better to represent and unite the American people. Cory makes a great friend, and will make an even greater president.

I can’t wait to support you on this journey—I’m all in! #Cory2020 – RM https://t.co/qgkubtxhXn

— Menendez for NJ (@BobMenendezNJ) February 1, 2019

{mosads}Booker made his long-anticipated announcement that he was running for the party’s 2020 nomination Friday morning, the first day of Black History Month.

Menendez’s endorsement of Booker isn’t a surprise. The two New Jersey lawmakers have been close partners in Congress. Booker also testified on Menendez’s behalf during his corruption trial in 2017.

Though Menendez is the first senator to endorse a fellow senator during the 2020 cycle, some lawmakers have thrown their support behind other candidates. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said last month that she would back former Vice President Joe Biden if he ran. Feinstein’s California counterpart, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), is also running for president and won Rep. Ted Lieu’s (D-Calif.) endorsement.

Several Senate Democrats have already announced White House bids, including Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), or are viewed as potential 2020 contenders like Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and independent Bernie Sanders (Vt.), who caucuses with Democrats.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) indicated last month that he was not yet ready to endorse one of his party’s White House hopefuls.

Asked if he would support Gillibrand, Schumer told reporters that they work “very well” together, but he was not “mixing in” the 2020 fight.

“I have said to every candidate who has asked me, let a thousand flowers bloom. Let’s get a lot of people out there and see who the best candidate to beat Donald Trump is. I don’t know who that is right now,” Schumer said.

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