Dem state rep hits media over treatment of Booker: People should ‘question the process’

South Carolina state Rep. John King (D) said the media is not treating Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) fairly in the 2020 presidential race and it is putting the senator at “a disadvantage.”

“He’s at a disadvantage anytime he’s not treated on the same playing level as all the other candidates,” King, who has endorsed Booker, told Politico in a story published Monday.

{mosads}Politico reported that many Booker supporters are bothered that South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) is getting more media coverage, despite similar credentials to the New Jersey lawmaker.

“I think Cory is just as accomplished,” a senior South Carolina Democrat who requested anonymity told Politico. “And I’ve heard grumblings from a number of people [who have asked], ‘Why hasn’t he gotten that type of exposure?’ ”

Both Booker and Buttigieg are relatively young former Rhodes scholars who have been mayors of large cities.

The Indiana mayor has enjoyed a significant surge in polling since launching his campaign in early 2019, at least in part due to his national profile being raised by stories in Time magazine, New York magazine and Vogue.

King said that there should be a larger focus on media coverage.

“There should be a campaign where people start to question the process when there’s not fairness — and especially within the media.”

Another South Carolina state representative was less explicit about claiming Booker is unfairly undercovered.

“I guess I’m a little gun-shy because I remember what happened four years ago when all of the attention was based on this guy from New York who happened to be a billionaire by the name of Donald Trump,” state Rep. Jerry Govan (D), a senior legislator who chairs the South Carolina Legislative Black Caucus, told Politico.

“Nobody controls who the media covers but the media,” he continued. “It’s important for them to get it right this time. If folks got a good message, that message deserves to be covered. I think the American people deserve the opportunity to hear the truth, to have a clear understanding of where people stand on the issues that they care about, and the media’s the only entity that can do that, and that’s its job.”

Booker and Buttigieg’s campaigns did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill on Politico’s story.