U.S. Senator (Democrat – New Jersey)

Elected in 2013 in a special election for the seat of Senator Frank Lautenberg, who died in office; reelected to a full term in 2014.

Previously served as Mayor of Newark (2006-2013) and Newark City Council (1998-2002); lost his first race for mayor in 2002.

Born on April 27, 1969 (age 49) in Washington D.C. Grew up in a suburb of Newark.

Education: Stanford University (BA, MA); Rhodes Scholar at Oxford (MA); Yale (JD)

He has been generally viewed as a moderate Democrat. For instance, when George Norcross – insurance executive and hospital chairman, and a powerful player in the New Jersey Democratic Party – offered his support for Booker’s run for the Senate, he put it this way:

“I believe he’s a winner,” Norcross said of Booker. “And he’s representative of a new Democrat — a Democrat that’s fiscally conservative yet socially progressive. He’s a fighter and not afraid of taking on a tough battle.”

A year earlier, as Barack Obama ran for reelection, then-Mayor Booker criticized the president’s campaign attacks on Bain Capital (the private equity firm founded by Mitt Romney) in an interview with Meet the Press: “It’s nauseating to the American public.” He later walked back the comments.

At a time when increasing concerns among Democrats with the growing gap between rich and poor, a middle class struggling to keep up, and the political dominance of corporations, it will be interesting to see how Senator Booker – who is well acquainted with Wall Street, right in his backyard – positions himself going forward.

At this stage – with his self-declared “I am Spartacus” moment – he is definitely playing to the anti-Trump Democratic base.

*At one point I was tempted to do profiles of each of the Democratic candidates. This was a dry run, which helped me decide this wasn’t something I wanted to continue.