Booker placing staffers in Iowa: report

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) has sent four staffers to Iowa to help Democratic candidates campaigning in the state, multiple sources told The Guardian.

The move may well be part of Booker’s groundwork for a 2020 presidential run, according to the news outlet, as the senator is widely speculated to be building up for such a campaign. 

The new report comes one day after the Iowa Democratic Party announced that Booker will be headlining a gala in Iowa next month.  

{mosads}Booker gained the national spotlight and some scorn last Thursday when he dared the Senate Judiciary Committee to punish him for releasing “committee confidential documents” related to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, referring to himself as “Spartacus.”

A spokesman for the Senate Judiciary Committee said later, however, that Booker’s actions did not break any confidentiality rules.

“Restrictions were waived before 4:00 a.m. this morning and made ready for release,” the spokesman said. 

“Running for president is no excuse for violating the rules of the Senate or of confidentiality of the documents that we are privy to,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said during the hearing. 

Booker is one of several possible 2020 Democratic hopefuls who are traveling to states crucial to a presidential election.

Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) have both visited Iowa, in addition to other key states.

Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Kamala Harris (Calif.) are also making the rounds. Warren has visited Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio, while Harris has traveled to Florida, Virginia and Ohio.