Could Cory Booker Be The Next Candidate To Drop Out Of The 2020 Presidential Race?
New Jersey Senator Cory Booker is reportedly on the ropes of his campaign for the Democratic nomination for president.
According to a memo to staff from campaign manager Addisu Demissie, which was obtained by NBC News, the struggling candidate recently experienced weaker-than-expected fundraising for the early part of September and needs to rake in another $1.7 million before the last day of the financial quarter on September 30.
"Without a fundraising surge to close out this quarter, we do not see a legitimate long-term path forward," Demissie wrote in the Saturday (September 21) memo. "The next 10 days will determine whether Cory Booker can stay in this race."
Demissie says the campaign does have enough money to keep going at its current pace if it wanted to, but it does not have enough to expand operations before primary voting begins early next year. Booker reportedly does not want to stay in the race if he doesn’t believe he can win in places like Iowa, New Hampshire or South Carolina.
"If our campaign is not in a financial position to grow, he's not going to continue to consume resources and attention that can be used to focus on beating Donald Trump, which needs to be everyone's first priority," Demissie wrote.
Currently, Cory Booker averages in national support polls at under 3 percent, according to Real Clear Politics. Demissie wrote that other candidates were in similar situations and that the historically large 2020 field “is about to narrow dramatically.”
"Booker might not be in this race for much longer — the same is true for other important voices in the field," he wrote.
The four Democratic presidential hopefuls who raised the most amount of money last quarter include former Vice President Joe Biden, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg.