Booker: ‘Stunned’ at Lack of Diversity Among Senate Staffs

Tuesday following dropping out of the 2020 Democratic presidential race, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) opened up about the lack of diversity remaining in the field of candidates.

Booker said during an interview with CBS’s “This Morning” that he is “very concerned” about the lack of diversity, adding he was “stunned” to see how little diversity there was on Senate staffs when he first got to the Senate.

“I’m very concerned,” Booker said about how white the debate stage will be later in the evening. “I still remember the reaction when Kamala Harris dropped off the stage, amongst black women in my life. It was almost like, ‘Wait a minute, wait a minute. Here’s a woman that won in California twice, who has been extraordinary — she couldn’t even get to Iowa. How could we have a situation that is creating that kind of dynamic?’ We have got to find a way as a party, as a nation, both parties, to understand that we are a diverse nation. I got to the United States Senate, was stunned when I first got there about how little diversity there was on Senate staffs. Thank God Schumer worked with me and Brian Schatz to change a lot of that.”

He then shifted towards calling on both parties, especially the Democratic Party, which he called one of “the true rainbow coalitions of America,” to do better in having a diverse field of candidates.

“We are a better nation when we bring hidden figures together with white male astronauts,” Booker advised. “That’s how we defy gravity and go to the moon. And the Democratic Party, which represents the true rainbow coalitions of America, has got to do a better job of getting more candidates running at all the levels, supporting a system that doesn’t benefit big money but really big values. What are the values of our party?”

Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent