U.S Senator Cory Booker was once a candidate for U.S President, with many eyes on him, some of which examined his family background.
Cory Booker’s parents are late father Cary Booker and mother Carolyn Booker. They were among the first black executives at American multinational technology corporation IBM. He is one of two children born to the couple, who lived in the affluent Harrington Park, and reportedly faced discrimination when first settling in.
Read more below about the Booker family background and Cory Booker’s history of political campaigns.
Booker’s Background
Cory Booker was raised in an affluent neighborhood in Harrington Park, New Jersey, by parents Cary and Carolyn Booker.
He is one of two sons, and Booker has often jokingly referred to his older brother, Cary Booker II, as his “third parent.”
In a 2016 birthday post dedicated to his brother, he said, “I’ve often said that I was blessed growing up with three parents. Cary is just two years older but always was one of my greatest guardians, mentors, teachers and friends.”
Booker’s family is Christian, and he had a religious upbringing, regularly attending the local African Methodist Episcopal Church.
His parents were among the first black executives at IBM, an American global technology company.
The couple met in Washington D.C, and spent most of their careers in IBM, later moving to New Jersey to raise their family.
Booker spoke about the racial discrimination the couple faced when trying to purchase a home in Harrington Park.
Attorney Hope A. Lang said the couple was told that all the homes they were looking at were sold until they finally took the case to the Fair Housing Council.
Eventually, they were able to move into the neighborhood, where they raised their children.
Cary and Carolyn Booker were married for 49 years until Cary Booker sadly passed away to Parkinson’s disease in 2013 at the age of 76.
Booker once wrote in a humorous response to Hot Pockets on Twitter, “My dad used to say to me: ‘Boy, don’t forget where you came from and the people who sacrificed to get you to where you are.’”
In Booker’s later campaign speeches, he would often recall how his father grew up raised by a single mother and would shine shoes, do construction work and wash dishes to help his mother afford his tuition at North Carolina University.
Booker attended Stanford University in 1991, studying a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, and went on to study at Oxford University after receiving a Rhodes Scholarship for a postgraduate degree in American history.
Booker also earned a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Yale University.
It was after this that he became involved in American politics, with his first job being a staff attorney for New York’s Urban Justice Center.
Booker’s Political Campaign
In 2002, Booker announced his first Mayoral campaign for Mayor of Newark. He lost the election at a close 47% to rival incumbent Sharpe James’ 53%.
James had launched an aggressive campaign against Booker. A documentary titled Street Fight documented the election, winning an Oscar.
In 2006, Booker ran again and won with a 72% majority, and won again with a 59% majority in 2010.
He made various reforms in Newark, voluntarily reducing his own salary to make significant changes.
In 2012, Booker announced that he would be running as a Democrat for a seat in the Senate, and won in 2013 with a 54.9% majority against Republican candidate Steve Lonegan.
In February 2019, Booker announced his running as a Democratic Candidate for the presidential elections.
However, in January 2020, he stated that he would be ending his presidential campaign.
He wrote in an email to his supporters, “It was a difficult decision to make, but I got in this race to win, and I’ve always said I wouldn’t continue if there was no longer a path to victory.”
Booker remains a key member of U.S politics, guided by his parents’ footsteps.