Cory Booker Sets Iowa Trip Details For 2020 Announcement Tour

Senator Cory Booker will travel to Iowa for a two-day campaign swing a week after his announcement that he’s running for president. Next Friday and Saturday, Booker plans to visit Mason City, Waterloo, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Marshalltown, and Des Moines as part of an “Iowa Rise Tour” (see details at the end of this story). It’s the first stops on his presidential campaign kick-off; he visits South Carolina and New Hampshire afterwards.

The New Jersey senator made official his run for the White House this morning, releasing a launch video that pitched an optimistic vision for America’s future.

I’m running for president. Join me on this journey. https://t.co/fEDqOVIfwh pic.twitter.com/h1FTPUYRzo

— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) February 1, 2019

Booker’s Iowa swing will follow up on his well-received visit to the caucus state last October, where he headlined the state party’s largest fundraiser of the year. He also drew very large, enthusiastic crowds in places like Boone and North Liberty.

While he only visited Iowa once during the midterm elections, Booker got a lot out of his trip. Democratic leaders behind the scenes were impressed by his outreach and follow-up efforts, which included sending signed photos of selfies he took back to local activists. He also stayed in frequent touch with local candidates right before and after the election.

In the time since, Booker has assembled a strong roster of Iowa campaign operatives for his caucus campaign. They include Michael Frosolone, former Iowa House Democrats director, Haley Hager, former state director for NextGen, Joe O’Hern, former caucus director for Martin O’Malley, and Tess Seger, the recent communications director for the Iowa Democratic Party. With a limited talent pool of experienced Iowa staff to go around for such a large field, Booker secured more than his fair share of top staff.

Beyond those initial hires, Booker also helped place several staffers with ties to his political operation in key local Iowa races back during the midterms. That helped build up a lot of good will with activists and candidates on the ground here.

With an ever-expanding list of Democrats running for the presidency, Booker will face plenty of serious competition for Iowa caucus-goers’ attention. His initial campaign moves suggest a very strong investment in the Iowa Caucus, and his enjoyment for retail politicking seems well-suited for the caucus process. Booker’s emphasis on a positive and uplifting message at a time when the party’s base is angry at a Republican president (Booker spoke about love in Iowa on the night of Brett Kavanaugh’s successful vote) also worked well once for another senator in the Iowa Caucus in 2008.

Here are the initial details of Booker’s first Iowa stops provided to Starting Line from the campaign, with more information to come:

Friday, February 8, 2019

CERRO GORDO COUNTY
WHAT: Meet and Greet
WHERE: Mason City, IA
WHEN: 9:15 AM CT

BLACK HAWK COUNTY
WHAT: Community Round Table
WHERE: Waterloo, IA
WHEN: 1:30 PM CT

LINN COUNTY
WHAT: Community Forum
WHERE: Cedar Rapids, IA
WHEN: 5:30 PM CT

JOHNSON COUNTY
WHAT: Meet and Greet
WHERE: Iowa City, IA
WHEN: 8:30 PM CT

Saturday, February 9, 2018

MARSHALL COUNTY
WHAT: Meet and Greet
WHERE: Marshalltown, IA
WHEN: 11:00 AM CT

POLK COUNTY
WHAT: Community Forum
WHERE: Des Moines, IA
WHEN: 3:00 PM CT

by Pat Rynard
Posted 2/1/19