Booker joins crowded 2020 Democratic field

WASHINGTON—As expected, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey announced Friday he will seek the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, calling for Americans to unite around a common purpose. “We can build a country where no one is forgotten, no one is left behind, where parents can put food on the table, where there are good-paying jobs with good benefits in every neighborhood, where our criminal justice system keeps us safe,” he said in a video posted on Twitter.

Booker has traveled to key electoral states in recent months, including South Carolina and Iowa. He made a name for himself by serving as a hands-on mayor in Newark, N.J., where he moved into a housing project. He easily won the 2013 special election to fill deceased Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s seat. He joins Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, and Kamala Harris of California in an already crowded 2020 Democratic primary field. He is the second African-American candidate to announce a presidential bid.