Booker set to hit the trail in South Carolina amid 2028 chatter

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) is set to make two appearances in South Carolina this month as speculation grows surrounding his interest in running for president again in 2028.

Booker’s office announced Thursday he will be making two trips to the Palmetto State in November. His first visit will be to the Sumter County NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet this Friday, during which the senator will deliver remarks. The lawmaker will then travel to Charleston for the NAACP’s annual Freedom Fund Gala on Nov. 20.

The scheduled appearances follow two other trips he made to South Carolina this year for the NAACP’s King Day at the Dome event in January and a stop on the campaign trail with Sen.-elect Annie Andrews (D-S.C.) as well as other congressional candidates.

Although he is not regarded among the top contenders for Democrats’ presidential nomination, Booker previously sought the nation’s top office during the 2020 election cycle. He eventually exited the race in January of that year, before the party’s primary, because of low polling numbers and campaign resources drying up.

In March, when asked about another presidential bid, Booker told NBC’s Kristen Welker he is “not ruling it out.” The senator then pivoted to talk about his Senate reelection campaign, saying he hoped “New Jersey will support me for another six years.”

Booker defended his Senate seat in Tuesday’s election — beating Republican Justin Murphy by a significant margin on Election Day. As of around 3 p.m. Thursday, with 94 percent of New Jersey votes counted, the Democratic incumbent led his challenger by just more than 27 percentage points, according to Decision Desk HQ.

If Booker were to launch a presidential bid, he would likely face the Democratic Party’s heavy hitters in the primary — possibly including former Vice President Kamala Harris, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.).

Harris is an early favorite for Democrats’ 2028 nomination, as Newsom said he would not run against the former vice president, and Ocasio-Cortez signaled she was still weighing her options for 2028 — including a potential challenge against Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) for his seat.