General explainer

Is Cory Booker running for president in 2028?

Cory Booker has not ruled out a 2028 presidential run. The New Jersey senator told NBC's Meet the Press in March 2026 that he is 'definitely not ruling it out,' while also running for Senate re-election in 2026. He appears in 5 of the 11 mid-2026 national Democratic primary surveys, with support ranging from 3 to 7 percent. He is tracked as a possible candidate and is constitutionally eligible.

Updated August 18, 2026

Cory Booker, the U.S. senator from New Jersey, is a possible 2028 Democratic presidential candidate. He ran for the Democratic nomination in 2020, formally declaring in February 2019 and withdrawing before the Iowa caucuses in January 2020. As of mid-2026 he is running for Senate re-election while leaving open the possibility of a 2028 presidential bid.

His clearest signal came on March 29, 2026, when he told NBC's Meet the Press 'I am definitely not ruling it out' about a 2028 presidential run. He has been on a national tour promoting a new book, which has kept his national profile active. The book tour and the open comment together place him in the possible-candidate tier.

Booker appears in 5 of the 11 mid-2026 national Democratic primary surveys, with support ranging from 3 to 7 percent. Listed newest to oldest: McLaughlin and Associates (June 17-23, 2026, 464 LV), 5%; Echelon Insights (June 11-14, 2026, 515 LV), 3%; I&I/TIPP (May 26-28, 2026, 593 RV), 4%; Overton Insights (May 16-20, 2026, 661 LV), 7% -- his peak reading, placing him sixth behind Buttigieg (16%), Newsom (13%), AOC (12%), Harris (9%), and Shapiro (8%); Echelon Insights (May 14-18, 2026, 501 LV), 3%. He was not listed as a named choice in the other six surveys: Noble Predictive Insights (June 1-4, 2026), Focaldata (May 29 - June 1, 2026), Harvard-Harris (May 29-31, 2026), Big Data Poll (May 24-27, 2026), Emerson College (May 24-25, 2026), and Rasmussen Reports (May 18-20, 2026).

The 12th Amendment provides that a state's presidential electors cannot cast both their presidential and vice-presidential votes for candidates who inhabit the same state. Booker is a New Jersey resident. Phil Murphy, the two-term former governor of New Jersey who left office in January 2026, is also a New Jersey resident. A Booker-Murphy or Murphy-Booker ticket would put New Jersey's 14 electoral votes (Safe D, voted D in 2016, 2020, and 2024) at risk unless one candidate established legal domicile in another state before Election Day -- the same mechanism Dick Cheney resolved in 2000 by re-registering from Texas to Wyoming before joining the George W. Bush ticket. No other major tracked 2028 Democratic presidential contender resides in New Jersey, so a Booker pairing with any other tracked candidate creates no same-state constraint.

He is constitutionally eligible. Born April 27, 1969, Booker is a natural-born U.S. citizen who will be 59 years old at the January 20, 2029 inauguration, well above the 35-year constitutional minimum. He has been a U.S. resident his entire life. No legal bar prevents a 2028 candidacy.

Related questions

Has Cory Booker said he is running for president in 2028?

He has not formally declared. On March 29, 2026, he told NBC's Meet the Press 'I am definitely not ruling it out' about a 2028 run. He is also running for Senate re-election in 2026, and no FEC filing for president has been made as of mid-2026.

Did Cory Booker run for president before?

Yes. Booker ran in the 2020 Democratic primary. He formally declared in February 2019 and withdrew from the race before the Iowa caucuses in January 2020.

Is Cory Booker eligible to run for president in 2028?

Yes. He is a natural-born U.S. citizen, will be 59 years old at the January 2029 inauguration, and meets all three constitutional requirements: natural-born citizenship, age 35 or older, and 14 years of U.S. residency.

Where does Cory Booker stand in 2028 polls?

He appears in 5 of the 11 mid-2026 national Democratic primary surveys, with support ranging from 3 to 7 percent. His peak reading is 7 percent in Overton Insights (May 16-20, 2026, 661 LV), where he placed sixth. He also recorded 5 percent in McLaughlin and Associates (June 17-23, 2026), 4 percent in I&I/TIPP (May 26-28, 2026), and 3 percent in each of the two Echelon Insights surveys (June 11-14 and May 14-18, 2026). He was absent as a named choice from the other six mid-2026 surveys.

Does the 12th Amendment create any issue for a Cory Booker ticket?

Yes, if the running mate is also a New Jersey resident. The 12th Amendment bars electors from casting both votes for candidates who inhabit the same state. Phil Murphy, the two-term former governor of New Jersey who left office in January 2026, is also a New Jersey resident. A Booker-Murphy or Murphy-Booker ticket would put New Jersey's 14 Safe D electoral votes at risk unless one candidate changed legal domicile before Election Day. The standard fix is the Dick Cheney model: re-registering from one state to another before joining the ticket, as Cheney did from Texas to Wyoming in 2000. No other major tracked 2028 Democratic contender resides in New Jersey.

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Related explainers

Who can run for president of the United States?

To be eligible, a person must be a natural-born U.S. citizen, at least 35 years old, and have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years.

When do 2028 presidential campaigns start?

The 2028 presidential campaign effectively starts after the November 2026 midterms, with formal announcements expected through 2027 - historically 12 to 18 months before the first primaries in early 2028. There is no legal start date, and as of July 2026 no major candidate has formally declared.

Is Gavin Newsom running for president in 2028?

Gavin Newsom is widely considered a likely 2028 Democratic candidate. He has not formally declared but appears in all eleven mid-2026 national Democratic primary surveys and places second in every one of them, with results ranging from 12 to 26 percent -- the most consistent second-place finish in the Democratic field. He leads 2028 Democratic prediction markets as the most likely Democratic nominee and is constitutionally eligible.

See the live 2028 candidate tracker All 2028 election questions Are they running? -- all 2028 candidates