WASHINGTON – Sen. Cory Booker has sent staff to Iowa, further stoking speculation of his 2020 presidential aspirations.
The New Jersey Democrat placed four aides on the ground in the influential first caucus state to help elect local Democratic candidates, according to the Guardian.
The assist comes as Booker in recent days has sought to raise his national political profile.
He made a spectacle Thursday at the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court confirmation hearings by releasing previously confidential materials and claiming an “I am Spartacus” moment.
Meanwhile, his GOP colleagues fumed that his White House aspirations were no excuse for bucking committee rules.
Booker announced Saturday he will be the headline speaker at the annual Iowa Democratic Party’s fall gala.
He declined to say whether he’s testing the presidential waters, but said he wants to help Iowa Democrats get elected.
“Let’s put it this way: The pathway to getting a check and balance to the president of the United States, it has to go through Iowa,” Booker told the Des Moines Register. “And that’s why I have to go through Iowa.”
Iowa holds an outsized impact during the presidential primaries, helping to winnow out crowded candidate fields and to build enthusiasm for viable White House hopefuls.