Profiles in Courage: Booker Following the Pack on Corporate Donations

Not to be out done by fellow potential 2020 contender Kirsten Gillibrand, last night Cory Booker announced that he would no longer accept donations from corporate PACs. The 2020 Dems are beginning the battle to “out-left” each other as they seek the nomination.

In Booker’s case, he is no stranger to receiving money from Wall Street. In the 2014 cycle, Booker was the “top recipient of Wall Street money.”

“Sen. Cory Booker received $1.87 million from the securities and investment industry, making him the top recipient of Wall Street money this election cycle, according to federal election donations analyzed by the Center for Responsive Politics. The Center’s Viveca Novak said that this flow of money is surprising for a freshman Senator.”

In his short career in the Senate, Booker has maintained this title. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Booker has received a career total of $1,812,044 from business PACs from 2013 through 2018. Liberals have especially taken note of his cozy relationships with Wall Street and his inability to “distance himself from the Wall Street and big pharma interests that have basically been the bedrock of his support.”