The black community is far more likely to vote for a black man from Newark New Jersey than they are to vote for a San Francisco liberal woman who questioned the CIA director about gay rights.
If Booker runs then he will pretty much destroy any chance Harris has of being the nominee.
Booker has a history of campaigning and working with black constituents. Harris doesn't. The black population in California is almost half the national average at roughly 6-7%. He's a much better messenger then she will ever be.
The black community is far more likely to vote for a black man from Newark New Jersey than they are to vote for a San Francisco liberal woman who questioned the CIA director about gay rights.
If Booker runs then he will pretty much destroy any chance Harris has of being the nominee.
IIRC African-American democratic primary voters have virtually just the same views on LGBT rights; and Booker arguably has a lot more holes in his record (his support for Bain, his support for Charter Schools, etc)
I think that Booker either won't run in 2020, or will flame out in the single digits.
The black community (51% opposed gay marriage in 2015) is very religious and votes pragmatically (they supported Clinton over Obama until he won the Iowa caucus). Booker is a stronger candidate than Harris and that'll be shown early on. She's good at questioning senators but her San Francisco liberal bubble nature will be pretty obvious like it was when she questioned the CIA director about gays.
LGBT rights had nothing to do with why black voters backed Hillary at first. Obama wasn't even especially liberal on LGBT when he first ran.
There not much of a difference between Harris and Booker on LGBT anyway. Harris is known for refusing to defend Proposition 8 when she was AG but it's not as if Booker is conservative on this issue.
He married gay couples in New Jersey and is very pro gay marriage.
http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2013/10/senate-elect_cory_booker_marries_seven_gay_and_lesbian_couples_in_newark.html
LGBT isn't an issue that will be be a deciding factor for black voters anyway, jobs, criminal justice reform and healthcare will be far more important.
The difference between Booker and Harris isn't so much on social justice it's on economic justice they part. He's more fiscally conservative than her.
Harris barely got 46% of the vote in a statewide race in California. She's a total light weight next to Booker. A black dude from New Jersey has ten times more steet cred with the black community than a San Francisco liberal woman.
Bookers parents were IBM executives and he was raised in a white neighbourhood not sure how that is gonna give him street cred in the black community...
No no no I'm talking about 2010. She got 61% last year running against a fellow mediocre Democrat. Big whoop. When she had to run against a Republican in Titanium blue California she barely won with 46% of the vote.
Booker's story of how he was able to get raised in that neighborhood had everything to do with a civil rights journey and lawsuit in NJ to desegregate housing. If anything that's a boost for him.
Also Booker has charisma. Harris is boring.
Note: Harris won because of the absolute backing from Obama, Biden, Brown, Newsom, and the state party.
