The trip to Iowa was Mr. Booker’s fourth of this campaign, evidence of the need for a strong showing in this first caucus state for any hope of a successful run through to South Carolina, where Mr. Booker is hoping for a victory. The entrance of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. into the race puts added pressure on Mr. Booker, especially competing for black voters — a major piece of the Democratic constituency in the South, and a group that has largely supported Mr. Biden in early polls. On the trail, Mr. Booker is still campaigning with an ebullient style, recording selfie videos for voters and cracking self-deprecating “dad jokes” at every stop. He even broke briefly into song during an interview, singing a few bars of “My City of Ruins” by Bruce Springsteen. But stuck in the low single digits in both national and early state polls, with a middling small-dollar fund-raising operation, he has started to sprinkle his unity-themed stump speech with some slight contrasts to other Democratic candidates.

Source: New York Times May 26, 2019 21:00 UTC