Booker preaches unity in 3 Las Vegas Valley campaign stops
Presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey continued to preach a message of unity and answer questions on his third trip to Nevada since announcing his candidacy in February.
“I’m running because I believe in us, and I believe in the power of love,” Booker said Tuesday morning in North Las Vegas. “And if we stand together and work together, sacrifice together and love each other together, then we can make a nation that truly does have liberty and justice for all.”
The senator’s trip included three stops in the Las Vegas Valley to earn support, giving him the chance to take questions from a diverse group of voters.
At Cheyenne High School in North Las Vegas, Booker told a small group, including members of the Black Student Union, that he would definitely choose a woman as his running mate if he secures the Democratic Party’s nomination.
Booker said diverse teams make better teams, so he intends to put women in leadership positions in his cabinet if he becomes the 46th president.
After Jeremiah Wright, 18, asked what Booker would do to benefit his generation, particularly young black men, the senator said he supported improving public education by increasing teacher salaries and resources for schools to create more programs. He also supports apprenticeship programs, furthering criminal justice reform and reducing gun violence by making sweeping changes to laws and mounting an attack on the corporate gun lobby.
Wright said he liked most of what Booker had to say but he expressed doubt about how much could actually be done.
“It sounded too good to be true,” he said. “And my grandma told me when it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.”
Booker revealed his gun control platform this month. The multifaceted plan would ban assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, require gun owners to obtain a license and ensure background checks are performed universally.
The senator also spoke to more than 100 members of the Sun City Anthem Democratic Club in Henderson on Tuesday. He finished his campaigning at a house party in Las Vegas.
His visit drew criticism from some, including the Republican National Committee.
“Cory Booker is falling in line with the pack of 2020 candidates’ costly agenda of absurd proposals like government-run healthcare and the $93 trillion job-killing Green New Deal,” spokeswoman Christiana Purves said in a statement. “While that may play well with elitists in L.A. or New York City, Nevadans will remember the record low unemployment rates and bigger paychecks they’re seeing thanks to President Trump’s roaring economy.”
Contact Blake Apgar at bapgar@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter.
