Cory Booker

Jindal, Booker to speak tonight

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:12:14 -0500

Two rising political stars are speaking in the Triangle tonight.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal will be the featured speaker at the John Locke Foundation's annual dinner in Raleigh tonight.

And Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker will speak at Duke University this evening.

Jindal, 37, became the youngest governor in the nation when he was sworn in last January. He made ethics reform and reducing business taxes his top priorities. He'll speak after a 6:30 p.m. dinner at the Marriott Crabtree Valley hotel. Tickets are $60.

A Rhodes Scholar who studied at Stanford and Yale, Booker moved to Newark's most notorious housing project to work as a community organizer before being elected mayor. He'll speak at 5:30 p.m. in Fleishman Commons at the Sanford Institute of Public Policy. The talk is free.

More information on the speeches is available here.

Obama's surrogates in N.C.

ryanteaguebeckwith — Sat, 03 May 2008 16:11:13 -0400

Here's a complete list of Barack Obama's surrogates in North Carolina:

Michelle Obama; Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle; Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius; U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Claire McCaskill of Missouri; U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia, John Conyers of Michigan and Danny Davis of Illinois; former Mississipi Gov. Ray Mabus; former U.S. Sen. Jean Carnahan of Missouri; former South Carolina politician Inez Tenenbaum; Newark Mayor Cory Booker; former UNC-Chapel Hill basketball star Sam Perkins; actor Kal Penn; actresses Sophia Bush, Alfre Woodard and Tatyana Ali, independent bands Arcade Fire and Superchunk.

Surrogate Smackdown: North Carolina

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 12:56:53 -0400

Both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have sent surrogates to North Carolina.

It makes sense. The candidates can only come in person so often, so they send their supporters and colleagues to make the case for them.

In the best-case scenario, the surrogate is popular in his or her own right and draws a big crowd for a made-for-TV rally. At other times, it can as compelling as the opening of a new shopping center.

Here's a scoresheet of a few of the surrogates sent so far:

THE FIRST SPOUSES: Obama sent his wife, Michelle, to a few big cities; Clinton's husband, Bill, is camping out in small towns. Michelle drew 5,700 in Raleigh, almost three times as many as her husband, but Bill is a superstar in Bubbaland. Advantage: Clinton.

FORMER SITCOM STARS: Obama sent Tatyana Ali; Clinton countered with Erika Alexander. Ali is best known as Ashley on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," while Alexander was Pam on "The Cosby Show." Ali had a bigger role, but Alexander was on a better show. No advantage.

NEW JERSEY MAYORS: Obama dispatched Newark Mayor Cory Booker; Clinton is counting on Trenton Mayor Doug Palmer. Booker has a higher profile among New Yorker readers, while Palmer is president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. But this ain't the Garden State. Disadvantage: Both.

HIGH-PROFILE POLS: Obama has brought in Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle; while Clinton's been touted by U.S. Reps. Corrine Brown and Edolphus Towns and former Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe. Advantage: Obama.

It's harder to directly compare some of the other surrogates. Chelsea Clinton was a big draw at local colleges, while the Wayans brothers canceled a trip. Clinton also had some prominent women do a tour, while Obama brought in a Virginia Congressman.

Booker: N.C. will be 'critical'

ryanteaguebeckwith — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 13:51:04 -0400

Cory Booker said that North Carolina will be a "critical state."

Speaking to reporters after a speech at the Young Democrats convention, the mayor of Newark said that North Carolina will help Barack Obama win the nomination, but it will also be a key state in the November general election.

"I think Obama making inroads now is going to be to the benefit of the general election," he said.

Booker said that in his mind, Obama has already won the nomination, predicting he would be ahead by hundreds of delegates by the time the primary season ends, but North Carolina may be when the rest of the country sees it as well.

"North Carolina is a perfect place to add an exclamation point onto a sentence that I think has already been written," he said.

Asked about Obama's successful courting of a number of North Carolina mayors, Booker said that has proven to be a successful organizing tactic in other states.

"Mayors have a direct connection to constituents," he said. "People have the most intimate connection usually with their local politicians, so when you line up people that voters trust, obviously, that voters believe in, that voters are connecting with, it's a very great campaign operation."

He noted that even in New Jersey, where Obama lost, the campaign had significant vote tallies in cities where he had gotten the mayoral endorsement early on.

Booker on Obama, N.C.

Young Democrats convention begins

ryanteaguebeckwith — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 09:08:31 -0400

About 200 college students and twentysomethings are expected at today's Young Democrats convention.

The annual convention has attracted more attention this year because of the added importance of the state's May 6 presidential primary.

Among the speakers today: Former First Daughter Chelsea Clinton, former U.S. Sen. John Edwards, state House Speaker Joe Hackney, CNN commentator James Carville, Newark Mayor Cory Booker, state party chairman Jerry Meek, and state reps. Tricia Cotham and Ty Harrell.

Clinton is here as a surrogate for her mother; Booker, for Barack Obama.

The definition of "young" is a little fluid, since it includes anyone up to the age of 35. (That's basically anyone not yet qualified to run for president.)

The event is being held at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Research Triangle Park.

Under the Dome: Working Saturday

bkrueger — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 13:03:49 -0400

Chelsea Clinton. James Carville. Cory Booker. John Edwards.

Those are some of the names who will be making the rounds at the Young Democrats of North Carolina's statewide convention Saturday at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Research Triangle Park.

If you can't make the event yourself, check us out tomorrow. Dome will also be making the rounds Saturday, and reporting back on the blog.

Chelsea Clinton's schedule

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 10:40:44 -0400

Chelsea Clinton will speak at 3:45 p.m. Saturday.

The Clinton campaign announced that she would attend the Young Democrats of North Carolina convention Saturday earlier.

She will be a surrogate for the Hillary Clinton campaign, although Clinton associate James Carville will also be there, which means they're kind-of double-teaming Barack Obama surrogate Cory Booker, the mayor of Newark.

The event will be at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Research Triangle Park.

Previously, Dome referred to that as Raleigh. We apologize for the geographical overreach.

Carville, Edwards to talk to Young Dems

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 11:29:37 -0400

James Carville is coming to town.

The former political strategist to Bill Clinton, now a commentator on CNN, will be one of two keynote speakers at the Young Democrats of North Carolina's statewide convention.

The convention will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Research Triangle Park.

Carville is an informal adviser to Democratic presidential adviser Hillary Clinton, and recently compared New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson's endorsement of Barack Obama to Judas' selling out for 30 pieces of silver.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker, who has endorsed Obama, will also speak at the event, as will former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, who has remained neutral in the race between Obama and Hillary Clinton.

All statewide Democratic candidates are also expected at the event, said coordinator Zack Hawkins.