Can Corey Booker beat Trump in an election?

[brainbomb]

Of all the candidates I wanna focus on booker. I feel he has the most winning attitude. Namely because he is one of the few candidates who isnt famous for losing a close battle. I dont see why any of the other candidates would beat him at present.

[Greg_the_republican]

If he had more publicity, he’d definitely have a good chance at winning the Democratic nomination. Could he beat Trump? I don’t know. This next election will probably be a close one.

[StevenC.]

Not in a million years.

[Carl Tuckerson]

I don't see it. He comes off like a loon outside of Democratic circles. That's not to say that there isn't some importance nuance or distinguishing factor from other candidates, but I suspect whatever factor(s) that may be will only help him in the nomination process like Greg said.
It's kind of a trite and tired observation but I think it still holds--even though the Democrats are getting close to being able to win with just the coasts, they still need some victories in the Midwest for now. Booker comes off like all the other Democrats that are immensely popular on the coasts and despised in the middle.
Bernie is the guy I think will be Trump's biggest threat, because Trump has utterly failed to deliver on immigration, which was the key to him winning the Midwest in 2016. I don't think socialism hysteria will keep him down, and he probably would have won in 2016 if the Clinton-controlled Democratic Party hadn't sabotaged the primaries.
Biden could also do it although he might be too stale to motivate turnout. The establishment sure loves him though.

[New England Fire Squad]

Of all the candidates I wanna focus on booker. I feel he has the most winning attitude. Namely because he is one of the few candidates who isnt famous for losing a close battle. I dont see why any of the other candidates would beat him at present.

Sure, he could. Most of the Democrats currently running theoretically could. I'm not sure exactly what would make Booker stronger than others, though. His issue set seems pretty normal for a Democrat this cycle (Trump bad, all immigration good all the time, Trump bad again, let's look at reparations, Trump still bad). For weaknesses, he has Wall St and Big Pharma connections that might make leftists upset, and his appeal to the Midwest is probably pretty limited. I don't see much room for Booker to expand upon the Clinton coalition from 2016; Democrats will pretty soon start winning elections based on demographics alone, but that time hasn't come just yet. As for him not losing his past elections: it doesn't take much for a Democrat to win elections to be mayor of Newark, and it doesn't take all that much more to win a senate seat in New Jersey. I voted Trump last time (probably won't again), but Booker isn't someone that would scare me if I wanted Trump to win a second term.

[Randomizer]

You need a candidate that can keep reminding Trump voters how much Trump's policies have screwed them over while Trump profited from them. Trump has voters that will support him no matter what he does, but they aren't enough to win states.

Farmers that lost foreign market sales due to the tariff war with the world.

Workers at companies that had higher part costs due to tariffs or couldn't get supplies when US steel companies couldn't make up for more expensive imports.

All the people that couldn't get paid and/or had problems paying their bills during all the government shutdowns.

All the voters who had family members or their companies' owners deported as immigrants when Trump said he wouldn't go after good immigrants.

[New England Fire Squad]

You need a candidate that can keep reminding Trump voters how much Trump's policies have screwed them over while Trump profited from them. Trump has voters that will support him no matter what he does, but they aren't enough to win states.

Farmers that lost foreign market sales due to the tariff war with the world.

Workers at companies that had higher part costs due to tariffs or couldn't get supplies when US steel companies couldn't make up for more expensive imports.

All the people that couldn't get paid and/or had problems paying their bills during all the government shutdowns.

All the voters who had family members or their companies' owners deported as immigrants when Trump said he wouldn't go after good immigrants.

I don't disagree that the first two things you mentioned would have been important for a Democrat if this was 2008 or earlier, but being the sort of voter that likes those two messages and living and working amongst those sorts of voters that do, I'm not sure that those voters are gettable for Democrats anymore, or at least most of them. Most of us feel Democrats generally do not like our way of life, don't care about our professions, and genuinely do not like us. I listen to Progress radio often, and I know that they like to harp on the trade war and farmers in their promos, but why would a white factory worker in Ohio or a farmer in North Dakota want to vote for a Democrat at this point? Shouldn't the Democrats, from a purely electoral perspective, simply double down on their strategy on increasing minority voter turnout and using neoliberalism and anti-racism to appeal to upper middle class whites in the burbs? You all are a few years away from flipping Texas, Arizona and Georgia using that strategy, and their aren't enough electoral votes around for Republicans to make that up. Running on issues that appeal mostly to poor and middle class white voters doesn't seem to logically follow, especially with the newest generation of young Democrats talking about things like reparations and white privilege. It'll seem hypocritical to then go on and say that Duane in Bismarck ND matters too; it would probably just piss off quite a few of the voters that you all need to show up most - young leftists.

[Carl Tuckerson]

Agreed. The Democrats pivoted from the white working class to Hispanics and immigrants broadly, and that pivot will render the Republican Party as constituted nationally irrelevant within the next decade. Trump is the price you are paying for that pivot.
I would run Bernie if I were the kingmaker for the Democrats, because he has enough bona fides with both the white working class and the young progressive wing of the Democratic Party to bridge the two into a coalition that can win in 2020. Just do to him what the establishment did to Trump--use the deeply entrenched bureaucracy to keep him within the bounds of what they find comfortable, let him run out his term (or two I guess), and by then the Democrats should be shoe-ins in the electoral college for the foreseeable future and you can run whoever you damn well please.

[New England Fire Squad]

Agreed. The Democrats pivoted from the white working class to Hispanics and immigrants broadly, and that pivot will render the Republican Party as constituted nationally irrelevant within the next decade. Trump is the price you are paying for that pivot.
I would run Bernie if I were the kingmaker for the Democrats, because he has enough bona fides with both the white working class and the young progressive wing of the Democratic Party to bridge the two into a coalition that can win in 2020. Just do to him what the establishment did to Trump--use the deeply entrenched bureaucracy to keep him within the bounds of what they find comfortable, let him run out his term (or two I guess), and by then the Democrats should be shoe-ins in the electoral college for the foreseeable future and you can run whoever you damn well please.

I 100% agree with your first paragraph. Your second I quibble with - I'm guessing you are on the younger side like me (25), and Bernie is very strong in this age group due to favorable demographics, high college attendance, and most of us not earning very much- but I do strongly feel that he could end up being far weaker than most expect among higher earning whites who like candidates like Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. I'm not sure at the end of the day that their newfound anti-racism and increasingly left liberal beliefs go so far as to deeply hurt their wallets, but I could be way off base. And these are voters that Democrats absolutely need, unlike people like me. If I am off base with that assumption though, you are right, and he'd be the strongest.

[Carl Tuckerson]

Agreed. The Democrats pivoted from the white working class to Hispanics and immigrants broadly, and that pivot will render the Republican Party as constituted nationally irrelevant within the next decade. Trump is the price you are paying for that pivot.
I would run Bernie if I were the kingmaker for the Democrats, because he has enough bona fides with both the white working class and the young progressive wing of the Democratic Party to bridge the two into a coalition that can win in 2020. Just do to him what the establishment did to Trump--use the deeply entrenched bureaucracy to keep him within the bounds of what they find comfortable, let him run out his term (or two I guess), and by then the Democrats should be shoe-ins in the electoral college for the foreseeable future and you can run whoever you damn well please.

I 100% agree with your first paragraph. Your second I quibble with - I'm guessing you are on the younger side like me (25), and Bernie is very strong in this age group due to favorable demographics, high college attendance, and most of us not earning very much- but I do strongly feel that he could end up being far weaker than most expect among higher earning whites who like candidates like Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. I'm not sure at the end of the day that their newfound anti-racism and increasingly left liberal beliefs go so far as to deeply hurt their wallets, but I could be way off base. And these are voters that Democrats absolutely need, unlike people like me. If I am off base with that assumption though, you are right, and he'd be the strongest.

Little older but yeah roughly.
You raise a good point, but how many of those types would vote for Orange Cheeto Hitler Gronaldrf Blormphfhtp over Sanders? Seems like high-earning whites can be pretty cleanly grouped into Trump voters that no Democrat could pry off and NeverTrumpers. I don't think that's a particularly dynamic battlefield for 2020.

[New England Fire Squad]

Agreed. The Democrats pivoted from the white working class to Hispanics and immigrants broadly, and that pivot will render the Republican Party as constituted nationally irrelevant within the next decade. Trump is the price you are paying for that pivot.
I would run Bernie if I were the kingmaker for the Democrats, because he has enough bona fides with both the white working class and the young progressive wing of the Democratic Party to bridge the two into a coalition that can win in 2020. Just do to him what the establishment did to Trump--use the deeply entrenched bureaucracy to keep him within the bounds of what they find comfortable, let him run out his term (or two I guess), and by then the Democrats should be shoe-ins in the electoral college for the foreseeable future and you can run whoever you damn well please.

I 100% agree with your first paragraph. Your second I quibble with - I'm guessing you are on the younger side like me (25), and Bernie is very strong in this age group due to favorable demographics, high college attendance, and most of us not earning very much- but I do strongly feel that he could end up being far weaker than most expect among higher earning whites who like candidates like Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. I'm not sure at the end of the day that their newfound anti-racism and increasingly left liberal beliefs go so far as to deeply hurt their wallets, but I could be way off base. And these are voters that Democrats absolutely need, unlike people like me. If I am off base with that assumption though, you are right, and he'd be the strongest.

Little older but yeah roughly.
You raise a good point, but how many of those types would vote for Orange Cheeto Hitler Gronaldrf Blormphfhtp over Sanders? Seems like high-earning whites can be pretty cleanly grouped into Trump voters that no Democrat could pry off and NeverTrumpers. I don't think that's a particularly dynamic battlefield for 2020.

There'd be two dangers there for them - 1: They'd vote third party, or perhaps not at all. 2. This is a group that voted for Obama in 2008 by a couple of points, Romney by 14 points in 2012, and then tied between Trump and Hillary. There are clearly a lot of swing voters there. More anecdotally, older and wealthier voters that I know, like my father and his friends, owners and management at the factory (reluctant Trump types in 2016 or reluctant non-voters then, and a few very reluctant Hillary voters), would be far more likely to vote for Trump if the other option was Sanders, as opposed to say, Biden. Anecdotal evidence is of course worthless quite often, but I'm not so sure that this is.

[New England Fire Squad]

On a more meta note, I'd say the anti-socialist messaging on Fox and talk radio is attempting to prime older and middle aged wealthier voters into becoming more anti-Sanders without realizing it, which tells me that donors et all may find him to be potentially the strongest. I guess time will tell.

[TrPrado]

On the OP: Booker isn’t near exciting enough to draw the attention he’d need to get nominated, let alone elected. Bernie is a complicated one. Since 2016 there’s been a growing anti-Bernie crowd within the Democrats and now I’d say he’s a pretty polarizing figure. Contributing to that a little is he’s not a Democrat and even after 2016 has refused to consider himself one but is bound and determined to be elected as one.

The problem is that the progressive further left wing of the party is increasingly shouting “Bernie or bust” (some of them are willing to go for Tulsi Gabbard but she’s got even stronger opposition). The warring factions are super toxic to each other so I really don’t get the impression much of anyone will beat Trump in 2020.