Sen. Cory Booker (D., N.J.) on Saturday voiced frustration with former Texas representative Beto O'Rourke (D.) getting more national coverage than Stacey Abrams, the unsuccessful Georgia gubernatorial candidate during the 2018 election cycle.
Booker sat down for an interview with MSNBC's PoliticsNation host Al Sharpton, where he was asked if he would be announcing a vice presidential candidate before the nomination, referencing the rumor that potential 2020 nominee Joe Biden was considering Abrams as his vice presidential candidate.
"No, I'm not going to do that and nor do I think I should," Booker said. "Let me just say something about Stacey Abrams because she's an old friend. She's one of the most impressive people I've met in the last decade of politics. She's an amazing person."
"It almost bothers me that—Beto, it's great that he's in the race, but I wish he wasn't the only person that ran a great race in 2018 that's talked about," Booker continued. "Here's an African American woman that but for I think rampant voter suppression going on in Georgia, she would be the candidate, somebody who had a national appeal. She should be talked about as a presidential candidate."
Abrams has repeatedly claimed that Georgia governor Brian Kemp (R.) used voter suppression tactics as secretary of state to win, and implied his victory was illegitimate. She refused to concede on election night, and has said the election was an "erosion of our democracy."