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Cory Booker’s Girlfriend Forced to Endorse Cory Booker

Rosario Dawson ‘of course’ endorses Booker after initially refusing

Cory Booker / Getty Images
September 9, 2019

Cory Booker's girlfriend has reversed course after initially refusing to endorse the presidential bid of the New Jersey senator whose approval hovers around 1 percent in recent polling.

Rosario Dawson, best known for her feature on the Outkast hit "She Lives in My Lap," first told Variety she will not endorse Booker in the crowded Democratic primary field.

"Regardless of Cory, I wasn't going to be behind any particular candidate this election," Dawson said. "I really just want to be behind the electorate."

After outlets such as USA Today and the Washington Examiner highlighted her lack of endorsement, Dawson backtracked, insisting that she "of course" endorses Booker before adding that her "focus this election is on voter registration and the census."

"For the record I, of course, endorse @CoryBooker," Dawson said on Twitter. "Anyone writing otherwise clearly hasn't been paying attention."

Dawson and Booker publicized their relationship shortly after Booker announced his presidential campaign in February. He has since struggled to gain a foothold in the crowded Democratic primary. After polling in the low to mid-single digits for months, Booker's support has dropped to 1 percent, placing him level with New Age spiritualist Marianne Williamson and behind New York City mayor Bill de Blasio in a new Economist/YouGov poll.

Despite his spiraling support, Booker is not expected to drop his presidential bid in the near future. Booker has thanked God for his poor polling numbers and even hinted at marriage ahead of the January 2021 swearing-in ceremony.

In the Variety interview, Dawson also spoke on her role in an upcoming series described as a "mystery of corruption" within the "dark underbelly of the political world." According to the entertainment website, the corruption-filled story line "isn't lost on Booker’s campaign team," perhaps a nod to Booker's great friend, Senator Bob Menendez.

Booker defended Menendez throughout his 2017 corruption trial. He testified as a character witness during the trial and donated $20,000 to the senior New Jersey senator's legal defense fund. Though the case ended in a mistrial, Menendez was severely admonished by the Senate Ethics Committee for violating federal law.

Dawson's delayed endorsement comes as a blow to Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, who won Dawson's endorsement in his insurgent primary challenge to Hillary Clinton in 2016.