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Booker Doesn't Know About His Campaign Email Attacking Delaney

April 16, 2019

Presidential hopeful Sen. Cory Booker (D., N.J.) said he doesn't know about his campaign taking "swipes" at other candidates after his campaign sent out a fundraising email attacking fellow contender former representative John Delaney (D., Md.).

CNN host John King criticized Booker on a Tuesday segment of CNN's Inside Politics, pointing out that Booker, unlike other candidates trying to raise money by attacking President Donald Trump, is instead going after Delaney, another former businessman who has self-funded much of his own campaign.

"Friend, this weekend, we found out that one of the other Democrats in this race has given over $11 million of his own money to his campaign. Self-funding is something Cory just can't and would never do," the email read.

The Delaney campaign responded with this statement: "If I had Booker's numbers, I'd go negative too."

King then played a clip of Booker responding to the Delaney campaign in a shaky video.

"I'm not even sure what you're talking about, because again we are not taking swipes at other candidates," Booker said. "The reality is that we need to have a Democratic Party that shows how you run campaigns in this Democratic Party field by respecting people you're running against, and so I'm going to continue to conduct myself in that manner."

The panel of CNN panelists laughed and CNN contributor Carl Huse said in reference to Booker, "He might want to check in with his fund-raising folks."

Booker raised $5 million in the first quarter of campaign, according to a report from CNN. He falls well behind front runner Sen. Bernie Sanders (I.,  Vt.), who raised more than $18 million in the first month of his campaign. He also falls behind Sen. Kamala Harris (D., Calif.), who raised $12 million in the first quarter, and former representative Robert Francis O'Rourke (D., Texas), who raised $9.4 million in the first 18 days of his.

Booker was also beat out by South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who has raised over $7 million.