Booker predicts he will ‘upset expectations’ in Iowa

Presidential hopeful Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who has struggled to break into the upper tier of candidates in the crowded Democratic field, predicted he would “upset expectations” in the Iowa caucuses, according to The Associated Press’s “Ground Game” podcast.

“Whether that’s one, two, three, four, I don’t know,” Booker said, “But we will definitely upset expectations,” he told the AP.

The New Jersey senator added that “if our pathway to victory ever closes off, I’m not staying in” the race.

Booker failed to meet the threshold for the most recent Democratic debate and conceded that the need to remain in Washington for President Trump’s forthcoming impeachment trial could deal his presidential campaign a “big, big blow.”

“It’s going to be a challenging four weeks in the caucus for us,” Booker said. “If we can’t raise more money in this final stretch, we won’t be able to do the things that other campaigns with more money can do to show presence.”

Booker did not elaborate on how much money his campaign would need to raise to remain in the race, but in September he announced he could be forced to drop out without $1.7 million in donations, which he successfully raised. Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro raised $1 million in October using a similar pitch, but he dropped out of the race just after the new year.

Booker fundraised on Castro’s exit, saying it illustrated that “billionaires with bottomless checkbooks have a clearer path to the nomination then talented, experienced, qualified candidates like Julián Castro.”