Cory Booker is the only Democrat with a data-driven electability argument

It's not a strong case, but that's the point

Cory Booker.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images, Aerial3/iStock)

The Democratic base is supposedly obsessed with electability in the presidential primary. A recent poll showed 60 percent of primary voters think it is more important to nominate a candidate who can beat Trump than one which they agree with on the issues. Which is why it is surprising that New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker's campaign hasn't gotten more traction, since he is the only one with a real data-driven electability argument.

Similarly surprising is that a major thrust of Joe Biden's current campaign is that there is something unique about him, a white male moderate with decades in politics, that makes him uniquely electable. Yet beside the fact that significantly more voters know who he is compared to the other candidates, a deficit that would be quickly rectified in a general election campaign, the past doesn't indicate anything about him in particular that is especially "electable."

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Jon Walker

Jon Walker is the author of After Legalization: Understanding the Future of Marijuana Policy. He is a freelance reporter and policy analyst that focuses on health care, drug policy, and politics.