Cory Booker's campaign is hoping Iowa will turn him into a serious contender

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) is still behind in the Democratic presidential primary polls, but he might just be on the upswing — in Iowa, at least.

One Iowa political operative praised Booker's campaign to Vanity Fair, regaling with a tale about a Booker field organizer who convinced an apolitical woman over coffee to vote for the senator. Another Iowa strategist gushed about how Booker sent birthday wishes to the children of "behind-the-scenes political figures" in the state. "Early on I was not a Booker fan, and I will say that my position has totally changed," the operative said. "Booker really understands the issues in a way that a lot of candidates don't."

A Booker insider agrees, telling Vanity Fair "when you're at the state fair in Iowa, people are not coming up to Cory and asking him about Russia. They're asking about jobs."

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That's all well and good, but the question remains if any of Booker's charm will lead to more noticeable gains in the polls (he has, in fact, secured some key endorsements from Iowa political activists. As things stand, Vanity Fair reports his team is still holding out hope that he can navigate the same waters former President Barack Obama did in 2008, when he used a strong showing in Iowa to prove that he was a legitimate contender. Read more at Vanity Fair.