Super PAC For Cory Booker Shuts Down After He Vows To Refuse Funding From Super PACs
Sen. Cory Booker, a 2020 hopeful who hasn’t managed to gain much traction in both state and national polls, recently vowed to refuse support from fundraising Super PACs, which turned out to be the reported primary reason why one Super PAC, who was actively raising money for the New Jersey senator, decided to shut down on Wednesday.
According to The Hill, a group called Dream United, which was founded by Steve Phillips — a man who has plenty of experience raising big dollars for high-profile candidates like former President Barack Obama and Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams — closed its doors after being in operation for nearly a year.
“We remain firm in our belief that Sen. Cory Booker is uniquely qualified to unite and heal Americans across this country at this critical point in our history,” the Super PAC’s website announced in the wake of the announcement.
“Respecting the Senator’s publicly-stated sentiments about SuperPACs, Dream United will cease operations effective immediately. On November 27, 2019, Dream United initiated the steps to formally close down,” the statement on the website continued.
The organization apparently also had a difficult time raising money. According to Politico, Dream United’s $1.125 million that it managed to raise for Booker came primarily from a woman named Susan Sandler, who happens to be Phillip’s wife. The Hill reported that the group’s goal was to raise $10 million.
Booker’s refusal to accept monetary support from Super PACs echoes the same wishes of several other Democratic candidates in the race to win the 2020 presidential election. One of the most obvious reasons for that is the fact that funds from Super PACs can essentially come from anywhere. In addition, they’re not required to disclose donors, which could pose potential problems for candidates down the road if opposition research shows they took money from a bad actor or group, even inadvertently.
Wow — Cory Booker’s super PAC raised just $1.1 million in the first half of the year, per new statement.
Super PAC head Steve Phillips says he is “confident” that he’ll have $5 million to $10 million to back Booker.
But right now, the money ain’t there. pic.twitter.com/kzOjU7jZBr
— Teddy Schleifer (@teddyschleifer) July 15, 2019
Phillips, who was a former college classmate of Booker, said it became clear while trying to raise money that “the donor community is strictly adhering to Senator Booker’s publicly articulated wishes that he does not welcome independent support.”
As The Inquisitr previously reported, Booker has struggled to make a showing in important state polls. A recent Iowa state poll by Civiqs, which is managed through Iowa State University, rewarded South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg with a big win in which he garnered 26 percent of support.
Booker, along with candidates such as Michael Bloomberg, Julián Castro, and Steve Bullock, made up the ranks of the bottom of the list, only managing to win one percent of support from Democratic Party caucusgoers.
