How Cory Booker's past support for school choice could complicate his 2020 campaign

By Rebecca Buck, CNN

Updated 11:49 AM ET, Fri March 29, 2019

(CNN)During a stop last month in South Carolina, his first in the key primary state since announcing his bid for president, Sen. Cory Booker urgently wanted to talk about public schools.

He was in one, first of all -- sitting on a stage in the Fairfield Central High School cafeteria, in Winnsboro. But Booker also kicked off the forum with local leaders with a rallying cry around support for public education.

"I'm one of those folks who is really worrying that public education is moving backwards now and under assault, and being starved of resources," said the New Jersey politician, "and that now the kind of education you get often depends on your zip code or how wealthy your family is."

The setting and Booker's remarks stood out given his past advocacy for school choice and public charter schools -- longtime third rails in Democratic politics due to the influence of teachers unions that oppose them. Now, these forces stand to complicate Booker's chances in the primary.

Booker is not renouncing his history as a cheerleader for those policies, a central part of his story as mayor of Newark, New Jersey. But he isn't exactly highlighting it, either -- reflecting the highly charged politics around education.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/29/politics/cory-booker-school-choice-2020/index.html