Another Cory Booker related diary:
Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, considered a rising star in the Democratic Party, has endorsed former NAACP head Ben Jealous’s campaign to be Maryland’s next governor, Jealous aides announced.
Booker and Jealous will campaign together at an event in Prince George’s County Thursday afternoon.
Jealous has scooped up several endorsements from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, including the support of Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, for whom Jealous worked as a surrogate during the 2016 presidential primary.
Indeed, Jealous has been running on a Bernie Sanders type platform including this:
Maryland gubernatorial candidate Ben Jealous is calling for Maryland to join the state of New York in providing public higher education for a large segment of the population free of charge.
“College is as important in the 21st century as high school was in the 20th century,” the former NAACP president and tech investor told a group of students and progressive activists gathered Tuesday night at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. He said he would help pay for the plan by reducing the number of people in prison and cutting corrections costs.
Jealous spoke after the students participated in a virtual town hall hosted by 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who was touting his plan for tuition-free college nationwide.
The Vermont senator endorsed Jealous’s gubernatorial bid in July .
Jealous has not estimated how much a Maryland tuition-free state program would cost, how many students would benefit or what type of income-eligibility requirements would be required. “We’re still looking at those numbers,” he said.
Still, the proposal is likely to help set the tone on college-affordability issues as the 2018 Democratic gubernatorial primary campaign gets underway.
And Jealous also has a big union backing:
Service Employees International United, a labor union with 45,000 members in Maryland, will support former NAACP CEO Ben Jealous in the Democratic primary race for governor.
SEIU leaders plan to formally endorse Jealous during an event on Thursday, according to his campaign.
“Ben Jealous is speaking to all of the issues that our members are interested in, not just the work issues, but the social justice issues and health care issues,” said Lisa Brown, executive vice president of SEIU 1199, the D.C.-Maryland chapter of the union.
Click here to donate and get involved with Jealous’ campaign.