WASHINGTON _ He presided over some of New Jersey's first same-sex marriages. He was a leader in the push to lower sentences for low-level drug offenders and has amassed a liberal voting record on nearly every major issue. And he tirelessly campaigned for fellow Democrats in 2016 and 2018.
Yet as Sen. Cory Booker prepares to enter the Democratic presidential race, some liberals still don't trust him.
"For the most part he votes the right way. He really went out there in 2018, went above and beyond," said Rebecca Katz, a political strategist. "But I do think progressives are wary of his record."
Liberals have long questioned Booker's ties to wealthy interests, including Wall Street, Silicon Valley and pharmaceutical companies, his coziness with former Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, and his advocacy of charter schools, including links to President Donald Trump's education secretary, Betsy DeVos. Those issues could weigh on him as he competes with other Democratic contenders, including liberal champions such as Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and, probably Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
But the long-standing questions about Booker also arrive with some new context, after six years in the Senate in which he has embraced many of the left's most ambitious ideas, including Medicare for All, a federal employment guarantee and a proposal to give every newborn a government-funded savings account. Even some critics have taken note, though interviews suggest they are not entirely convinced.
"It's nuanced, and I hope that comes through," Katz said. "I do think he's done a lot for the party, but I do think there's reason for progressives to be skeptical."
Recent straw polls by the liberal Daily Kos and MoveOn found Booker at or near the bottom of the pack among big-name Democratic contenders, attracting less than 3 percent support. In MoveOn's December survey he was even a step behind former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a former Republican who made a fortune on Wall Street and embraced controversial stop-and-frisk policing.
Few doubt that Booker supports liberal causes. But set against the aggressive postures of competitors like Sanders and Warren, some wonder whether Booker is truly a liberal crusader at heart, or if he is just following where others have led.
"Senator Booker has admirably been proactive in making progress on issues related to big pharma and Wall Street," said Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which has supported Warren. But, Green said, "I think voters will want to not just know (candidates') on-paper positions, but also understand their world view enough to reliably predict their positions on future unanticipated issues."
Other Democrats also face a reckoning over past stands that run contrary to their party's liberal pull.
Former Vice President Joe Biden last week admitted that "it was a big mistake" when he backed a 1994 crime bill now blamed for mass incarceration, particularly among minorities. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., has taken heat over her work as a prosecutor. And Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., is answering for past stands on illegal immigration and guns.
"Many of the candidates that are going to announce are going to be tested and they're going to have to answer for their record," said Karine Jean-Pierre, of the liberal group MoveOn. "We have moved as a party and as a country."
Like others interviewed, she pointed to Booker's recent work. "Senator Booker has, as a senator the past couple years, has been a friend of the progressive movement," Jean-Pierre said.
A Booker spokeswoman referred to his work to help boost economic opportunities in Newark, build parks and increase access to affordable housing, and his Senate initiatives on jobs, the environment, economic inequality and prescription drug costs.
"Senator Booker's progressive record is unimpeachable," Kristin Lynch wrote in an email. "He has put forward groundbreaking proposals that have driven the national progressive agenda forward while seeking to address the most vexing issues of our time."
It's unclear whether the skepticism about Booker is far-reaching or limited to a vocal minority. He easily won a 2013 Democratic primary against three credible opponents, including two congressmen who had campaigned as the best progressive options. His 4.1 million Twitter followers suggest a broad fan base, and Democrats across the country have called on him to fly in and rally their supporters _ suggesting that they see only an upside in standing alongside him.
But for some grassroots skeptics, suspicions about Booker crystallized during the 2012 presidential campaign, when, he condemned Democratic attacks on Bain Capital, the firm once run by Republican nominee Mitt Romney.
"This kind of stuff is nauseating to me on both sides. It's nauseating to the American public. Enough is enough. Stop attacking private equity, stop attacking Jeremiah Wright," Booker said, referring to Barack Obama's former pastor. "This stuff has got to stop, because what it does is it undermines, to me, what this country should be focused on. It's a distraction from the real issues."
Critics still fume at that defense of private equity firms, while Booker allies say he was making a broader point about what issues should be the focus of a campaign.
Another flashpoint is Booker's work with Christie to reshape public education in Newark by greatly expanding charter schools, backed by a $100 million gift from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
Booker allies say he was making a bold move to help at-risk children in failing schools _ a cause that liberals should support. But many on the left see charter schools as undermining traditional public education, and some Newark residents complained that much of the money went to private consultants, not teachers.
"Education-wise, he's not far removed from a Betsy DeVos philosophically," said John Abeigon, president of the Newark Teachers Union. "It's sad because we support him on most issues. But that's a major issue. That's a major stumbling block."
Booker was on the board of DeVos' Alliance for School Choice, which advocated public money for charter, private and religious schools.
The education plan was widely criticized for cutting out community influence and falling short of its promises. Booker aides refer to a Harvard University study that found that after initial declines in achievement, Newark students improved significantly in English, though not math. Most of the gains happened after Booker had left the mayor's office and moved to the Senate.
Booker and Christie, meanwhile, engaged in a public bromance, with Booker proclaimed his "guv love" in the midst of the Republican's re-election campaign _ and as Christie openly eyed the White House.
Others note that Booker has long received significant campaign support from people who work on Wall Street or at major pharmaceutical companies, both major employers for New Jerseyans.
As Democrats have scorned the influence of wealthy political donors, The Wall Street Journal recently reported that of all the major Democratic contenders for 2020, Booker has relied most heavily on those who can write big checks rather than small contributions from everyday people who give $20 or $30 at a time.
Booker supporters bristle at questions about his core beliefs. They point out that after graduating Stanford University, Yale Law School and the University of Oxford, he moved into a Newark housing project to work on the difficult issues in a city wracked by crime and poverty.
They draw a distinction between him and DeVos by noting that the Newark charter schools remained public, not private as she favors. And they point out that he voted against DeVos' confirmation as education secretary. The New Jersey Education Association, the statewide teachers' union, endorsed Booker in 2014.
"On the core issues like LGBT, abortion and marijuana reform and criminal justice reform, he's like A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus," said Jay Lassiter, a liberal activist from South Jersey who supported Sanders in 2016 but said he would readily back Booker in 2020.
Booker has used his fame to lead a rally on the Capitol steps to support the Affordable Care Act and helped organize a filibuster urging tougher gun laws. In 2017 he testified against Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions, breaking Senate protocol by speaking out against a colleague.
But two days later, Booker opposed a Sanders proposal to allow the importation of prescription drugs from Canada. It was a symbolic, nonbinding vote, but liberals were outraged, again concluding that Booker had sided with moneyed interests.
Booker said he had concerns about the plan's safety controls. Since then, he, Sanders and other Democrats have teamed up on several bills to lower drug costs. They introduced their latest plans earlier this month, with Booker standing next to his potential 2020 rival.
