New Jersey senator Cory Booker made his presidential campaign official this morning — a quick tour of Booker’s career can be found here. It’s difficult to stand out in this massive field — he’s one of seven Democratic senators running or thinking about running, one of three African-Americans, one of about eight from the northeast (depending on how broadly you want to define that region), and one of four Democrats from the New York City area if you count Michael Bloomberg. He’s one of seven candidates or potential candidates who are mayors or former mayors.
At one point, Booker might have stood out as the fresh-faced rookie, but as of this writing, the fifth-youngest candidate in the crowded field.
On Election Day 2020, the ages of the various official and unofficial candidates will be:
Vermont senator Bernie Sanders: 79 years, 1 month, 26 days.
Former New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg: 78 years, 8 months, 20 days.
Former vice president Joe Biden: 77 years, 11 months, 14 days.
President Donald Trump: 74 years, 4 months, 20 days.
Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren: 71 years, 4 months, 12 days.
Former attorney general Eric Holder: 69 years, 9 months, 9 days.
Washington governor Jay Inslee: 69 years, 8 months, 25 days.
Former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper: 68 years, 8 months, 27 days.
Ohio senator Sherrod Brown: 67 years, 11 months, 25 days.
Potential independent candidate and former Starbucks CEO Howard Schulz: 67 years, 3 months, 29 days.
Former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe: 63 years, 8 months, 25 days.
Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar: 60 years, 5 months, 9 days.
New York City mayor and notorious groundhog killer Bill de Blasio: 59 years, 5 months, 26 days.
Maryland congressman John Delaney, who really exists: 57 years, 6 months, 18 days.
California senator Kamala Harris: 56 years, 14 days.
New York senator Kirsten Gillibrand: 53 years, 10 months, 25 days.
New Jersey senator Cory Booker: 51 years, 6 months, 8 days.
Former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke: 48 years, 1 month, 8 days.
Former mayor and HUD secretary Julian Castro: 46 years, 1 month, 20 days.
Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard: 39 years, 6 months, 22 days.
South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg: 38 years, 9 months, 15 days.
To get a sense of the generational difference, when Joe Biden was first elected to the Senate, Buttigieg, Gabbard, and Castro had not been born yet and O’Rourke was two months old.