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Cory Booker would possibly be a bachelor president, if elected. Booker, the U.S. Senator from New Jersey, is currently running for office as a single man because he’s not married, and he’s never had a wife.
The “possibly” part comes because Booker has now confirmed that he’s in a serious relationship with the actress, Rosario Dawson.
Is the country ready for no First Lady? Time will tell, and, of course, times have changed. On February 1, 2019, Booker, U.S. Senator from New Jersey, became the latest Democrat in a quickly filling up field to announce that he was running for president in 2020. The video announcement came on day one of Black History Month. Booker is taking the stage on June 26, 2019 with the first slate of candidates for the first Democratic debate, which will be held in Miami, Florida.
Here’s what you need to know:
Cory Booker Has Hinted That He Could Make Actress Rosario Dawson His Wife
According to Page Six, Cory Booker met Rosario Dawson “at a political fundraiser for Ben Jealous, former president of the NAACP.” He discussed the relationship during a CNN Town Hall and lavished praise on his girlfriend.
“I was trying to help him out, but she didn’t give me the time of day,” Booker said during the town hall. “So we met again, and I had one of those really awkward experiences. I’m a United States senator, and I had to get up the courage to walk up to her and ask her for her phone number. And this doesn’t make me nervous, but that made me nervous.”
She did give him her number.
“She is an incredible girlfriend,” Booker said. “I’m very lucky to be in a relationship with someone who is just so incredibly special, but more importantly has taught me so much in a very short period of time.
Asked on RuPaul’s show whether he planned to make Rosario his wife, Booker implied it was possible, saying, “Well the swearing-in isn’t until the 21st of January 2021. You never know what might happen between now and then.” He even claimed on the show that he writes her love poems, saying, “She inspires me.” According to People Magazine, he also recently asked Ellen DeGeneres: Would you help preside over the wedding?”
This all came after some secrecy.
On February 5, 2019, Booker confirmed he has a girlfriend, but he didn’t name her. “I’m dating somebody that’s really special… I’ve got a boo,” he revealed. When asked if he planned to marry the woman, he said, according to ClickOnDetroit, “Please, what have we gotten myself into right now, man! All the issues we’ve talked about, this is the most uncomfortable part of this interview.”
Cory Anthony Booker was born on April 27, 1969, making him age 49 at the time of the campaign announcement and 50 at the time of debate one. According to the Census Bureau, in 2016, 110.6 million people in the United States were single. “This group made up 45.2 percent of all U.S. residents age 18 and older,” the bureau reported. You can see a list of Booker’s reported girlfriends throughout the years here.
Booker Says Family Relationships in America ‘Have Been Changed Dramatically’
(Getty)Cory Booker
It’s still unusual, though, in America for a presidential candidate to be a bachelor. Booker has been asked about this in interviews, and he believes that the times have changed.
In December 2018, he told Philly.com, “Clearly the norms of family relationships have been changed dramatically as you’ve seen people across this country being elected to offices with all different kinds of family situations, including the president who has had three spouses. So I think a lot of that conventional thought on that doesn’t apply.”
The Philadelphia newspaper asked Booker whether he was gay (he’s faced gay slurs before). “I’m heterosexual,” Booker responded to the newspaper. “Every candidate should run on their authentic self, tell their truth, and more importantly, or mostly importantly, talk about their vision for the country.”
He told Buzzfeed that being unmarried made it difficult to date sometimes, saying, “It puts a big damper on your personal life. It’d be much easier if I was married already and I didn’t have to go on a first date and have people coming up to your table.”
He has had a series of girlfriends over the years. You can see a list of Cory Booker’s past girlfriends here.
Booker told Page Six: “People who think I’m gay, some part of me thinks it’s wonderful. Because I want to challenge people on their homophobia . . . I say, ‘So what does it matter if I am?’”
He once wrote on Twitter: “My future wife…will endure a sci-fi nerd, coffee addicted, work-a-holic.”
There Have Been Other Bachelor Presidents, Though
President James Buchanan
Two American presidents were not married when they were elected to the office: Grover Cleveland and James Buchanan. However, according to The Root, Grover Cleveland, while a bachelor at the time of his election, married while he was in the White House. The Root also reports that Chester Arthur was a widower when he was elected president.
Buchanan’s niece filled the role of First Lady.
Harriet Lane
According to White House.org, Harriet Rebecca Lane Johnston “acted as First Lady of the United States, or ‘Hostess,’ for her uncle James Buchanan, who was a lifelong bachelor and the 15th President (1857-1861). Unique among First Ladies, Harriet Lane acted as hostess for the only President who never married: James Buchanan, her favorite uncle and her guardian after she was orphaned at the age of eleven. And of all the ladies of the White House, few achieved such great success in deeply troubled times as this polished young woman in her twenties.”