Cory Booker: I will consider running for president

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker just visited 24 -- count 'em, 24 -- states stumping for Democrats in the midterm elections.

He contributed $686,000 to House and Senate candidates across the nation.

And along the way, New Jersey's dynamic Democrat stopped in all those early presidential primary states, plus a few that look to be big battlegrounds.

A dry run for a potential 2020 bid?

Even Booker wouldn't quarrel with that.

"I will consider running for president," Booker told NJ Advance Media.

"That's something that I will do. There's people in New Jersey who are talking to me about it, across the country that are talking to me about it, so I will consider that."

Booker said he spent the year focused on the midterms, which saw the Democrats win back the House, including capturing four of New Jersey's five Republican-held congressional districts.

Next on his agenda is trying to push legislation across the finish line during the lame-duck congressional session, including a bill to overhaul the criminal justice system that has President Donald Trump's support.

Then, he told NJ Advance Media, he will look at 2020, where he already has banked $4.1 million for his Senate re-election campaign. He figures that will come in earnest during the December holiday season.

Read more: Cory Booker says 'I will consider running for president' after just campaigning for Democrats in 24 states

Obama: I 'don't buy' idea that a woman or minority can’t beat Trump in 2020

Former President Obama says he doesn’t believe that Democrats would be making a mistake by selecting another woman or person of color for their presidential nominee in 2020.

“That kind of stuff, I don’t buy," Obama said during a podcast interview with David Axelrod, a CNN political commentator and his former top strategist, when asked if Democrats need a candidate of a certain gender or race to defeat President Trump.

“With respect to going forward, the idea that there’s some demographic or profile of a particular candidate that is the optimal one or the ideal one, that’s just not how I’ve seen politics work,” Obama continued.

“I think people respond to candidates who speak to the moment in some fashion."

His remarks come a month after lawyer Michael Avenatti said in an interview with Time magazine that he believes the 2020 Democratic nominee "better be a white male," though he also added at the time that he wishes it weren't so.

“When you have a white male making the arguments, they carry more weight,” he said. “Should they carry more weight? Absolutely not. But do they? Yes.”

Obama’s remarks also follow comments made by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) earlier this month when he said there are “a lot of white folks out there who are not necessarily racist who felt uncomfortable for the first time in their lives about whether or not they wanted to vote for an African-American.”

[SOURCE: THE HILL]