Gay rights groups have pledged to back
Cory Booker should he decide to challenge New Jersey Governor Chris
Christie.
While Booker, Newark's Democratic mayor
and an outspoken gay rights ally, has yet to say whether he'll throw
his hat in the ring, gay rights groups are attempting to lure him
into a campaign with promises of support.
Steven Goldstein, the head of Garden
State Equality, the state's largest gay rights advocate, said he's
prepared to go “door to door from New Jersey to West Hollywood to
raise millions of dollars” for a Booker campaign.
“Like few others, Cory Booker manages
to capture the imagination of the LGBT community from all over the
country, and from all walks of life,” Human Rights Campaign (HRC)
spokesman Fred Sainz told the Star-Ledger.
“I would suspect a wide diversity of Americans would support his
campaign and help get him the resources he needs to win.”
Booker and Christie hold opposing
stances on the issue of gay marriage. Christie vetoed a bill which
would have legalized such unions in New Jersey, while Booker has
campaigned for its legalization.
“I'm telling you right now, it's not
a matter of if we're going to win marriage equality in New Jersey,”
Booker told the LGBT caucus at the Democratic National Convention
(DNC) in Charlotte. “It's a matter of when we're going to win it.
And I know in my heart of hearts, if God is willing, I will be there
on that day that bill is signed. I might even have a very good seat
when it gets done.”
In October, Booker gave an electric
speech before an estimated 3,000 people attending HRC's 16th
annual National Dinner in Washington D.C. Booker
reiterated his belief that New Jersey would join the states with
marriage equality.