Cory Booker says Democrats are 'desperate' for fresh leaders [View all]

Source: USA Today

Updated May 24, 2026, 3:38 p.m. ET


The midterm elections are less than six months away, and one Democratic senator is sounding the alarm on the party’s leadership and vision for the future. Speaking to Jake Tapper on CNN’s "State of the Union" Sunday, May 24, Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, said the party "desperately needs new leadership," days after the Democratic National Committee released its much-anticipated autopsy of the 2024 election.

"We need to focus on the people, and the Democratic Party desperately needs new leadership, and that's what's exciting me about this cycle," Booker said. "It's not only new leaders emerging, but a new vision for our party."

New leaders vs. new leadership?

Booker pointed to three Democrats who he thinks represent the future of the party –– Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia, Texas Senate hopeful James Talarico and Roy Cooper, the former governor of North Carolina and current Senate candidate.

"People are suffering, people are hurting, and they're going to support the leaders," Booker said. "And I'm seeing this in Talarico, in Ossoff, in Cooper in North Carolina, that those leaders are stepping up and saying, 'I don't give a damn about parties. I care about people.' You cannot lead the people if they don't trust you, and that's what's lacking right now with the party apparatus."

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/05/24/cory-booker-democrats-ossoff-talarico-cooper/90244099007/