Cory Booker, mayor of Newark, NJ, is speaking out about gay rumors in a new Washington Post profile.
Booker, who recently won the Democratic primary for a special upcoming Senate election, is 44 and unmarried and does not speak publicly about his personal life. But, the mayor tells the Washington Post that he doesn't mind the gay rumors that have bubbled up from time to time during his political career:
“...People who think I’m gay, some part of me thinks it’s wonderful. Because I want to challenge people on their homophobia. I love seeing on Twitter when someone says I’m gay, and I say, ‘So what does it matter if I am? So be it. I hope you are not voting for me because you are making the presumption that I’m straight.’ ”
This isn't the first time "gay" and Booker's name have appeared in the same sentence. His spokesperson has declined to comment on Booker's sexuality in the past. And earlier this year a 1992 op-ed surfaced from his college newspaper, "The Stanford Daily." In the piece, titled "Pointing the Finger at Gays," Booker wrote about overcoming his own homophobia.
Booker will face off against Republican Steve Lonegan to fill late senator Frank Lautenberg's Senate seat on October 16. If elected, Booker will become New Jersey's first African-American senator.
To read the entire "Washington Post" profile click here.
Correction: An earlier version of this article misidentified the name of Booker's college newspaper.
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