Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., will face competition for his seat in 2020 from a first-generation American pharmacist and lawyer who is running as a Republican, The Hill reports.
Dr. Rik Mehta, who is Vice President and Head of Regulatory Affairs for Aquestive Therapeutics and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center whose parents came to the U.S. before his birth, launched his campaign with a video Thursday. In it, he blasts Booker for leaving New Jersey to run for the Democratic nomination for president.
"In a few weeks, when Cory Booker is done showboating around Iowa and dropping out of the presidential race, he'll run back to New Jersey to pretend he cares about all of us he left behind," Mehta said in the video. "The difference this time: He'll have to face me."
He adds he fought "bad actors" selling illegal drugs and manipulating the market throughout his career, and criticizes Booker and fellow Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., for "encouraging illegal immigration," noting his own parents are immigrants.
"While Cory Booker campaigns around the country for his doomed presidential bid, the New Jersey economy continues to tank and our beautiful towns are becoming destitute," Mehta told Insider NJ on Thursday. "For too long our state has been failed by socialist politicos like Cory, who continue to build their careers off the backs of our proud immigrant communities – while real New Jerseyans continue to struggle. No more. I spent my life fighting for communities and that's what I'll do in Washington."
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