Rebecca Buck Profile picture
SVP of Communications at @BMAlliance. Former reporter @CNN. M-I-Z 🐯 rbuck@bettermedicarealliance.org
Oct 28, 2020 7 tweets 2 min read
We all remember how it started: Rep. Jeff Van Drew switched parties, pledging his “undying support” to POTUS. Now he faces his first election as a Trump Republican, in one of the hottest House races in the country. I went to NJ to see how that’s going. cnn.com/2020/10/28/pol… About that profession of “undying support”: Van Drew says it wasn’t what he meant. "I think voters understand that when you're in the Oval Office and you're having a very exciting day and you're making a little piece of history, that sometimes we all say things."
Sep 14, 2020 9 tweets 2 min read
With President Trump briefly visiting California today, after ignoring the devastating fires out west for weeks, I’ve been reflecting on why presidential visits matter in moments of crisis and disaster. A few thoughts rooted in personal experience🧵 I lived in San Diego during the 2003 Cedar Fire. At the time it was the largest wildfire in the state’s history. (Now it’s No. 6 — a stark reminder of just how devastating these past few fire seasons have been, particularly this year.)
Aug 12, 2020 4 tweets 1 min read
The Justice Dept sued Donald Trump, his father and their company in 1973 for discriminating against prospective Black tenants and violating the Fair Housing Act.

Around that time, Cory Booker’s family was struggling to buy a house in suburban NJ, facing similar discrimination. Booker’s parents were only able to buy a home in Harrington Park, & integrate their neighborhood, bc a volunteer lawyer set up a sting with a white couple. It enabled Cory Booker to attend high-ranking public schools; today he points to this as a major turning point in his life.
Mar 17, 2020 4 tweets 1 min read
At a polling place today we spoke with @Croke4Illinois, a first-time candidate in a state leg race, and one of many candidates trying to adapt to this pretty unimaginable election. "It's crazy," she said. She thought deciding to run while 8 months pregnant would be one of the wildest things about this process. "And now we have a national pandemic, so you can’t really plan for these things," she said.
Mar 17, 2020 5 tweets 2 min read
Election judges in Cook County IL were promised hand sanitizer and wipes at every polling place. But that hasn't happened — and we're now four hours into voting. We spoke with one election judge, Kim Inman, who says she hasn’t received sanitizer or wipes at her location. (1/2) (2/2) More from Kim: "I’m in suburban Chicago. We are trying to keep people spread out, but there’s a steady stream of voters. Light turnout, but still. 50 people ...so far. We have only half the number of judges originally assigned. They dropped off due to sickness or fear."
Feb 13, 2020 4 tweets 2 min read
Folks, we have an *Eric Greitens update* cnn.com/2020/02/13/pol… Former MO Gov. Greitens tells CNN he feels "vindicated" after the state Ethics Commission cites his campaign for reporting violations but clears him of wrongdoing ... this was the last big investigation hanging over his head, went on for nearly 18 months cnn.com/2020/02/13/pol…
Jan 13, 2020 16 tweets 3 min read
I’ve covered Cory Booker for more than a year now. So as his campaign comes to a close, please indulge this *thread*: Rachel Maddow, who knew Cory Booker from their Stanford days, summed him up perfectly in Feb last year. She said he “is so different than anybody I have ever known on earth” and “such an absolutely unique embodiment of moral energy and moral earnestness.”
Dec 20, 2019 4 tweets 1 min read
Dallas County Dems chair Bryce Smith announces he’s endorsing Cory Booker, during a stop at Smith’s bowling alley in Adel, Iowa (the first on Booker’s four-day bus tour of Iowa). “I’m bowled over,” Booker says. 🎳 Image This was a stop for Hillary Clinton in 2016 as well nytimes.com/politics/first…
Nov 29, 2019 4 tweets 2 min read
First on CNN: Cory Booker reacts to a new super PAC ad set to air in Iowa, "The Other Rhodes Scholar" — comparing his record with Buttigieg's The new ad, from the pro-Booker super PAC United We Win, will begin airing on TV in Iowa next week. It says Booker, not Buttigieg, is "the Rhodes Scholar mayor" who "has what it takes to beat Donald Trump." cnn.com/2019/11/29/pol…
Oct 29, 2019 6 tweets 2 min read
Jeff Sessions is eyeing the race for his old Senate seat - but some Republicans are throwing cold water on the idea. Some new reporting (thread)
cnn.com/2019/10/29/pol… McConnell and Sessions have not spoken about the race, and McConnell hasn’t encouraged him to run. The Senate majority leader believes “Republicans are very well positioned to retake the seat" as it is, per a source familiar with McConnell’s thinking.

cnn.com/2019/10/29/pol…
Oct 17, 2019 5 tweets 2 min read
A lot to unpack from this Rosario Dawson interview washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/styl… 1) We might see Rosario on the trail with Cory Booker soon (although plans haven’t been confirmed by the campaign). She joined Booker at the debate earlier this week and sent out a fundraising email on his behalf yesterday Image
Sep 17, 2019 4 tweets 2 min read
The Harris slide continues, while Warren keeps climbing and Biden stays strong in the lead Another big takeaway: If the DNC indeed raises its polling threshold for the November debate (and beyond), Klobuchar, Booker, Castro and Beto will need to do better than this
Aug 12, 2019 6 tweets 2 min read
Thread 🧵: This morning on @CNNnewsroom, @PoppyHarlowCNN asked why Cory Booker hasn’t seen a jump in polling following his lauded second debate performance. I think it’s a great question! So here are my thoughts paraphrased for the Twitter crowd. For Booker boosters, the debate demonstrated that he can compete, showcased some of the attributes that they believe make him a formidable candidate, and put him on voters’ radars in a way he might not have been previously as a mid- to lower-tier candidate.
Aug 5, 2019 7 tweets 2 min read
Aug 2, 2019 8 tweets 2 min read
Earlier today I checked Tulsi Gabbard’s website, which features a “live” count of their unique campaign donors. Here’s what it looked like about 8 hours ago: And here is what it looks like now. Thoughts @TulsiGabbard?
Jul 30, 2019 4 tweets 2 min read
Elizabeth Warren’s “fun fact” 🧐 cnn.com/interactive/20… ImageImageImageImage Of course I was responsible for the obscure Booker trivia: “Cory Booker, a Baptist, was co-president of L’Chaim Society, a Jewish group, at Oxford; he later co-founded a Jewish group at Yale Law.”
Jul 2, 2019 5 tweets 1 min read
New USA Today/Suffolk U *IOWA* poll, post-debate:

Biden 24%
Harris 16%
Warren 13%
Sanders 9%
Buttigieg 6%
Booker 2%
Klobuchar 2%

All others are at 1% or less. But 21% of respondents are *undecided* Among those who watched both nights of the debate (about half of likely caucusgoers), 50% say Harris was the candidate who did better than expected, 29% Castro, 22% Buttigieg, 18% Warren, 13% Booker
Jun 21, 2019 5 tweets 1 min read
Cory Booker on MSNBC says he had a "very constructive conversation" with Joe Biden when he called last night. They spoke for about 15 minutes. But Booker says, "At the end of the day, it’s not about me, it’s not about him, it’s about where our country is. And we have real race issues in our country, and we need leaders plural, presidential candidates or not, that can bring folks together."
May 15, 2019 4 tweets 1 min read
Many 2020’ers have tweeted in response to Alabama’s de facto abortion ban - calling it “unconstitutional,” “exceptionally cruel,” “appalling,” etc. But nothing yet, noticeably, from Joe Biden or Pete Buttigieg. Joe Biden, of course, has a long and winding history on the issue of abortion nytimes.com/2019/03/29/us/…
Apr 16, 2019 4 tweets 1 min read
Cory Booker’s Q1 FEC report is (finally) in. The campaign spent more than $1.7m for the quarter - burn rate of roughly 34% docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/… Booker transferred $2,725,000 from his Senate account to his presidential campaign, helping him get to $6.1m COH
Apr 13, 2019 6 tweets 2 min read
Cory Booker’s hometown kickoff event was set to begin in a few min. The start has now been delayed ... but not much of a crowd thus far for Newark’s former mayor. Lots of empty space. Newark police tell CNN: they were planning for a crowd of as many as 10,000 people for Cory Booker’s kickoff rally. The program still hasn’t started (it was set to begin at 11:30a), but it’s clear the attendance is far smaller than expected.