What would you need to cosplay as presidential candidate Sen. Cory Booker?

For one, a shaved head. Next, a blazer. If it’s a throwback look, a Stanford football jersey.

Trust us: We heard it straight from the source.

“I’m not sure anyone would want to cosplay me,” Booker said Friday afternoon as he walked the floor of the San Diego Convention Center for Comic-Con 2019.


But the New Jersey Democrat didn’t mince words when asked which “Star Trek” captain was his favorite.

“Picard,” he said. “All the way.”

Presidential candidate Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) looks through a headset at the NASA booth at the Comic-Con International exhibition hall at the San Diego Convention Center on Friday. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)

Many questions and well wishes were spoken, and yelled, to Booker as he made his way through the hall, showing off selfie skills that would make most bloggers envious.


Stopping at the CBS All Access booth and a VR installation, Booker showed off his nerdy side as he turned in a 360-degree circle looking at nothing in particular with VR glasses on, and was beamed to an unknown location while standing in the “Star Trek” booth. (Though security was on hand, they might have gotten a tad nervous when the doors to the installation closed for about 30 seconds.)

Booker’s showing, the first for any 2020 presidential candidate at this year’s convention — unless a competitor’s cosplay was very convincing — illustrated that he is a committed fan of the genre entertainment that Comic-Con is known for.

“CBS’s ‘Star Trek’ and ‘Black Mirror,’” said Booker, trying to recall some of his favorite TV shows on the air right now. “See, in this campaign year, a lot of things are building up that I want to see. There’s ‘Game of Thrones.’ I still haven’t watched the last season … Do not ruin it for me!”

Presidential candidate Sen. Cory Booker talks with John Vash, cosplaying as “Captain America,” while holding his shield at Comic-Con International. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)


It’s not just TV. The senator expressed genuine interest in the happenings inside the convention center, though of course Comic-Con also present an opportunity to interact with voters, pose for photos and garner social media attention.

“I just love science fiction. I love fantasy adventure. You name it. It’s killing me right now that I haven’t seen ‘Spider-Man.’ Here for me is geek love heaven.”

Booker’s relationship with Rosario Dawson might be just as talked about as his presidential run. Dawson being a pro convention-goer may have had an influence on Booker.

“Dating her has been a great peek behind the scenes of a lot of things I’ve revered for a long time. I love the fact that she was in the Netflix ‘Daredevil’ [and] ’Luke Cage’ [shows], and hearing about what that was like. Dating somebody who’s acting in projects that are in development right now. I’ve just been able to learn a lot more about the making of movies,” said Booker.


Presidential candidate Sen. Cory Booker goes through the “Star Trek: Discovery” activation on the floor of Comic-Con International. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)

“We try to save things to watch together,” he added. “We just watched ‘Black Mirror’ together. We have a lot of similar tastes when it comes to TV, movies and things like that.”

Booker may not be a regular at events like Comic-Con, but he’s always been a fan of the culture — and considers himself a part of it.

“I grew up as a big superhero fan,” he said. “They spoke to me where I was as a little kid. That was really really helpful. They anchored me, but also helped me to dream. This kind of art is really a powerful shaping image of our culture.”


“When you see the world of ‘Star Trek’ … What a bold vision of the future that all the problems of poverty, hunger, racial tensions … to see that one day we can overcome these challenges,” Booker continued. “To see this ideal that we elevate people who are about service and about helping people and dedicate themselves to doing good. These are powerful artistic expressions of some of the great human ideals and human instincts, and I just think it’s such a wonderful part of our culture as a country.”

Loud, passionate, often opinionated crowds are something that Booker is used to, and since he’s professed his love of geekdom, we had to ask: Comic-Con vs. the Democratic National Convention?

“I think not taking yourself too seriously is really important in life, and seeing that happen at the conventions — people decked out in their Uncle Sam outfits or whatever it is, I think that it’s really important to sometimes have some fun, not take yourself too seriously and really enjoy.”