WASHINGTON — It’s official: Cory Booker won’t be on stage for next week’s Democratic presidential debate because of dismal poll numbers.

But his campaign manager on Thursday said the New Jersey senator really doesn’t need it.

“We still see a path to victory that does not include the December debate stage as a requirement,” said Addisu Demissie on a conference call with reporters. “Our path to victory has always been through February.”

Demissie said Booker will focus on the early states, most notably Iowa where a $500,000 ad buy is planned. The campaign has raised $3 million since the November debate and the withdrawal of Kamala Harris’s withdrawal from the race.

The emphasis on Iowa is no accident. In 2008, Barack Obama’s victory in the caucuses led to him eventually winning the Democratic presidential nomination and the presidency. Demissie said the advertising buy would comprise a mixture of television and digital ads.

Booker, though, was averaging just 2.3 percent in Iowa polling, putting him ninth, according to Real Clear Politics.

Demissie said most of the polls were taken last month, before a surge in support for Booker as evidenced not only by his fundraising but by local endorsements and overflow crowds at his events.

“The polls are lagging indicators,” he said. “I still believe this will be as late breaking a race as it has ever been.”

Booker himself said on Twitter Thursday that the support he has received meant that the next debate was not as crucial as it once could have been. He previously made pleas for supporters to help him get in the debate.

“Thanks to the outpouring of support over the past few weeks, we know there’s a path to victory, and we no longer need the debate stage to get there,” Booker tweeted.

I’ll be doing what we’ve done for the last ten months of this campaign and throughout my time in public service—meeting people where they are, in living rooms and church basements, at coffee shops and in diners, and discussing how to tackle the most pressing challenges we face. — Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) December 12, 2019

The Democratic National Committee, meanwhile, announced the next three debates:

-- Jan. 14 in Des Moines, Iowa

-- Feb. 7 in Manchester, N.H.

-- Feb. 19 in Las Vegas

-- Feb. 25 in Charleston, S.C.

The thresholds for qualifying will be announced later.

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

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