Cory Booker Doesn’t Want People to Vote for Him Just Because They Think He’s Straight

Twitter celebrity, start-up co-founder, Newark mayor, and New Jersey Senate candidate Cory Booker is attractive, outgoing, and once saved a woman from a burning building, yet the 44-year-old is unmarried and apparently without a girlfriend, which has led some people to speculate that he is gay. Booker, who used to be homophobic but got over it in college, says he doesn’t mind the rumors. Actually, he thinks they’re kind of useful.

In a newly published Washington Post profile, Booker said he preferred to keep his romantic life private because it would be “unfair … to a young lady to put them in the spotlight if they haven’t signed up for that yet.” And, he added, “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.’” Whatever his sexual orientation, Cory Booker sure knows how to turn almost anything into a political opportunity.

Cory Booker Doesn’t Mind Gay Rumors