US Senator Cory Booker, (D) New Jersey
US Senator Cory Booker, (D) New Jersey

It was a rainy morning in Adel on Monday, but that didn’t stop a large crowd from meeting outside to hear what U.S. Senator Cory Booker had to say.

Booker is the Democratic Senator from New Jersey who was a voice of opposition during the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings for Judge Brett Kavanaugh. He was in Adel to promote the start of early voting and to inspire the public to head to the polls for the midterm election. The event was held at the home of Dallas County Democratic Party Chairperson Bryce Smith, and it got started with a brief speech by Tim Gannon, the Democratic candidate for Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture. Gannon then introduced Booker, who gave an impassioned speech about the importance of voting in this year’s election.

Booker then chatted, took pictures, and signed autographs for many of the attendees. After that, those gathered were encouraged to head over to the Auditor’s Office for early voting, which officially began Monday. Smith said he was asked Saturday if he could host the event, and he was pleased with how many showed up on such short notice and in inclement weather. “I think the turnout was great, even though we’ve seen so much rain. I think people are eager to get out and vote, and obviously hear from Senator Booker and Tim Gannon on what their ideas are and what they have to say. So I think his (Booker’s) speech was admirable and uplifting about voting, and how it’s what we all have to do.”

Along with Gannon, a few other local Democratic candidates were in attendance at the event, including: Gregg Gustafson and Kenan Judge, who are running for the Iowa House; Pat Stalter, who is vying for the Dallas County Supervisor, District 3 seat; and Julie Stewart who is running for County Treasurer.

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