Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey (probably) wants to be president. Booker ran unsuccessfully in 2020 in the Democratic presidential primary, but dropped out shortly before the first-in-the-nation Iowa Caucus due to a lack of popular support and financial resources.
Booker has been aiming for a second shot by positioning himself as a resistance leader to the second Trump Administration — even though Booker has engaged mainly in performative politics, such as a record address to the Senate chamber. One thing that has been consistent for Booker is unconditional support for Israel. This past summer, Booker was one of a minority of Senate Democrats to vote to continue to send arms to Israel well into the genocide in Gaza. 
Simply put, Booker has firmly aligned with AIPAC, bucking the majority of Democratic voters and even the emerging tide amongst Democrats in Congress, which is moving more and more away from the old, failed policies of backing an increasingly intransigent Israeli government.
Naturally, Booker has been generously rewarded by AIPAC for his stalwart pro-Israel policies, such as criticizing the International Criminal Court for indicting the Israeli prime minister and defense minister for war crimes in Gaza. Booker was happy to take photos with both men after the indictments. (See photo above from the defense minister.)
As the above article notes,
Federal Election Commission filings show Booker received $481,175 from AIPAC’s PAC during the first and second quarters of 2025 combined, followed by an additional $226,628 in the third quarter, which was disclosed just yesterday.
And OpenSecrets reports that NorPAC, another pro-Israel special interest group, is one of Booker’s top donors between 2019 and 2024. contributing over $41,000 to his campaign committee.
But money in American politics goes beyond contributions via PACs. It, of course, also includes direct contributions to the candidates from the individuals associated with these groups. For instance, a banker may donate to a PAC dedicated to the deregulation of the financial industry, but the banker can expand his or her influence by also making a direct donation to their preferred candidate. So it is worth examining individual donors, too.
AIPAC has tried to keep its list of board members a secret, but DAWN has published a recent disclosure of AIPAC’s 41 board members. This will be so much to unpack in the days and weeks ahead as we scrutinize the list. For now, let’s stick to Sen. Booker. Nine AIPAC board members are donors to Cory Booker, self-styled resistance hero.
Below are their donations courtesy of the Federal Election Commission, where they can be searched, now that we know their names. Worth noting that many of the donations were made after Booker was one of the few Democrats to vote to continue to send lethal weapons to Israel. Moreover, some of these donors lean Republican in their campaign donations, but Booker won them over, which is touching.
Fittingly, this board member donated to AIPAC the same day ^^^
Less than a month after the Senate vote on arms to Israel ^^^
(For cross-reference, consult this DAWN list of the board members.)
There was a time when getting the backing of AIPAC was helpful to one’s campaign, but today, it is likely to be a liability for Booker in his (probable) upcoming presidential campaign. Activists are already confronting Booker for his hypocrisy as he tries to present himself as a moral messenger.
