Norcross indictment mutes Booker’s usual moral certainty

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) cuts an image as a moral authority in the Capitol, using his large social media platform and cable news appearances to condemn Republicans like Donald Trump and Brett Kavanaugh when he was a nominee for the Supreme Court.

He’s a little more muddled when it comes to New Jersey — a state lately in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

Booker took days to join the chorus calling for his friend and colleague Bob Menendez’s resignation from the Senate after he was indicted a second time. Now, Booker speaks in general platitudes after the state’s longtime Democratic kingmaker, George Norcross, was indicted by a state grand jury Monday.

“Anytime you see public figures getting indicted it's a sad time for our state,” Booker said in an interview when asked about the allegations against Norcross, adding that he had not read the indictment yet. “This is something that should be concerning.”

Booker occupies a unique place in New Jersey politics. He extols virtues of compassion and compromise while eschewing the sort of cut throat maneuvering people like Norcross trade in. And barring an extreme circumstance, Booker is the only Democrat today who will hold statewide office beyond 2025.

Booker’s muted response shows the reality of living in the two worlds he straddles: he often tries to stay above the fray but also must maintain friendships and alliances with some of the most aggressive politicians in America.

“When people have come up through a certain system, it becomes very difficult to criticize that system,” said Democrat Sue Altman, former director of the Working Families Party group who is hoping to unseat Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. “You see it with Republicans. We see it with Democrats. But I'm very encouraged that Democrats in New Jersey in general, are moving towards accountability and diversity and change.”

Booker is not the only one holding his tongue on Norcross, who has earned a reputation for striking fear into his loyalists and opponents alike. The indictment of one of New Jersey’s most powerful political figures drew silence from both sides of the aisle Monday, from the governor down through the Legislature.

During the press conference announcing his indictment, Norcross defiantly sat in the front row while Attorney General Matt Platkin read the allegations of a decade-long criminal “enterprise.”

Booker rose to prominence without much help from Norcross, but they became allies and Norcross donated and helped raise money for Booker since becoming a senator a decade ago.

Most of New Jersey’s congressional delegation has stayed mum on the issue, which Jersey City mayor and 2025 candidate for governor Steven Fulop pointed out on social media.

“Bueller…. Bueller…. I know Monday can be a slow day in Congress but weird only two comments in the entire state??” Fulop posted on X, tagging two anticipated rivals for the Democratic nomination, Democratic Reps. Josh Gottheimer and Mikie Sherrill (who later issued a statement).

Even Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) — who was the first to call on Menendez to resign and now is likely to take his Senate seat after winning the Democratic nomination — didn’t mention Norcross by name in his statement.

“There’s no doubt that NJ politics is going through a lot of turmoil,” Kim said. “But I believe we will come out of this better; that our democracy will be fairer and more tied to the people.”

On Monday, Booker called the Norcross indictment “disturbing” when asked about it. But he reminded reporters that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. He’s taken that same approach in the past, but when Trump was indicted in Manhattan last year, he added that it meant that a grand jury “has decided that there is enough evidence to charge former President Trump with committing a crime.”

He reiterated that the focus is on Norcross but that one other politician — the mayor of Camden — is also involved.

“One of the reasons it was so difficult to create a coalition against the South Jersey Democratic machine is because politicians in New Jersey — and [that] include[s] Democrats and Republicans — were very afraid of taking on George Norcross directly,” Altman said. “And those fears don't go away overnight. I think that you'll continue to see a general lack of courage among Democratic and Republican politicians in New Jersey until, and if, George Norcross is convicted.”

Patricia Campos-Medina, who ran for Menendez’s seat but lost the Democratic nomination to Kim, said for many activists Norcross’ indictment doesn’t come as a surprise. But she said neither does Democrats’ reservations to talk about the charges.

“Norcross was the Night King of New Jersey politics, like in ‘Game of Thrones,’” Campos-Medina said. “You had to go to Norcross if you wanted to be in a statewide office. So he had a lot to say about elected officials.”

She later added, “Everyone is quiet because they don’t know how deep the tentacles are going to go on this one.”

Former New Jersey Sen. Bob Toriccelli said the muted reaction by other Democrats to the Norcross indictment is not unusual. There had been so much speculation about Norcross being investigated for years that “people long ago dismissed the notion that it was serious.”

“I think most of the silence is that it's a complete surprise,” Torricelli said. But Booker, in particular, is “not really identified” with Norcross because he rose up the ranks without much support from him.

He said it’s another indictment that’s more “problematic” for Booker: that of his friend and colleague Menendez, now in the middle of his second bribery trial.

“He took a risk testifying for Menendez,” Torricelli said. ‘I admire his fidelity to the friendship with Menendez, but it obviously took a toll.”

“If we are going to hold Trump and Republicans for their lies," Campos-Medina said, "then we also need to hold Democrats accountable."

Anthony Adragna contributed to this report.