Earlier this semester, we discussed the demographic make-up of Congress, how some identities are overrepresented, and how having certain identities can make it easier to get elected.
Cory Booker, New Jersey Senator and 2020 Democratic presidential contender, has a unique identity: vegan.
This article discusses the apparent disregard voters have towards Booker's veganism. Voters in Iowa, a heavy meat producing state, stated that they do not care what a candidate's diet is and care much more about their policy positions.
However, not everyone has easily accepted or ignored Booker's diet. Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-WY) tweeted last week: "Hey @CoryBooker, I support PETA - People Eating Tasty Animals.” (Good acronym, right?)
Booker does not heavily publicize his veganism but is open about his personal choice when asked. Information about other members of Congress' eating habits is hard to not easy to find, but further research found that Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) are also vegan, and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D -HI) is vegetarian.
A 2018 Gallup poll found that five percent of Americas report that they are vegetarian and three percent report that they are vegan. With such a small population of vegans/vegetarians, over-publicizing this identity is not going to lead a candidate to victory, so it is probably more important to avoid alienating moderate non-vegetarian/vegan voters, as this is a much larger group.
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/02/17/cory-booker-vegan-2020-1170729
https://twitter.com/Liz_Cheney/status/1095446449284886528
http://washingtonlife.com/2015/07/26/the-dish-veggie-burger-smackdown/
https://news.gallup.com/poll/238328/snapshot-few-americans-vegetarian-vegan.aspx?g_source=link_NEWSV9&g_medium=NEWSFEED&g_campaign=item_&g_content=Snapshot%3a%2520Few%2520Americans%2520Vegetarian%2520or%2520Vegan
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