Struggling 2020 Democrats force Thanksgiving in Iowa on their families

Likewise, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, 59, will dig into a Thanksgiving meal with her husband John Bessler, their daughter Abigail, and bunch of supporters in the first-in-the-nation caucus state’s capital.

Spouses traditionally have a high-profile role in presidential politics. Yet candidates in this cycle’s crowded field have also relied on other family members as they stretch limited resources to make their pitch to voters ahead of the opening nominating contests, starting in Iowa on Feb. 3.

Carolyn Booker, for one, has flown from Las Vegas, Nevada, another early-voting state, to stump for her son, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, 50. The Washington Examiner caught up with the 80-year-old retiree in Columbia, South Carolina, where she spoke at an event targeting black women, a crucial voting bloc for Democrats, particularly in a state where the majority of the primary electorate is comprised of African Americans.

“First and foremost, I am Cory’s mother,” Carolyn Booker said, explaining how their family has been involved with “every campaign that he has had, from city council to senator.”

She added her job is to “bring to people an understanding of why he is the kind of person that he is.”

Mothers are “not a regular or typical campaign strategy or practice,” nevertheless, “there is definitely historical precedent and fairly recent examples,” according to first ladies expert Andrew Och. He cited the Kennedy clan’s use of their family name “for more influence and behind-the-scenes help” as a broader example before specifically recalling how President Jimmy Carter’s mother, Lillian Gordy Carter, led the grassroots “Peanut Brigade” movement with his wife, Rosalynn Carter. And President Barack Obama evoked the memory of his mother, Ann Dunham, to “tell the tale of his upbringing and self-made image when and where appropriate.”

But there can be risk to pushing family members into the spotlight during a presidential race.

Former Vice President Joe Biden’s White House bid has been hamstrung by allegations the 77-year-old’s family has profited from his positions as a two-term vice president and a Delaware senator for 36 years. Hunter Biden, his 49-year-old lobbyist son, is a central figure in the impeachment proceedings into President Trump over his business dealings in Ukraine, including a $50,000-a-month post he held on the board of a natural gas company despite not having any experience in the energy sector. Hunter Biden got the job while his father spearheaded United States foreign policy in the region.

Like Obama administration Housing Secretary Julian Castro’s younger twin brother, Joaquin, himself a Texas congressman, Maya Harris is her older sister’s campaign chairwoman.

Joaquin Castro created a public relations nightmare for his brother, 45, when over the summer he tweeted out the names of some of Trump’s maximum donors, angering those who accused him of inciting violence against Trump fans. Similarly, Maya Harris, an alumna of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 team, has been blamed for contributing to mayhem experienced in the senator’s 2020 organization by messing with its hierarchy.

Och name-checked the Bushes as a historical instance of a family member causing a hiccup for their loved one’s ambitions for higher office.

“Jeb used his mom more than W, because he needed her,” he said, referring to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and his younger brother, former President George W. Bush. “The interesting thing about that is Mrs. Barbara Bush said on C-SPAN’s First Ladies: Influence and Image that the country should be able to find someone with a last name other than Clinton or Bush to run for president. This was, of course, before Jeb officially entered the 2016 race.”