Sen. Cory Booker launched his long-shot Democratic presidential campaign in early 2019 despite plunging poll numbers back home in New Jersey. And so, it is little surprise that the man who dubbed himself “Spartacus” during Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s Senate confirmation hearing returns home looking more like a complete failure after his very brief, wildly unsuccessful bid for president.

But Booker isn’t returning to the same New Jersey that he abandoned a year ago. The state’s landscape is changing, and thanks to President Trump and his leadership, Republicans are surging, leaving Booker and his fellow New Jersey Democrats struggling to maintain their grip on power. Good.