Dec. 10, 2017 — U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, visited Senate candidate Doug Jones’ campaign headquarters in downtown Birmingham Sunday afternoon to deliver a rousing stump speech.

Booker, who was joined by U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Alabama, gave a speech highlighting the importance of political struggle and called the Alabama Senate race “one of the most consequential elections in our nation in my lifetime.”

Booker, 48, was elected as a senator in 2013 and has since become a prominent figure among Democrats. He is also considered a potential frontrunner for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination — a possibility he has so far refused to rule out.

Booker spent the last weekend of the race campaigning for Jones. Earlier on Sunday, Booker accompanied Jones in visiting several churches across the state, tweeting that he found the energy “so uplifting.” And Booker made headlines on Saturday when, during a stump speech for Jones, he called on Donald Trump to resign based on allegations of sexual misconduct.

Jones’ opponent, Roy Moore, also faces allegations of sexual misconduct.

During his speech Sunday afternoon, Booker spoke highly of Alabama citizens’ “goodness and decency.”

“America runs vibrant and real and strong here,” he said, pushing back against the way Alabama is often portrayed in the media. “The best of who we are is here. This is the United States of America … . Don’t let anybody talk about Alabama, talk down to Alabama. And please — I’m from Jersey! I definitely don’t want some people just singling out folks on the “Jersey Shore” TV show and thinking that’s my entire state.”

Booker’s speech was sweeping in scope, stretching from the intentions of America’s founders to Martin Luther King’s Letter from the Birmingham Jail. Throughout, he made subtle jabs at Moore’s perceived theocratic leanings. “(Our founders) knew that if we were going to make it as a country, that these ideals — they didn’t bond us together by tribalism,” he said. “They didn’t bond us together by faith. What was going to bond us together was an unusual commitment to one another. You see, I’m one of those people about religion, I say, ‘Before you tell me about your religion, first show it to me in how you treat other people.’”

“You cannot love your country unless you love your countrymen and women,” he added. “We must understand that we need each other, that we’re in this together, that we share a common destiny … . We have got to find a way to come together, and we need leaders that are not going to divide us and separate us and cut us up and bisect us … . But we need someone who can remind us of the calling of patriotism and the calling for love. So this is the moment now. There are consequential moments in our American history, and this is one of them.”

For a brief moment after Booker concluded his remarks, the loudest chant outside Jones’ campaign headquarters wasn’t “I say ‘Doug’, you say ‘Jones,’” or “I say ‘No,’ you say ‘Moore.’” As Booker walked to his car, a few members of the crowd shouted together, “Booker 2020!”