Sen. Cory Booker worked to fire up Democrats on Saturday night in a state where the party made significant gains in 2017 and this year is targeting House seats in districts that were previously considered safe Republican territory. Larry Sabato, director of UVA’s Center for Politics, said in an interview on Friday the dinner draws the "hard core of the hard core" of Democratic officials and activists. "The reason why they put somebody like Cory Booker in the main speaker slot is to pique interest," Sabato said.