Cory Booker just proved he's the one to watch in the Democratic presidential nominee contest

It was a surprisingly good night for nearly all 10 candidates onstage Thursday evening in the third round of the Democratic debates — but it was a breakout night for New Jersey Senator Cory Booker.

The debates were held at Texas Southern University, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in Houston. Before panning to the candidates, Univision host and debate moderator Jorge Ramos announced to viewers, in Spanish and English, that “This is our country, too.” Both the location of the debate and the statement from Ramos sent a clear message to Americans that, this year, racism and social justice are among the most important issues that the candidates will need to address.

And while coming into Thursday night all eyes were on the top polling candidates (Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders), it was the savant from New Jersey who dominated the evening, especially considering the lesser amount of airtime he was given compared to the frontrunners.

It’s worth noting here that polls don’t always predict who is going to win a party nomination. Historically, during a competitive nomination process like the one the Democratic Party is in right now, the early frontrunner in the polls doesn’t always end up becoming the party’s pick for nominee. That happened in 2004 when John Kerry barely beat John Edwards, who ended up being his running mate in that year’s elections. The same happened in 2008, when Hillary led the polls in 2007, but Obama ended up becoming the Democratic nominee at the end of the primary season in June 2008.

With five months left to go, last night was a clear reminder that lesser known candidates can surge ahead, and that there’s a good chance Booker could end up clinching the nomination. The Rhodes scholar, Yale law grad and former mayor of Newark was charismatic and poised. His responses were thoughtful and informative. His quip about Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s hair being menacing was hilarious.

This wasn’t Booker’s first night on the job, either. He did well in the initial two debates, but Thursday evening he was unstoppable. The Senator did a great job teaching the audience about his political record and his views without sounding like an advertisement for himself, something that can’t be said for Sen. Kamala Harris, for example.

In the first debates in June of this year, memes of Cory Booker’s facial expression when Beto O’Rourke spoke Spanish nearly broke the internet. And last night when Booker was asked by Ramos whether, as a vegan, he thought Texans and Iowans should follow his diet, he joked “NO. Let me translate into Spanish: NO.” The audience roared. Later, some people criticized Booker for not taking advantage of the moment to talk about his environmental plan and the climate crisis. But the Senator was smart to avoid lecturing Americans, especially Texans and Iowans, about their meat-eating habits before he has endeared himself to voters.

Without getting too confrontational, Booker brought O’Rourke's popularity down a notch when he called out the former Texas Congressman’s sudden sensitivity to gun violence after what happened in El Paso (where O’Rourke is from), when gun homicide is a daily reality for people in low-income black communities. The Senator had sharp insights for the rest of the panel, too, when he pointed out that the only focus on gun violence as a problem is when it affects wealthier, whiter areas. He explained, “This is a crisis of empathy in our nation. We're not going to solve this if we have to wait for the violence to hit our community.” The fact that black people in this country are living with the reality of gun violence every day was something all the candidates needed to be reminded of. Booker also clarified that he was in favor of mandatory buybacks of military assault weapons – something most American voters support.

And even though O’Rourke was factually correct when he sought to connect with black voters by tracing the roots of today’s racial inequality to the days of slavery, Booker quickly grounded the conversation back in solving today's problems. He smartly reminded the audience and the other candidates of the racial injustice in the criminal justice system as well as the environmental racism that disproportionally affects black people across America today.

Booker had standout moments on other issues, as well. The New Jersey Senator won applause when he referenced veterans and a lack of medical care, including gynecological services, that they receive when they come home from tour. He also won the praise of the National Farmers’ Union when he addressed Trump’s ongoing trade war with China that is costing America billions of dollars in losses. And he hit the mark on foreign policy when he pointed out that the current president has better relations with dictators than with allies in France and Germany, which is embarrassing and scary, but also true.

In short, there was no issue that Cory Booker didn’t handle with finesse. At the end of the night the Senator mentioned an African proverb that says, “If you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together.” Well, Cory – you just may have more people going along with you than the pundits predicted. So keep at it.