“I think it was something that was desperately needed, both for the caucus and for, I think, Democrats and Americans in general,” Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) told the Washington Examiner. “To see somebody out there with their force of conviction and be willing to fight for some sanity and trying to break through all the s*** that’s happening. To break through, basically, because things just aren’t breaking through.”

For weeks, Democrats have struggled to keep their feet under them as Trump pursues a sweeping rollback of the federal government, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) decision last month to help Republicans avoid a government shutdown crystalizing the anger of grassroots Democrats who want to see the party take a louder stand.

Since then, progressives have largely filled that vacuum with campaign-style events in a series of red districts. Booker’s decision to lodge his own protest on the Senate floor is giving Democrats a sense of what challenging the president might look like from a more senior member of Senate leadership.

Jake Rakov, the 37-year-old who launched a primary challenge on Wednesday against his former boss, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), credited Booker, the No. 4 Senate Democrat, with motivating younger members of the party.

“I think younger Democrats see someone like Sen. Booker standing on his two feet for 25 hours of an impassioned speech to show what actually can be done,” Rakov told the Washington Examiner. “It’s younger voters, it’s us stepping up to run for office. It’s us showing up to more protests or community meetings, even neighborhood council meetings, and just getting more engaged.”

Booker was not protesting any single proposed bill, so his speech was not a filibuster. The New Jersey Democrat only temporarily prevented the Republican majority from voting on other measures and presidential nominees.

His talkathon did, however, energize a leaderless party with minimum control over Washington and allowed Democrats to take over the airwaves for more than a day. Booker received north of 350 million “likes” on his TikTok livestream, more than 28,000 voicemails on his main office line, and upward of 300,000 viewers simultaneously watching him at one point across his social media accounts, according to his office. Fans posted pro-Booker edits on TikTok.

“There’s a lot of people out there asking Democrats to do more and take risks and do things differently. This seemed like the right thing to do,” Booker told reporters Tuesday night after exiting the floor for the first time since his speech began. “I think a lot of us have to do a lot more, including myself.”

Throughout Booker’s speech, most Senate Democrats showed their support by offering him a brief reprieve from speaking with their own remarks and accolades.

Notably, however, not everyone was in attendance. At least 39 of the 47-member caucus came to the floor to speak during Booker’s marathon session. A since-deleted social media post from the Democratic National Committee estimated the number to be lower at 36.

Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), the latter of whom caucuses with the Democrats, were among those who did not join Booker but reacted in brief comments to the Washington Examiner.

“I watched part of it,” Fetterman said. “I thought he was very committed to make a statement.”

Sanders called Booker “extraordinary,” saying he “deserves a lot of credit” and that he made a “good critique of Trumpism.” Sanders, who has launched a “Fighting Oligarchy” tour across several states with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Ortez (D-NY), attracting thousands of supporters at each event, declined to engage on whether he felt Booker energized the party.

Multiple polls have found the Democratic Party with the lowest favorability rating on record, driven in part by a desire for Democrats to stand in the way of Trump. Republicans have used the polling rut to paint Democrats as out of touch with the average voter.

Still, Booker appeared to surprise and satisfy many in the party both on and off Capitol Hill.

Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic strategist who advised former President Bill Clinton and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, said the party needs to go on offense like Booker rather than waiting “until Trump trips up.”

“That’s going to happen anyway. But that doesn’t organize an opposition,” Sheinkopf told the Washington Examiner. “It creates a passive vote that may not in fact remain there. What Booker did was to begin to create opposition that has energy, legs, and will do something.”

Adam Jentleson, a former senior aide to Fetterman and the late Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, made the case that Booker’s attention-grabbing exploit was all the more reason to revive the talking filibuster to combat Trump’s agenda.

“Imagine what a coordinated, caucus-wide talking filibuster against, say, a GOP funding bill that cuts popular social safety net programs would look like — as opposed to just voting it down at a 60-vote threshold?” Jentleson tweeted.

Mike Nellis, a Democratic strategist and ex-senior adviser to former Vice President Kamala Harris, said “stunts” like Booker’s “aren’t necessarily a bad thing.”

“The name of the game is attention,” Nellis posted on social media. “Trump and Musk are very good at it. Democrats have struggled to take these kinds of risks to our own peril — but Cory is paving the way forward.”

Booker, a relatively young member of a chamber where the median age is nearly 65, was elevated last December by his colleagues to handle “strategic communications” for Senate Democrats. It was a newly formed position that made him the fourth-ranked member in the caucus.

Booker’s reelection campaign and Democratic PACs began blasting out fundraising requests by text and email long before his speech concluded. The trend continued through Wednesday from Booker’s political team, in addition to a string of other Democratic campaigns, including that of Sens. Gallego, Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI). Each solicited donation stated the money would be split between a specific senator and Booker.

“I just stepped off the Senate floor,” one email subject line read. “I may be tired and a little hoarse, but as I said again and again, this is a moment where we cannot afford to be silent,” a text read.

FIVE DEMOCRATS IN PRIME POSITION TO BE FACE OF THE PARTY IN 2028

Booker holds a safe seat but is up for reelection to a third consecutive term next year. He downplayed any notion he could ascend as the next leader of the party as a possible 2028 White House contender, despite his presidential ambitions in 2020 during a crowded Democratic primary. He also reiterated his intentions to be reelected.

“No, I’m just trying to step up,” Booker told reporters Tuesday night. “We all need to step up and lead. Not just Democrats. I tried to make that a point. This is a time America needs some leaders. We’re not about what we’re against but what we’re for.”

Lauren Green contributed to this report.