One of more than 20 Democrats running for president, Sen. Cory Booker is struggling in the polls against rivals who are rating higher with voters.

However, the senator from New Jersey said that doesn’t concern him.

“It’s much more about name recognition, and we have seen from John Kerry to Barack Obama,” Booker said, referring to Democrats who ultimately became the party’s presidential nominees in 2004 and 2008, respectively. “This far out the polls did not indicate who ultimately won. What’s important to me is getting out and meeting voters. When I go to Iowa, the response is incredible, people signing up on our campaigns, those Americans who have given contributions to my campaign. We’ve got the fundamentals and foundation.”

In a separate interview, Booker was asked if his campaign is running into trouble because the Democratic Party is moving too far left.

“I actually reject your analysis. Since the time I was a mayor, I’m a pragmatist. I had to achieve things when I was the chief executive of [Newark,] New Jersey’s largest city,” Booker said. “If you look at tweets going back to 2009, my positions then are consistent with my positions now. By the way, things like getting institutional capital into Newark to build the hotel that created hundreds of jobs, now four or five new hotels in Newark, these are things that make a difference for the people in my community.

“The only person in the United States Senate that lives in a lower income, black and brown city, I don’t have time for things that interfere with progress for people right now,” Booker added. “My positions have been consistent about what are the things that make a difference for families struggling.”