Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Booker 'strongly considering' 2022 Senate run in Kentucky

Democrat Charles Booker say's he's “strongly considering” another run for the U.S. Senate in Kentucky next year against Republican Rand Paul

Via AP news wire
Monday 15 March 2021 16:16 GMT
Election 2022-Kentucky Senate
Election 2022-Kentucky Senate (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Democrat Charles Booker who nearly pulled off an upset in last year's Senate primary, said he's “strongly considering” another run for the Senate against Republican Rand Paul

Booker, a Black former state lawmaker from Louisville returned to progressive ideas such as a universal basic income and universal health care as he raised the prospect of mounting a 2022 campaign.

“I’m strongly considering a run for the United States Senate in 2022 because I believe our work is not done and we have the ability to tell a new story for Kentucky," Booker said Sunday on Kentucky Educational Television.

Booker said he'll decide soon whether to enter the campaign.

Booker seized momentum late in last year's Democratic Senate primary on the strength of a “Hood to the Holler" campaign that highlighted the common interests of Black Democrats in the cities and middle- and low-income white people in the mountains of eastern Kentucky — which he collectively has defined as “people in forgotten places.” His effort caught fire late in the campaign but fell just short and he lost to Amy McGrath who had significant financial support from beyond the state's borders. McGrath lost to Republican Mitch McConnell in November.

Booker would face an uphill fight against Paul in Republican-trending Kentucky. Paul, a former presidential candidate, is a libertarian-leaning Republican with a strong national brand.

After his primary loss, Booker created the Hood to the Holler advocacy group to help build rural-urban coalitions on health care and anti-poverty issues.

“Those things aren't partisan,” Booker said. “We just allow national politics to dictate the narrative, and people like Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul have told us we're divided.”

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in