Far-left Democrat Charles Booker has announced his bid for U.S. Senate in Kentucky against incumbent Senator Rand Paul.
The announcement makes Booker, an ally of radical socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VI), the first Democrat to announce a run in this race. It remains to be seen whether another, more establishment Democrat will also run for Senate. Democrats currently hold the Governorship in Kentucky with Gov. Andy Beshear, but have struggled to compete in federal races.
Booker hopes to follow in the footsteps of Raphael Warnock, a similar hard-left candidate that won an upset victory in the Georgia Senate race in 2020. However, this election will be an uphill battle for any Democrat, especially one as leftist as Booker, given that 2022 is expected to be a good election year for Republicans, due to the presence of an incumbent Democrat President is in the White House.
Sen. Rand Paul is also particularly popular in Kentucky, boasting a 53% approval rating in a February poll, higher than Kentucky’s other Senator, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who boasts an approval rating of only 41%.
Booker has said his campaign will emphasize the messaging of the Black Lives Matter movement, which was involved in national riots against law enforcement and the Trump administration in summer 2020. He previously ran for Senate during the 2020 election cycle, but lost to a slightly more moderate Democratic candidate, Amy McGrath.
