After recent losses in the gubernatorial election, Democrats are looking to capitalize on this momentum by moving the Senate Majority Leader’s State blue.
What We Know:
- Kentucky State Rep. Charles Booker (D) became the state’s youngest Black elected lawmaker in nearly a century and he is now looking to go after a Senate race against McConnell, according to Huff Post.
- In his announcement video, he attacked McConnell for his life long career in politics, saying how he has lost touch with the common Kentuckian. “He doesn’t see you in the hospital bed, or in the checkout line, or at the safety drills in your classroom. He doesn’t see you at all.”
- Booker, when compared to McConnell, believes in government spending into infrastructure, incentives for increase community policing and is against voters law. To read more on his policies, click here.
- McConnell does have around a 25% unfavorable rating. In Kentucky, at least 39% of the population identify as conservative and 35% identify as moderate. If Booker can advocate for attractive policies for both liberals and moderates than he has a shot at making this a close race.
- Trump could also play a pivotal role in this as well since pollsters are saying the 2020 election will be a referendum on Trump. Kentuckians have split down the middle regarding their views of the president. It depends on what voters are thinking about when they enter the ballot box. With these mixed approval ratings, it can lead many people to vote against McConnell to get back at Trump.
It may be a longshot, but if he wins he will become the first black candidate to win a major party’s Senate nomination in Kentucky’s history.
