Candidate briefing
Charles Booker was the 2026 Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Kentucky, running for the open seat McConnell gave up after seven terms. He won the May 19 primary with 46.8% of the vote, ahead of Amy McGrath at 35.9% and state House minority leader Pamela Stevenson.
A Louisville native with a law degree from the University of Louisville, Booker served in the Kentucky House from 2019 to 2021. He was the party’s Senate nominee in 2022 and ran in the 2020 primary.
He ran statewide on affordability and lost to Republican Rep. Andy Barr on November 3, according to NBC News projections. Booker conceded that night. Former President Barack Obama endorsed him on November 1, saying Booker cares deeply about the people of Kentucky and would give working families a leader who understands their struggles. Our Revolution, the Working Families Party and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee have endorsed him. Why Political Revolution supports him: he ran a working-class campaign that tied racial justice to the cost of living, in a state Democrats usually concede.