Skip to content

PRESS RELEASES

ICYMI: 19 DAYS OUT, CHARLES BOOKER COMMANDS KENTUCKY HEADING INTO MAY 19 PRIMARY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 1, 2026

Media Contact:
[email protected]

Louisville, KY — In the five months since launching his bid to replace retiring U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell, Charles Booker has done what no Kentucky Democrat has done in a generation. He is leading a campaign built for every Kentuckian, in every county, of every party, and he has been leading this race since before he even entered it.

Since announcing on December 3, 2025, Booker has dominated almost every public measure of momentum: polling, endorsements, organizing, and earned media. He continues to outwork the field and outperform expectations.

Kentuckians have lived under Mitch McConnell’s chaos and cruelty long enough, and Donald Trump made it worse. They are tired of being taken for granted and tired of being squeezed. They are ready for a senator who works for them.

Heading into the final days before the May 19 Democratic primary, Charles Booker is the clear and consolidating choice of Kentucky Democrats, and the only candidate in either party building the kind of broad-based coalition required to flip this seat in November.

Q1 RECORD: WHAT KENTUCKY HAS SEEN FROM BOOKER SINCE HIS DECEMBER LAUNCH

  • A commanding and growing polling lead. Booker surged from 30% in February to 36% by the end of March (Emerson/FOX56), opening an 18-point gap over his closest competitor, while every other Democrat in the field stalled or slipped backward.
  • A wall of organized labor support. LiUNA. United Steelworkers Local 14581. IUE-CWA Local 83761. Every CWA local in Kentucky. Kentucky’s labor movement is off the sidelines, and they are with Charles.
  • A rare cross-primary endorsement from former Congressman John Yarmuth, the last Democrat to represent Kentucky in Congress, who told reporters he broke his own rule against primary endorsements because the stakes are too high and Booker is the only candidate who can build the coalitions needed to win in November.
  • National support to match the local momentum. Congressman Ro Khanna. Former Congressman Jamaal Bowman. The Working Families Party. Local trailblazers including Louisville Metro Council Members Tammy Hawkins, Shameka Parrish-Wright, and former Council Member Jecorey Arthur.
  • The Working People’s Bill of Rights. A first-of-its-kind economic agenda no other candidate in this race, or on the national stage, is offering: Affordability, AI worker protections, guaranteed wage standards for full-time work, and portable healthcare and retirement benefits across jobs.
  • Multiple televised primary debate performances, on Spectrum News 1 (March), WDRB (April), KET (April), and WSPD (April) – Booker consistently stood out as the candidate with the clearest vision, the most resonant message, and the only proven coalition.
  • A pledge to take zero dollars from AIPAC.
  • A campaign that has crossed the Commonwealth, from Pikeville to Paducah, Harlan to Hopkinsville, Louisville to London, meeting Kentuckians on picket lines, in church basements, on front porches, and at kitchen tables.

EVERY KENTUCKIAN. EVERY COUNTY. EVERY VOTE.

“I’m running to represent every Kentuckian, because right now, no matter your party, no matter your zip code, everyday working people in this state are getting screwed and squeezed from every direction. From the hood to the holler, we all share our common bonds, plus the belief that hard work should pay off and that everyone deserves a fair shot.

The progressive in Lexington and the conservative Democrat in Hazard. The lifelong Republican in Bowling Green tired of being taken for granted. The independent in Owensboro who’s never seen Washington work for them. The young Kentuckian who’s never cast a ballot before because no elected official ever earned it. The retired union steelworker in Ashland and the small business owner in Murray. The retiree who’s been voting in Kentucky since Wendell Ford was first elected to the U.S. Senate.

I’m running for the teacher whose paycheck hasn’t kept up with the cost of groceries. The nurse working double shifts at a rural hospital that may not exist next year. The autoworker watching corporations chase cheap labor overseas. The farmer squeezed by tariffs and consolidation. The family rationing insulin because they can’t afford the medication they need.

No matter your party. No matter your zip code. No matter who you voted for last time. I, Charles Booker, will work to earn your vote.

Kentucky has been sold out long enough. Mitch McConnell built a career protecting billionaires while working Kentuckians got squeezed, and Donald Trump made it worse. I’m not running to be a senator for one party. I’m running to be a senator for every Kentuckian who’s been ignored, abandoned, or written off. Republican, Democrat, Independent or a non-traditional voter: if you’re working hard and getting squeezed, I’m fighting for you. That’s how we win on May 19, and that’s how we flip this seat in November,” said Charles Booker. 

THE STATE OF THE RACE: THE DATA TELLS THE STORY

The Democratic primary is a one-horse race.

  • Booker leads the Democratic primary by 18 points, 36% to Amy McGrath’s 18% (Emerson/FOX56, March 29 to 31, 2026), up from an 11-point lead in February.
  • Every other Democrat in the field remains in single digits or below the margin of error.
  • Booker has been leading this race in publicly available polling since before he entered it.

The general election is wide open.

  • Booker is statistically tied with GOP frontrunner Nate Morris, despite Elon Musk pouring $10 million into Morris’s campaign in an attempt to buy this Senate seat.
  • Booker is within 7 points of Daniel Cameron and within 11 points of Andy Barr, despite both having campaigned for over a year.
  • All three Republican candidates underperform a generic Republican on the ballot. Whoever emerges from their bruising primary will be vulnerable from day one.
  • In Kentucky’s most recent special election, the Democratic candidate overperformed expectations by 42 points.

The Republican primary is fractured.

  • The current GOP primary stands at Andy Barr 28%, Daniel Cameron 21%, Nate Morris 15%. Three candidates burning cash fighting each other instead of preparing for November.

DIGITAL FIREPOWER: THE AD KENTUCKY COULD NOT STOP WATCHING

While other campaigns are running cookie-cutter spots, Booker for the Commonwealth is breaking through with a digital-first message strategy built for the way Kentuckians actually consume media. The campaign’s most-viewed ad of the cycle has racked up massive viewership and organic shares across platforms, putting Booker’s working-people message in front of voters in every corner of the Commonwealth.

Watch the “Loving Your Neighbor” ad:

Republicans, Democrats, and Independents alike are watching it, sharing it, and showing up because of it. That is what a winning coalition looks like in 2026.

ICYMI: KEY PRESS CLIPS – A press wrap from launch through the home stretch. The receipts on five months of momentum.

DECEMBER 2025: LAUNCH

JANUARY 2026: COALITION BUILDING

FEBRUARY 2026: GROUND GAME AND VISION

MARCH 2026: LABOR, AI, AND THE DEBATE STAGE

APRIL 2026: PRE-PRIMARY HOME STRETCH

THE BOTTOM LINE

The polls say it. The press says it. The unions say it. The voters say it.

Charles Booker is the frontrunner. Charles Booker is the unifier. Charles Booker is the candidate who can win in May, and the only Democrat who can flip this seat in November.

For the final days of the primary, the campaign will continue what it has been doing since December: showing up in every county, listening to every Kentuckian, and earning every vote, no matter their party. Vote May 19.