Charles Booker (American politician)

Charles Booker
Director of Kentucky's Office of Faith-Based Initiatives and Community Involvement
Assumed office
January 13, 2023
GovernorAndy Beshear
Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives
from the 43rd district
In office
January 1, 2019 – January 1, 2021
Preceded byDarryl Owens
Succeeded byPamela Stevenson
Personal details
Born (1984-10-20) October 20, 1984 (age 40)
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseTanesha Booker
Children3
EducationUniversity of Louisville (BS, JD)
WebsiteCampaign website

Charles Booker (born October 20, 1984) is an American politician from the commonwealth of Kentucky. He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives, representing the 43rd district from 2019 to 2021. During his term, he was Kentucky's youngest Black state lawmaker.[1]

Booker was a candidate in the Democratic Party's primary for the 2020 U.S. Senate race in Kentucky, drawing national attention before ultimately losing a close race to former Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath.[2] In April 2021, Booker formed an exploratory committee for the 2022 U.S. Senate race in Kentucky,[3] and formally announced that he was running on July 1, 2021.[4] He won the primary on May 17 but lost to incumbent Republican Rand Paul in the general election.[5] Booker is the first African American to be a major party nominee for U.S. Senate in Kentucky.[6] Following his defeat, Booker was appointed by Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear to lead the Governor's Office of Faith-Based Initiatives and Community Involvement.[7]

  1. ^ Travis Waldron (November 11, 2019). "Kentucky's Youngest Black State Lawmaker Wants To Challenge Mitch McConnell". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on February 24, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  2. ^ Arkin, James (June 30, 2020). "McGrath wins Kentucky Senate primary". Politico. Archived from the original on September 2, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  3. ^ Team, WLKY Digital (April 12, 2021). "Former KY Rep. Charles Booker forms exploratory committee for 2022 senate run". WLKY. Archived from the original on May 13, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  4. ^ Greenwood, Max (July 1, 2021). "Democrat Charles Booker launches Senate challenge against Rand Paul". TheHill. Archived from the original on October 9, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  5. ^ "Charles Booker wins Democratic nomination for Kentucky US Senate". WLWT. Associated Press. May 18, 2022. Archived from the original on July 4, 2022. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  6. ^ "Charles Booker on Kentucky Senate race to unseat 'privileged, spoiled brat' Rand Paul and make Black history". news.yahoo.com. September 20, 2022. Archived from the original on October 31, 2022. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
  7. ^ "What's next for Charles Booker? He's working for Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear". wlky.com. January 13, 2023. Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2023.