Charles Booker
Charles Booker (Democratic Party) was a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives, representing District 43. He assumed office on January 1, 2019. He left office on December 31, 2020.
Booker (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. Senate to represent Kentucky. He lost in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Booker completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Charles Booker earned a B.S. in political science and a J.D. from the University of Louisville in 2007 and 2010, respectively. Booker's career experience includes working as the director of development of 1619 Flux, an education and equity policy analyst with the Louisville Urban League, the manager of neighborhood initiatives with the Louisville Independent Business Alliance, and the division director of administrative services with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.[1] He has been affiliated with the Louisville Metro Democratic Club and the Young Elected Officials Network.[2]
Committee assignments
2019-2020
Booker was assigned to the following committees:
- House Natural Resources and Energy Committee
- Economic Development & Workforce Investment Committee
- House Judiciary Committee
Elections
2022
See also: United States Senate election in Kentucky, 2022
General election
General election for U.S. Senate Kentucky
Incumbent Rand Paul defeated Charles Booker, Charles Lee Thomason, and Billy Ray Wilson in the general election for U.S. Senate Kentucky on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Rand Paul (R) | 61.8 | 913,326 |
 | Charles Booker (D)  | 38.2 | 564,311 | |
| Charles Lee Thomason (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 145 | ||
 | Billy Ray Wilson (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 48 | |
| Total votes: 1,477,830 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- David Biery (Independent)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Kentucky
Charles Booker defeated Joshua Blanton Sr., John Merrill, and Ruth Gao in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Kentucky on May 17, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Charles Booker | 73.3 | 214,245 |
| Joshua Blanton Sr. | 10.6 | 30,980 | ||
 | John Merrill | 9.9 | 28,931 | |
 | Ruth Gao | 6.2 | 18,154 | |
| Total votes: 292,310 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. Senate Kentucky
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Kentucky on May 17, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Rand Paul | 86.4 | 333,051 |
 | Val Fredrick | 3.6 | 14,018 | |
 | Paul Hamilton | 3.5 | 13,473 | |
| Arnold Blankenship | 2.6 | 10,092 | ||
 | Tami Stainfield | 2.5 | 9,526 | |
 | John Schiess | 1.4 | 5,538 | |
| Total votes: 385,698 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
- Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)[3]
2020
See also: United States Senate election in Kentucky, 2020
United States Senate election in Kentucky, 2020 (June 23 Republican primary)
United States Senate election in Kentucky, 2020 (June 23 Democratic primary)
General election
General election for U.S. Senate Kentucky
The following candidates ran in the general election for U.S. Senate Kentucky on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Mitch McConnell (R) | 57.8 | 1,233,315 |
 | Amy McGrath (D) | 38.2 | 816,257 | |
 | Brad Barron (L) | 4.0 | 85,386 | |
 | Paul John Frangedakis (Unaffiliated) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 70 | |
 | Daniel Cobble (Unaffiliated) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 18 | |
 | Randall Lee Teegarden (Unaffiliated) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 9 | |
| Total votes: 2,135,055 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Derek Leonard Petteys (Reform Party)
- Alyssa Dara McDowell (Independent)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Kentucky
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Kentucky on June 23, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Amy McGrath | 45.4 | 247,037 |
| Charles Booker | 42.6 | 231,888 | |
 | Mike Broihier | 5.0 | 27,175 | |
 | Mary Ann Tobin | 2.0 | 11,108 | |
 | Maggie Jo Hilliard | 1.1 | 6,224 | |
| Andrew Maynard | 1.1 | 5,974 | ||
 | Bennie Smith | 0.9 | 5,040 | |
 | Jimmy Ausbrooks | 0.7 | 3,629 | |
 | Eric Rothmuller | 0.6 | 2,995 | |
| John Sharpensteen | 0.5 | 2,992 | ||
| Total votes: 544,062 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Kevin Elliott (D)
- Loretta Babalmoradi Noble (D)
- Matt Jones (D)
- Joshua Paul Edwards (D)
- Steven Cox (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. Senate Kentucky
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Kentucky on June 23, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mitch McConnell | 82.8 | 342,660 |
 | C. Wesley Morgan | 6.2 | 25,588 | |
| Louis Grider | 3.3 | 13,771 | ||
| Paul John Frangedakis | 2.9 | 11,957 | |
| Naren James | 2.6 | 10,693 | ||
| Kenneth Lowndes | 1.3 | 5,548 | ||
| Nicholas Alsager | 0.9 | 3,603 | ||
| Total votes: 413,820 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Karl Das (R)
- Wendell Crow (R)
Libertarian convention
Libertarian convention for U.S. Senate Kentucky
Brad Barron advanced from the Libertarian convention for U.S. Senate Kentucky on March 7, 2020.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Brad Barron (L) |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2018
General election
General election for Kentucky House of Representatives District 43
Charles Booker defeated Everett Corley and John Hicks in the general election for Kentucky House of Representatives District 43 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Charles Booker (D) | 76.5 | 10,798 |
 | Everett Corley (R) | 21.3 | 3,005 | |
 | John Hicks (L) | 2.3 | 319 | |
| Total votes: 14,122 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Kentucky House of Representatives District 43
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Kentucky House of Representatives District 43 on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Charles Booker | 29.5 | 1,481 |
 | Pamela Stevenson | 22.0 | 1,104 | |
 | Phil Baker | 18.5 | 929 | |
| Mark Mitchell | 11.6 | 581 | ||
| Kathleen Parks | 10.1 | 507 | ||
| Jackson Andrews | 5.9 | 295 | ||
| Dre Dawson | 2.3 | 116 | ||
| Total votes: 5,013 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Kentucky House of Representatives District 43
Everett Corley defeated Denise Raine in the Republican primary for Kentucky House of Representatives District 43 on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Everett Corley | 50.5 | 444 |
| Denise Raine | 49.5 | 435 | ||
| Total votes: 879 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2016
- See also: Kentucky State Senate elections, 2016
Elections for the Kentucky State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election took place on May 17, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was January 26, 2016.
Incumbent Gerald Neal defeated Shenita Rickman in the Kentucky State Senate District 33 general election.[4][5]
| Kentucky State Senate District 33, General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Gerald Neal Incumbent |
84.32% | 34,588 | |
| Republican | Shenita Rickman | 15.68% | 6,432 | |
| Total Votes | 41,020 | |||
| Source: Kentucky State Board of Elections | ||||
Incumbent Gerald Neal defeated Toni Stringer and Charles Booker in the Kentucky State Senate District 33 Democratic primary.[6]
| Kentucky State Senate District 33, Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Gerald Neal Incumbent |
48.36% | 9,013 | |
| Democratic | Toni Stringer | 31.90% | 5,945 | |
| Democratic | Charles Booker | 19.75% | 3,681 | |
| Total Votes | 18,639 | |||
Shenita Rickman defeated John Yuen in the Kentucky State Senate District 33 Republican primary.[7]
| Kentucky State Senate District 33, Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Shenita Rickman |
51.83% | 537 | |
| Republican | John Yuen | 48.17% | 499 | |
| Total Votes | 1,036 | |||
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Charles Booker completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Booker's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
- Charles Booker is fighting to win a Kentucky New Deal – a bold vision to ensure life, freedom, and prosperity for all Kentuckians. We can end generational poverty, deliver on justice, and strengthen democracy by centering the needs of Kentuckians ahead of corporate greed, lobbyists, and career politicians that have held us back for so long.
- Charles understands the struggles that we face everyday. He grew up in one of Kentucky’s poorest zip codes, has experienced homelessness, and has had to ration his insulin to help put food on the table for his girls. Despite these hardships and by working multiple jobs to pay his way, he became the first in his family to graduate from college and law school, and became one of the youngest state legislators in Kentucky’s history. He is fighting for us because the people of Kentucky are family, and family is worth fighting for.
- Charles has been a relentless champion in the fight for a Kentucky that works for all of us. He stood on the train tracks with the coal miners in Eastern Kentucky demanding honest pay for honest work. He stood with our teachers when they stepped outside the classroom to fight for our children’s futures. And he stood shoulder to shoulder with people of all ages in Injustice Square to say her name. He’s stood with the people of Kentucky from the hood to the holler, and it’s why they stand with him.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign website
Booker's campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Kentuckians Helped Build This Country. Our miners powered America’s cities. Our gravel paved the interstate highways. Our farmers fed the nation. That was part of the deal. But for too long, Washington has been sending politicians to Kentucky to tell us what we need. To tell us they know better, to save us from a problem they created for us. We deserve better. We deserve a new deal. A Kentucky New Deal. A New Deal that Finally Centers the needs of Kentuckians. It will be the largest investment in the people of Kentucky that we’ve ever seen, ending poverty, delivering quality healthcare to everyone in our Commonwealth, and fixing our crumbling infrastructure. Kentucky is struggling. We can’t deny that. It will be the largest investment in the people of Kentucky that we’ve ever seen, ending poverty, delivering quality healthcare to everyone in our Commonwealth, and fixing our crumbling infrastructure. With the devastation of a global pandemic weighing down on us, the height of tension in our politics and in society, severely crumbling infrastructure, and the continued economic uncertainty from the loss of jobs and the decline of the fossil fuel industry, it is critical that we stand now to fight for our future. Regular people are fed up and tired of being ignored. We are done with the days of politicians like Rand Paul exploiting us and making a mockery of our lives.[8] |
” |
| —Charles Booker's campaign website (2022)[9] | ||
2020
Charles Booker did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2016
Booker's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[10]
Authentic Engagement & Vision Creation
- Excerpt: "My highest priority as State Senator for Kentucky’s 33rd District, is to inspire a system of engagement that fosters transformational change in how the community connects to government and the political process."
Education
- Excerpt: "True, sustainable empowerment must include substantial and intentional investment in our educational system. We want our youth to achieve greatness and grow to live gainful lives, therefore we must be urgent in our efforts to provide greater resources, close achievement and advancement gaps, and strengthen a thriving environment of lifelong learners."
Economic Development & Empowerment
- Excerpt: "To create realistic pathways from educational excellence to wealth, it is an imperative that we create and drive an economic vision that promotes empowerment, job creation, entrepreneurism, sustainability, and innovation."
Safety & Security
- Excerpt: "As we put our efforts and energy into rebuilding our community, it is essential that we invest efforts into ensuring our neighborhoods are safe, welcoming, healthy and thriving. With major attention on police relations and the judicial system, incentives for community policing can go a long way toward making the motto “Protect and Serve” a resounding sentiment felt by all citizens."
Sustainability
- Excerpt: "While we rightly organize to improve safety in our community, it is key that we equally place energy toward increasing access to resources, opportunities and necessities that promote a thriving environment. Considering the numerous disparities found specifically in West Louisville, we must be urgent in supporting opportunities to Increase access to resources that will improve lives and enhance the community."
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Kentucky scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2020
In 2020, the Kentucky State Legislature was in session from January 7 to April 15.
- Legislators from the Louisville area are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2019, the Kentucky General Assembly was in session from January 8 through March 29.
|
See also
2022 Elections
External links
|
Candidate U.S. Senate Kentucky |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Charles Booker," accessed February 19, 2022
- ↑ Kentucky General Assembly, "Representative Charles Booker (D)," accessed February 17, 2020
- ↑ Bernie Sanders, "Charles Booker," accessed July 21, 2022
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Candidate Filings with the Office of the Secretary of State," accessed August 17, 2016
- ↑ Kentucky State Board of Elections, "2016 General Election Results," accessed November 25, 2016
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Candidate Filings with the Office of the Secretary of State," accessed January 26, 2016
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Candidate Filings with the Office of the Secretary of State," accessed January 26, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Charles Booker For U.S. Senate 2022, “KND,” accessed February 25, 2022
- ↑ charlesbooker33.com, "Platform," accessed April 27, 2016
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Darryl Owens (D) |
Kentucky House of Representatives District 43 2019–2020 |
Succeeded by Pamela Stevenson (D) |
