Charles Booker

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. 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. In April 2021, Booker formed an exploratory committee for the 2022 U.S. Senate race in Kentucky, and formally announced that he was running on July 1, 2021. He won the primary on May 17 but lost to incumbent Republican Rand Paul in the general election. Booker is the first African American to be a major party nominee for U.S. Senate in Kentucky. Following his defeat, Booker was appointed by Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear to lead the Governor's Office of Faith-Based Initiatives and Community Involvement. Early life and education Booker was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on October 20, 1984, to parents who both dropped out of high school to tend to siblings. Booker graduated from Louisville Male High School. He earned a Bachelor of Science in political science and Juris Doctor from the University of Louisville. Career Booker worked for the Legislative Research Commission until 2014, when he was fired for violating a staff policy against partisan political activity after appearing in a campaign video of Alison Lundergan Grimes, a candidate in the 2014 United States Senate election in Kentucky. He then worked for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources and West Louisville FoodPort. In 2016, he ran against Gerald Neal in the Democratic Party primary election for the 33rd district of the Kentucky Senate. Booker finished in third place with 20 percent of the vote, behind Neal, who received 48 percent, and Joan Stringer, who received 32 percent.