EDITOR'S NOTE: Booker is hosting a rally today at 1:30 p.m. at the Port Shaw Community Center, 3713 W. Market Street in Louisville.
By BERRY CRAIG
AFT Local 1360
It looks like state Rep. Charles Booker, D-Louisville, might be aiming for Washington, not Frankfort, next year.
"My faith is why I’m seriously considering running for the U.S. Senate," says the freshman lawmaker in an email seeking donations for an exploratory committee.
Democrats Amy McGrath and Scott Broihier are already vying to challenge the Senate majority leader. Democrat Matt Jones said he was out but now might be back in.
The Kentucky state AFL-CIO endorsed Booker and McGrath in 2018.
McGrath, who lost her bid to unseat Rep. Andy Barr, R-Lexington, last year, is a former Marine pilot who lives in Georgetown. Broihier, from Lincoln County, is a farmer and educator who was also a Marine officer--and a small town newspaper editor to boot. Jones, a Lexington resident, is a popular sports radio personality.
Booker is an attorney.
"Right now, it’s McConnell’s seat," says Booker's email, which was sent today. "But it belongs to the people of Kentucky."
Adds Booker: "My story is Kentucky’s story. I grew up in one of the poorest zip codes in Kentucky. My mom often went without eating so that I could. But I still went to school hungry and tired. After I was diagnosed with diabetes, we were often forced to ration my insulin just to survive.
"Today, my wife and I are raising two young girls. I’m still working to pay off my education before it’s time to pay for theirs. I’ve lived the struggles most career politicians have only talked about."
Booker says that while McConnell "gets richer, our state gets poorer. As he personally gains power in Washington, our communities lose power in Kentucky."
Booker supports "a Green New Deal to create thousands of good jobs here in Kentucky and end the exploitation of our land and our labor." He favors "Medicare for All so no one has to die because they don’t have money in their pocket."
He says it's time to "break the cycle of generational poverty and give workers the dignity of a living wage, and the power to fight for more. We need to stop demonizing teachers and start paying them what they deserve."
Anyone interested in contributing to his exploratory committee can click here https://secure.actblue.com/donate/cbec-quarter4?refcode=cbec20191111_a1 and here https://twitter.com/Booker4KY/status/1193974283992780805to view a brand-new Booker video that had notched 1,400 retweets and 6,2400 likes by 6:30 p.m. Louisville time.
The Kentucky state AFL-CIO endorsed Booker and McGrath in 2018.
McConnell is one of the most anti-labor lawmakers in Washington. Since 1985, when he was first sworn in, he has voted the union position on legislation just 11 percent of the time, according to the latest AFL-CIO Legislative Scorecard, which includes votes through 2018. McConnell's 2018 score is zero.