In final Senate race push, Paul looks ahead & Booker says he ‘already won’
GOP Sen. Rand Paul never once said the name of his competitor, Democrat Charles Booker, at a pre-Election Day rally held in Lexington. And Booker hardly mentioned Paul at a similar event on Sunday night
Instead, Paul focused his message to Fayette area Republicans on what he’ll do if Republicans take the Senate majority – an outcome that many believe to be a near-tossup. His speech to voters at the Monday rally served as a laundry list of objectives for the potentially new majority and his potential committee chairmanship.
Chief among those priorities: “getting to the bottom” of the origins of COVID-19, preserving “every last scrap of paper” from personal foe Dr. Anthony Fauci, maintaining the balance of power in Washington, and placing restrictions on both “big government” and “big tech.”
Booker, meanwhile, is less forward-focused than Paul. He forcefully declared to a crowd of hundreds at West Sixth Brewing in Lexington on Sunday night that his campaign has “already won” because of the number of people it has engaged in the political process or flipped from Republican to Democrat.
“So many folks that are lifelong Republicans, have never voted for a Democrat, are saying they’re gonna stick with me because they know I’m fighting for them. And that’s what my message is all about. It’s bigger than party,” Booker said.
Mason Sims, a 26 year-old Lexington resident who attended the Booker rally, said that he’s drawn to Booker as a candidate because he excites “people that feel forgotten,” and is less scripted and more personable than 2020 Democratic candidate Amy McGrath.
“While previous senate elections in Kentucky show that his odds are potentially slim, he’s engaged not only a new generation of voters, but folks across the state who feel left out, and that could make a huge difference,” Sims said.
Many Democrats in Kentucky are not exactly hot on Booker’s odds of unseating Paul, who is generally popular in the state.
Summer Frost, a 69 year-old Lexingtonian who works in the horse industry, guessed that Paul would win by an impressive 67-33 margin. Paul’s wife, Kelley, emphasized at the rally that her husband was seen by some as “America’s Senator,” and Frost agreed.
“He’s all about liberty and freedom. When you see him on TV, he’s direct, he’s succinct – no BS. I travel all over the nation, and when I say ‘Kentucky’ to Republican friends, they say ‘Rand Paul,’” Frost said.
Along with the Senate race, the other statewide election that’s taking up the most attention and money is that of the anti-abortion constitutuonal amendment on the ballot, Amendment 2. Booker is much more focused on that ballot initiative than Paul, urging voters to vote ‘no’ on both Amendment 2 and Amendment 1.
Paul did not mention the issue of abortion at his Lexington rally, and has not made it a central messaging theme in his campaign. He has, however, endorsed the ‘yes’ side on Amendment 2.
Booker’s scant mention of Paul during his speech to supporters was mostly to state that he wasn’t the real enemy: it’s the narrative about this race. He cited a lack of support from the Democratic National Committee as a source of frustration.
“My biggest obstacle in this race, honestly, is not Rand Paul. It’s just the cynicism – folks saying ‘it’s impossible’ and we’re sort of counted out before we got started,” Booker said.
So what’s next for Booker if he falls short? He says his “life’s work” is to bring people together in Kentucky.
“I know using this race and using this platform would be a powerful way to (bring people together) across Kentucky, but I’m gonna be finding my way to do that one way or another… I’ll be causing good trouble somewhere.”
This story was originally published November 7, 2022 at 2:13 PM.
