Former President Barack Obama endorsed Charles Booker in the Kentucky Senate race on Sunday, two days before Election Day. Booker is the Democratic nominee and is trying to unseat Republican Rep. Andy Barr for Senator Mitch McConnell’s seat.
Obama said, "I'm proud to support Charles Booker for the U.S. Senate," and added that Booker cares deeply about Kentucky. He also said sending Booker to Washington would give working families across the Commonwealth a leader who understands their struggles and can make real change. Booker said he was "humbled and honored" to receive the endorsement.
Obama's Kentucky endorsement
The endorsement became public through CBS News and adds Obama to a list of Democrats already backing Booker, including Michael Bennet, Mark Kelly, Lisa Blunt Rochester, Chris Van Hollen, Raphael Warnock and Elizabeth Warren. Booker is also backed by J.B. Pritzker and Wes Moore, and he stumped with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and DNC Chair Ken Martin last week.
Obama has issued nearly two dozen endorsements for Democratic candidates in the midterm cycle. He also rallied for Senate candidates in Georgia, Michigan and Ohio late last month, part of a broader push that has already taken him beyond Kentucky.
Charles Booker and Mitch McConnell
The race is drawing attention because McConnell announced his retirement last year after becoming Kentucky's longest-serving senator. Booker has argued before that flipping Kentucky would flip the U.S. Senate, and he challenged Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul in 2022 and lost by nearly 24 points.
Republican Rep. Andy Barr has cast Booker as a "socialist experiment" and "the most extreme candidate in the history of our state." President Trump endorsed Barr and visited the Commonwealth last month, then said during an Oct. 17 rally in Highland Heights that Barr has been an amazing congressman and would be one of the great US senators.
Cook Political Report rating
Booker's campaign says internal polling indicates the race could be tightening, but Cook Political Report still rates it solid Republican. That gap leaves Booker with a narrower path: he needs enough late movement to overcome a race that still sits on terrain Republicans are favored to hold.
According to the Kentucky State Board of Elections, more than 267,000 individuals had cast ballots. On Friday, Secretary of State Michael Adams said at least 95,645 registered Democrats had already voted compared with 83,726, giving campaigns a first public look at turnout ahead of Election Day and one more reason the final stretch matters.
