Warren endorses Booker in Kentucky Senate primary

Sen. Elizabeth Warren threw her support behind Charles Booker on Thursday in the race for the Democratic Senate nomination in Kentucky, becoming the latest high-profile progressive to endorse the freshman state lawmaker. “@Booker4KY is a lifelong Kentuckian who has seen how Mitch McConnell and Washington, D.C. have failed working families,” Warren tweeted. “I’m proud to endorse him and join his fight to root out corruption, dismantle systemic racism, and make big, structural change.”

Booker has racked up a series of endorsements from prominent Democrats as he looks to overtake longtime front-runner Amy McGrath ahead of the June 23 primary. Earlier this month, he scored endorsements from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), and just this week Alison Lundergan Grimes, the former Kentucky secretary of State and one of the most well-known Democrats in the state, threw her support behind Booker.

Warren’s endorsement of Booker is a particular blow to McGrath, who has long been the favorite of Democratic Senate leaders in Washington. Her endorsement of Booker comes at a time when the dynamics of the primary race in Kentucky are rapidly shifting. The freshman state representative largely flew under the radar after announcing his Senate campaign in January, while McGrath emerged as a fundraising juggernaut and prohibitive front-runner. But Booker has emerged as a powerful voice in recent weeks as protests over racial injustice and police brutality gripped his hometown of Louisville and cities across the country.

It’s not yet clear if Booker’s late momentum in the race will be enough to help him clinch the nomination on Tuesday. Many voters began mailing in ballots before his recent surge. And the presence of another liberal in the primary, farmer and Marine veteran Mike Broihier, threatens to split the progressive vote and complicate Booker’s path to victory.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/503465-warren-endorses-booker-in-kentucky-senate-primary