Democrat Charles Booker is running for US Senate in 2020

Freshman state Rep. Charles Booker ended weeks of speculation on Sunday by declaring he will seek the Democratic nomination in Kentucky's much-anticipated 2020 Senate race.

"Kentuckians are demanding real change, and we are sick and tired of the political status quo," Booker said in an interview with The Courier Journal. "Regardless of party, Kentuckians are tired of being ignored, lied to, forgotten and exploited by corrupt politicians who couldn’t care less about us."

Booker, 35, first hinted at a possible run in July after a rocky rollout by presumed Democratic frontrunner Amy McGrath, who upset some progressives when she said McConnell hasn't done enough to help President Donald Trump keep his pledge to "drain the swamp" in Washington.

The retired Marine fighter pilot enraged liberals further when she said in an interview with The Courier Journal she would have voted to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

Hours later, McGrath backpedaled and said she would have, in fact, not voted to confirm Kavanaugh to the high court.

Team Mitch used Booker's entry into this year's primary election as an opportunity to spotlight how some Democrats remain dissatisfied with McGrath.

“Amy McGrath has spent $8 million on a six month campaign but can’t even convince Kentucky Democrats she deserves their party’s nomination," McConnell campaign manager Kevin Golden said in a statement on Sunday. "They see Chuck Schumer’s handpicked candidate as an objectively horrible choice destined to repeat her 2018 loss.”

The McGrath campaign declined to comment for this story.

Throughout Booker's announcement event, which was held at Manhattan on Broadway in Louisville, several speakers touched on his biography growing up in poverty as a Type 1 diabetic.

Others highlighted Booker's faith growing up with two parents who were Baptist ministers, and the event included several call and responses. The event had a noticeable group of college-aged voters who touted Booker's concerns about the environment and his support for policies to address climate change.

But the event didn't spare subtle jabs aimed at McGrath, such as when state Rep. Attica Scott, D-Louisville, told the crowd she’s ready for someone who’s going to "reject people like (Justice) Kavanaugh."

Booker added fuel to that fire by saying state Democrats have failed to topple McConnell — who was first elected two weeks after Booker was born in 1984 — because they are too busy "dancing around" the GOP leader. He said the party's nominee in 2020 must take the fight to McConnell, and how past opponents haven't excited the Democratic base.

"There are some in the Democratic Party who still believe that the way to beat Mitch is by running to the soft center, by saying nothing and taking no positions," Booker said. "But we’ve tried it their way, and we’ve lost — repeatedly."

Previously: Charles Booker launches exploratory committee for potential Senate run

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"You don’t beat the most unpopular Senator in America by running away from him, or trying to be like him. You win by putting him on the defensive, holding him accountable, making sure he has to answer for what he’s done to us, and shining a bright light on the reality that he has profited from our pain."

Booker is giving up a safe seat in the Kentucky House to enter the primary as an untested underdog who is little known outside of Louisville, where he represents a predominately African American district in the city's West End.

McGrath, on the other hand, is known from her previous failed bid for Congress in 2018 where she ran for the state's relatively purple district in central Kentucky. She also benefits from the backing of Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer, of New York, and other national party figures.

Booker also is running as an unabashed liberal in a state that is increasingly leaning Republican and where moderate Democrats have been pushed to the political margins.

Optimistic Democrats point to the 2019 elections results where their nominee, Andy Beshear, defeated Republican incumbent Matt Bevin. But Beshear was able to do so in part by avoiding thorny national issues, such as commenting on Trump's pending impeachment.

Booker, however, supports many of the left-wing policy prescriptions that McConnell and his allies use to rile up conservatives. He said he favors Medicare for All and the Green New Deal, and full believes the Senate should remove Trump from the White House despite his popularity in the Bluegrass State.

More: Booker on possibly challenging McConnell: 'Goliath underestimated David'

The Booker campaign will be as much a test of how far can progressive politics go in Kentucky. Those voters didn't do much to help Democrat Adam Edelen in the Democratic primary for governor.

Edelen, a former state auditor, made overtures to court liberal voters but he received only 27% of the vote. Booker also won't be the only progressive contender in the race as Mike Broihier, a Lincoln County farmer, and Steven Cox, a Hopkins County pharmacist, have been campaigning for months.

Booker will have to contend with McGrath's huge head start in terms of fundraising too, which continues to steamroll despite early hiccups. She had previously raised about $10.5 million before it reported last week she had hauled in another $6 million in the final three months of 2019.

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McGrath's campaign bank account has about $9.1 million on hand.

Booker downplayed the role of money in the primary election, and sidestepped The Courier Journal's questions about how much his exploratory committee has raised since November.

"Anyone who thinks you can beat McConnell by outraising him is not serious about winning," he said. "The reality is, whoever wins the Democratic nomination is going to be at a huge financial disadvantage against Mitch McConnell. He can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money. We’re not going to beat him by outraising him."

Reach Phillip M. Bailey at pbailey@courier-journal.com or 502-582-4475. Follow him on Twitter at @phillipmbailey.