Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. brother and former Kentucky State Rep. Charles Booker won the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Kentucky on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, advancing to a November general election for the seat being vacated by longtime Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell.
According to WKYT, Booker emerged from a field that included retired Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath, horse trainer Dale Romans, and current State Rep. Pamela Stevenson.
Booker is a Spring 2005 initiate of the Alpha Omicron Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi at the University of Louisville, where he earned his undergraduate degree in political science. He went on to receive his Juris Doctor from the University of Louisville School of Law in 2010.
A lifelong resident of Louisville’s West End, Booker previously served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 2019 to 2021, representing the 43rd district. During his term, he was the youngest Black state lawmaker in Kentucky. After a narrow loss in the 2020 U.S. Senate Democratic primary, he founded Hood to the Holler, a grassroots organization focused on building coalitions across rural and urban Kentucky.
Booker will face the Republican nominee in November for the right to succeed Sen. McConnell, who is retiring after nearly four decades in the Senate.