EPISODE 9:
CHARLES BOOKER FOR KENTUCKY
In 2019 Charles Booker, a 35-year-old Kentucky state representative decided to challenge Mitch McConnell, the most powerful Republican Senator, by running for Senate on a Green New Deal. But the Democratic establishment already had a preferred candidate, Amy McGrath. As the campaign got underway Booker looked like the longest of long shots. And while he did not ultimately win the primary, Booker shocked the world by very nearly defeating the best funded Senate candidate in history, winning 43% of the vote in a state many had written off as impossible for a progressive candidate.
GenGND tells the story of Charles Booker’s incredible 2020 campaign and the lessons it holds for how the Green New Deal movement can win even in states the Democratic party has abandoned. Featuring Charles Booker himself, Charles’ former Deputy Campaign Manager (and Sunrise Movement Electoral Politics Director) Shante Wolfe, Sunrise Political Director Evan Weber, and Creative Director Alex O’Keefe.
Support Charles Booker’s organization Hood to the Holler