Rand Paul out-raises Charles Booker by nearly 6-to-1 in Kentucky’s Senate race
Sen. Rand Paul thumped his 2022 Democratic challenger, Charles Booker, in fundraising during the final three months of last year.
Paul, who is seeking his third term this November, reported $3.8 million in campaign receipts compared to Booker’s $653,617. That nearly 6-to-1 advantage for the incumbent covers money taken in between October and December 31.
Paul’s healthy total leaves him with $7.8 million in the bank to spend over the next nine months in the Senate race. Booker, meanwhile, has less than half a million banked. Spending more than he raised during the final three months of the year left Booker to report just $411,330 remaining in his account.
Booker’s steep fundraising deficit is just the latest indication of the long odds he faces in what’s already shaping up to be a dismal year for Democrats, who control the White House along with both chambers of Congress.
“Thanks to the 89,508 donations in our last fundraising quarter and more than 250,000 donors in 2021, we’re starting this election better off than ever before,” Paul tweeted.
Paul has raised more than 17 times his totals in 2015, ahead of his 2016 race, and has more than six times as much cash on hand compared to the same point of his last race, according to Jake Cox, Paul’s deputy campaign manager.
While Booker did not mention his fundraising totals – which were due to the Federal Election Commission on Monday – he did release a video addressing skeptics about his chances.
“So I heard people are talking. They don’t think we’re going to win this race,” he said, sipping a glass of bourbon. “That’s hilarious to me because they’re obviously not paying attention. We’ve been building our campaign. Our support has been on the ground. Close to 100,000 contributions altogether. Support from every state, every county in Kentucky.”
“We’re focused on the people,” Booker continues, “and this early, we’re already right at 40%.”
But some Democrats are doubtful that Booker will even ultimately hit that low-bar marker.
In November, a handful of Kentucky Democrats told McClatchy that Booker’s odds were long and that he would be lucky to finish within single digits of Paul, especially in a rough midterm environment for the party in power.
Booker’s FEC report indicates that unless he sees an influx of fresh cash, he’ll have to do more with less and consider tightening his budget going forward.
He spent $184,500 on digital advertising, designed to increase his familiarity with voters and stimulate online donations. He spent nearly $125,000 on fundraising consulting, a tab that amounted to 19% of what he raised during the fourth quarter.
