Incumbent United States Senator Rand Paul is facing off against former state House Rep. Charles Booker in the race for the Senate.
Both candidates answered questions about their campaigns ahead of the election. Here are their answers, which have been edited for clarity.
Tell readers about your campaign.
Rand Paul (RP): Since 2011, I’ve had the privilege of representing Kentucky in the U.S. Senate. Over that time, I have been a consistent advocate for your values and have always put Kentucky first. I’ve fought against reckless spending by the Biden Administration and both parties in Congress that has caused record-high inflation and price increases for all Kentuckians. I’ve always supported local law enforcement and have stood against the Defund the Police movement that has been embraced by my opponent. I will always advocate for your constitutional liberties, protect your way of life, and fight against Big Government.
Charles Booker (CB): The Booker Campaign is all about giving Kentuckians what they deserve. Our current systems are broken, from healthcare to public safety to the way the government invests our tax dollars. We’re up against an incumbent who thinks his job is to do nothing for his suffering constituency. Kentuckians are beginning to believe that we can have quality, low-cost healthcare, we can hold government agencies meant to support us accountable, to create pathways out of poverty. In the current political climate, we’re especially dedicated to expanding Medicaid (by which over a third of Kentuckians are insured), protecting the right to privacy, and preserving hard-earned benefits like social security, all of which my opponent opposes.
What are you planning to build on if you return/make it to Washington?
CB: In Washington, I’ll work to support and pass legislation that supports Kentuckians. The Social Security Expansion Act is imperative to protecting the promise our nation makes to its workers and will ensure a high quality of life for our elders. Also on my docket are expanding medicare, codifying Roe v Wade, and legalizing marijuana.
RP: If Kentucky sends me back as their Senator, I promise to build on the momentum calling for investigations into Dr. Fauci, Covid origins, and all the awful repercussions of the pandemic response. If I chair a committee with full subpoena power, I will use it to uncover the truth that has been redacted and hidden from the public.
What are your important accomplishments?
RP: Since being in office, I’ve returned over $5.7 million to the Treasury Department from my office budget, keeping my promise to Kentuckians that I would stand for smaller, more efficient government, balanced budgets, and spending restraint.
Furthermore, I recently passed a bill through the Senate to end animal testing mandates for drugs before they go to human clinical trials. The FDA, like many three-letter agencies, is outdated and inefficient, so I am proud to have led the charge in cutting their endless red tape.
CB: As a legislator, I fought for common sense gun safety reform, lower prescription drug prices, expanded voting rights, stronger labor unions, and for racial justice. I’m particularly proud to have introduced legislation imperative to restoring the voting rights of felons who have completed their sentences. While this legislation couldn’t pass the Republican-controlled legislature, it served as Governor Beshear’s blueprint to eventually restore these Kentuckians’ voting rights.
Question specifically for Paul: You voted against the Infrastructure Bill, which could provide funding for the Brent Spence Bridge that’s affecting Kentucky. Care to explain your vote?
RP: I have always advocated for spending taxpayer dollars here in the U.S., and that is exactly what I did in offering a pay-for amendment to the Infrastructure Bill. I proposed that we pay for infrastructure projects, like the Brent Spence Bridge, by reappropriating the slush fund set aside for Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
My amendment was denied, and the bill proceeded full of pork-barrel spending. The CBO estimated that it would add $256 billion to the projected deficit. Our nation is nearing $30 trillion in debt. There will be a day of reckoning if we don’t get our fiscal house in order.
Question specifically for Booker: Your opponent voted against the Infrastructure Bill, which could provide funding for the Brent Spence Bridge. Care to explain how you would vote?
CB: I would absolutely have voted in favor of the Infrastructure Bill. We recently learned from President Biden that after Rand Paul voted against the bill, he was quietly begging for more money to come to the area to improve on infrastructure projects. You can’t have it both ways. Across the country, but especially in Kentucky, our infrastructure has been crumbling for years. The Infrastructure Bill will create so many good-paying jobs to repair and rebuild our Commonwealth. The Brent Spence Bridge obviously ties Northern Kentucky to Cincinnati, and Kentuckians who cross the bridge for work or pleasure have a right to know it’s safe and modernized. It was a shame it was allowed to fall into the disrepair it did, and it’s even more a shame that Rand Paul voted against it.
How are you different from your opponent?
CB: I am the only candidate who wants to make real change in Kentucky. As someone who has experienced poverty and has had to ration my insulin in order to provide food for my family, I relate to many hardships Kentuckians have faced. The same cannot be said about my opponent. He prides himself on enacting less change and creating a deeper division between all of us. He ignores the fact that we’re an interconnected community that depends on each other. He ignores Kentuckians in their time of need and constantly votes against our best interests. I’m the candidate that will protect a woman’s right to choose, fight until every Kentuckian has quality, affordable healthcare, and solve the kitchen table issues we face daily.
RP: As our nation is threatened by the radical left, I’ve been a consistent advocate for Kentucky values by supporting local law enforcement and fighting back against the Defund the Police movement. Defunding the police isn’t very popular in Kentucky, and my opponent supports it.
My opponent is also another vote in Washington for the socialist green new deal agenda. With radical left policies, Democrats are systematically destroying Kentucky jobs and Kentuckians’ way of life. I am standing up for your jobs, your values and fighting back against socialist policies like the green new deal agenda.
Anything else voters should know?
RP: You can keep up with my campaign at randpaul.com, facebook.com/RandPaul, or @RandPaul on Twitter.
CB: Together, we are going to win this race and win our future. Kentuckians deserve a fighter in Washington, and that’s exactly what I will be.