Last week, Gov. Andy Beshear appointed former U.S. Senate Candidate Charles Booker to his administration.
Booker will head the Office of Faith-Based Initiatives and Community Involvement, an office established by former Republican Governor Ernie Fletcher.
“I am honored to join Gov. Beshear and his administration and inspired to take on this opportunity to continue to serve the people of Kentucky,” Booker said in a statement.
The former Kentucky House Representative challenged Senator Rand Paul for his seat in 2022 but lost quite handily.
Booker told LINK nky in the fall that he fought for common sense gun safety reform, lower prescription drug prices, expanded voting rights, stronger labor unions, and racial justice as a state legislator.
“I’m particularly proud to have introduced legislation imperative to restoring the voting rights of felons who have completed their sentences,” Booker said. “While this legislation couldn’t pass the Republican-controlled legislature, it served as Governor Beshear’s blueprint to eventually restore these Kentuckians’ voting rights.”
After the announcement of the appointment, the Republican Party of Kentucky issued a statement that said Booker doesn’t represent Kentucky values, as evidenced by his loss to Paul in November.
“The price for Charles Booker’s loyalty to Governor Beshear is a plum job in his administration and a taxpayer-funded paycheck,” RPK spokesman Sean Southard said. “After Andy Beshear refused to help Booker in his U.S. Senate campaign and nearly drove him from the party, one wonders what caused Beshear to have a sudden change of heart? It appears fleecing nonprofits, being endorsed by Bernie Sanders, and his strong support for defunding the police are qualifications to work in the Beshear Administration.”
