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Charles Booker has won the Kentucky Democratic primary, winning his primary rematch against Amy McGrath.
In 2020, Booker narrowly lost the Senate primary to McGrath, but he was winning with 47% of the vote to McGrath’s 36% when the Associated Press called the race Tuesday night.
“We may not trust the politicians, but when those storms come, we lean on each other, and it ain't about party, it's about us standing together,” Booker said immediately after the race was called.
He may be a long shot to win but Kentucky is a deep red state that does have a Democratic governor. The payout would be $900 for every $100 bet or $90 for every $10 bet.
Kentucky is seen as a safe bet for the Republicans. BetOnline had GOP Congressman Andy Barr winning the general election for Senate priced at -3000 and a margin of victory of over/under of 18.5 %. Booker lost to GOP Sen. Rand Paul by a 23-point margin in 2022.
No Democrat has won a Kentucky Senate seat since 1992.
McConnell, first elected in 1984, announced in February 2025 that he wouldn't seek reelection after becoming the longest-serving Senate party leader in American history.
Trump pick Andy Barr on Tuesday was declared the winner for the Republican seat by the Associated Press, with an overwhelmingly higher margin than his opponents Daniel Cameron, George Washington, Michael James Faris and Valerie Frederick.
In Tuesday's Republican primary, long time congressman Thomas Massie lost to a challenger endorsed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Ed Gallrein, a former Navy Seal, won after Trump repeatedly called for voters to back Gallrein over the incumbent.
Massie, who has been in office since 2012, publicly broke with Trump by voting against his "big, beautiful" tax and spending bill last year over concerns about the national debt.
The contest, the most expensive primary in the history of the House of Representatives, had been widely seen as a key test of President Trump's decade-long grip on the Republican Party.
Kentucky voters have shown they are willing to vote for a Democrat in recent decades, but only for state leadership.
In the last five gubernatorial elections, Democrats have won four, including consecutive victories by Steve Beshear (2007, 2011) and his son Andy Beshear (2019, 2023).
The odds will still be very much against Booker winning. Cook Political Report’s Kentucky with a “Solid Republican” rating.
BetOnline is currently projecting wins by Democrats in a handful of Senate races in states that have long been considered GOP leaning, including Alaska, Ohio and, as of this week, Texas.
- T.C. Jackson, Gambling911.com
