McConnell challenger says partisan, racial divides are ‘at a peak right now in our country’

A challenger running in Kentucky’s Democratic primary to face Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in the state’s Senate race said Thursday that partisan and racial divides are “at a peak right now in our country.”

Kentucky Rep. Charles Booker (D), told Hill.TV that his campaign aims to speak “to the common bonds that we all share.” 

“We have to break down these barriers … the partisan divides, the geographical divides, the racial divides,” he said.

“And we’re seeing it at a peak right now in our country.”

The candidate said his campaign gives him the opportunity to sit down “with folks that may have never sat down with someone quite like me and talk about our common bonds.”

“And by shining the light on the fact that we are in this together, and our common enemy is Mitch McConnell, we’re able to build a movement, and that is exactly what’s happening right now,” he said.

Booker’s remarks come after Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, two black Americans, were allegedly killed by police in Louisville and Minneapolis, respectively, sparking outrage across the country.

In the primary, Booker will face Amy McGrath, who was endorsed by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. The Kentucky primary has been postponed from May 19 to June 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic.