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Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-KY) opponent in the 2022 election released a campaign advertisement in which he sports a noose around his neck while he discusses lynching.
Former Kentucky state Rep. Charles Booker is running against Paul in November, having secured the Democratic nomination.
The video features Booker donning a noose that dangles from a tree.
Screen Shot 2022-06-01 at 12.09.24 PM.png“In Kentucky, like many states throughout the South, lynching was a tool of terror,” said Booker. “It was used to kill hopes for freedom. It was used to kill my ancestors.”
He describes Paul as “the person who single-handedly blocked an anti-lynching act from being federal law,” referencing Paul’s concerns over a previous anti-lynching bill that had passed the House of Representatives.
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“There has to be some give-and-take in order to try to make the language the best we can get,” the Kentucky Republican said in 2020 of the earlier anti-lynching legislation. “We want the bill to be stronger. We think that lynching is an awful thing that should be roundly condemned and should be universally condemned.”
Paul later co-sponsored the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law in March.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) celebrated Paul’s involvement at the time, saying, “I am proud to announce Senators Paul and Warnock as cosponsors of the Emmett Till Antilynching Act. Their support underscores the bipartisan backing that we have to finally meet this moment and help our nation move forward from some of its darkest chapters.”
Paul’s deputy campaign manager, Jake Cox, told the Washington Examiner, “Dr. Paul worked diligently to strengthen the language of this legislation and is a co-sponsor of the bill that now ensures that federal law will define lynching as the absolutely heinous crime that it is. Any attempt to state otherwise is a desperate misrepresentation of the facts.”
“The choice couldn’t be clearer. Do we move forward together? Or do we let politicians like Rand Paul forever hold us back and drive us apart?” Charles Booker’s advertisement concludes. “In November, we will choose healing. We will choose Kentucky.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
January polling data from Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy revealed that Paul maintained a double-digit lead over Booker. Fifty-five percent of respondents supported Paul, whereas only 39% preferred Booker.
Booker’s campaign did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
