Rand Paul wins Kentucky’s US Senate race

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) — Republican incumbent Rand Paul has won the Kentucky U.S. Senate race, defeating Democrat Charles Booker.

The race was called by the Associated Press.

In his pursuit of a third Senate term, Paul projected a national voice for a libertarian-leaning philosophy based on limited government and restrained spending. Paul, who ran for the White House in 2016, had amassed a huge fundraising advantage and was heavily favored to win reelection.

First elected in the tea party-driven wave of 2010, Paul touted his less-intrusive philosophy in denouncing what he saw as government overreach in response to COVID-19. Paul has waged memorable clashes with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, over the government’s coronavirus policies and the origins of the virus that caused the global pandemic, and has used those disputes to raise campaign contributions.