LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky's Democratic primary race for U.S. Senate could still go either way, but Charles Booker is now in the lead over Amy McGrath.
Booker led by fewer than 3,000 votes as of Thursday afternoon, based in part on a dominating showing so far in his hometown of Louisville, the state's largest city, where he garnered 80% of in-person votes counted. Booker also had a lopsided advantage so far in Lexington, the state's second-largest city.
Through an Open Records Request, WDRB News has obtained the numbers from the roughly 15,000 people who voted in person Tuesday at the Kentucky Expo Center. Those totals show Jefferson County Democrats voted more than five-to-one for Booker. That does not include any of the absentee ballots mailed in or dropped off at the Jefferson County Board of Elections
"We're going to have to wait a few days for final results, but we are fired up by what we're already seeing in the early returns," Booker said in a statement. "We feel like we're in a strong position to bring this home once every vote is counted."
Booker, who supports a universal basic income and Medicare for All - ideas that McGrath has resisted - also was showing strength in parts of rural Kentucky.
McGrath's campaign remained confident that she'll emerge as the Democratic nominee. McGrath, a retired Marine pilot, was seen as the clear frontrunner for most of the campaign until Booker seized the momentum in the final weeks.
"We are looking forward to tallies of the absentee ballots, which is 90% of the total vote," said McGrath's campaign manager, Mark Nickolas. "In counties that have already reported them, Amy is winning by huge margins, so we feel great about the outcome."
Booker, 35, a first-term Kentucky state representative who grew up poor in west Louisville, is vying for the U.S. Senate nomination against retired military pilot McGrath, a rival who's out-raised him 40 to 1 with the backing of national Democratic leaders.
The winner faces an uphill battle in the fall against Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is seeking a seventh term. McConnell, who has aligned himself with President Donald Trump, breezed to victory Tuesday in the GOP primary.
Ballots from Jefferson County are being counted one-by-one. The process is taking more time because the pandemic caused this to be Kentucky's first-ever mail-in election. Final results are not expected until next week.
A webcam in the Jefferson County Board of Elections shows the counting process 24 hours a day. Bipartisan teams opening, verifying and scanning each of the more than 160,000 absentee ballots returned. Election spokesman Nore Ghibaudy said by the end of Thursday, about 110,000 ballots will be scanned.
Each county can decide when to release final numbers, according to Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams.
"I expect some counties will finish their count well before the 30th -- maybe tomorrow, maybe over the weekend," he said.
Even though many counties only had one polling place, Adams says there was record turnout of more than 1 million voters for the primary, which proves nationwide criticism over alleged voter suppression was unfounded.
"If we're vote suppressors, we're doing a terrible job. We had the highest turnout we've ever had in an election, primary election, in Kentucky history," said Adams.
There are no decisions yet about expanded absentee voting for November, but Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is all in. "As we see that drove a huge turnout, and I hope we can keep it permanently."
Adams says the plan for the fall depends on the virus and on the budget. He says the cost of printing and mailing ballots made this the most expensive election in state history.
"We were able to do this for the primary because we got federal grants to cover it. But if we do this permanently, we're going to have to find millions of dollars that we don't have," Adams said.
McGrath had the backing of the party's national establishment and raised prodigious amounts of campaign cash, reflecting McConnell's status as a lightning rod for Democrats nationally. She portrayed herself as the best Democrat to take on McConnell.
Booker, a Black state lawmaker, seized late momentum amid national protests over the deaths of Black Americans in encounters with police, including the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor by Louisville police. Booker's slogan "from the hood to the holler" is aimed at uniting Black and white Kentuckians behind his message of economic justice.
To follow the latest returns from the Kentucky primary, CLICK HERE.
Copyright 2020 WDRB Media. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All Rights Reserved.
