A familiar Democratic face is joining the administration of Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Kentucky.
Former Democratic United States Senate nominee Charles Booker, of Louisville, has been tapped to head the Governor’s Office of Faith-Based Initiatives and Community Involvement, which was first established by former Governor Ernie Fletcher, R-Kentucky.
“I am honored to join Gov. Beshear and his administration and inspired to take on this opportunity to continue to serve to the people of Kentucky,” Booker said in a news release late Friday.
The Republican Party of Kentucky called the appointment “the price” for Booker’s loyalty to Beshear.
“The price for Charles Booker’s loyalty to Governor Beshear is a plum job in his administration and a taxpayer-funded paycheck,” Republican Party of Kentucky spokesman Sean Southard said. “After Andy Beshear refused to help Booker in his U.S. Senate campaign and nearly drove him from the party, one wonders what caused Beshear to have a sudden change of heart? It appears fleecing nonprofits, being endorsed by Bernie Sanders, and his strong support for defunding the police are qualifications to work in the Beshear Administration. Charles Booker lost to Rand Paul because he doesn’t represent Kentucky’s values; apparently Andy thinks he does.”
Beshear does not face a significant challenge in the Democratic primary for re-election on May 16.
