LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The 2022 election cycle might not have a lot of big, contentious races. 

What You Need To Know

  • Despite holding a significant fundraising edge, Sen. Rand Paul has only recently begun to ramp up his campaign activities against his Democratic challenger Charles Booker

  • According to one veteran campaign strategist, most of this year's races "are foregone conclusions"

  • Last month, Paul indicated he would ramp up his campaign after Labor Day

  • Charles Booker and Rand Paul are vying for the top statewide office on the ballot this fall for the U.S. Senate

“There’s not a lot of attention. There’s no drama in any of these races in Louisville, Lexington, out in the state,” Tres Watson, a veteran campaign strategist and founder of Capitol Reins PR, said about the choices voters have in November. “Most of the results are foregone conclusions.”

Watson said the top statewide race doesn’t look too competitive, either, between Rand Paul and Charles Booker for U.S. Senate, but Paul has been ramping up his political ads this month.  

“I would suspect there’s probably some concern in the Paul camp that people take the election for granted and just don’t show up,” Watson said. “So I think he is advertising specifically to those Republican voters who might be on the fence about voting at all.”

And late last month, Paul said he wanted to ramp up the campaign around Labor Day.

“It’s hard to make a decision when to start, you know?” he said following a campaign appearance in western Kentucky. “Some people say we do too much campaigning. People get tired of all the ads. Labor Day is a kickoff for a lot of things.”

Watson said that makes sense for the incumbent.

“You don’t want to waste money on TV when people who are going to vote for you can’t see it, and during the summer, you’re taking your chances,” he said. “Once kids get back in school, you’re tied down to a more rigid schedule.”

And given Paul’s fundraising advantage — he had $9.2 million in his campaign account according to last quarter’s report while Booker had $900,000 — you’re going to see more ads and mailers to make sure you know it’s election time.

“But it’s geared specifically at turnout,” Watson said. “And just hoping people don’t take (Paul’s) win for granted and his voters show up and don’t allow Charles Booker to outwork him and somehow surprise him in the fall.”

And in a little more than a month, we’ll see if there are any surprises at the polls. 

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