Ted Budd

Potential For Four New African American Senators

There have been 11 African American Senators in the 234 years of US Senate history.

Presently, there are three—Republican Tim Scott of South Carolina; and Democrats Cory Booker of New Jersey and Raphael Warnock of Georgia.

Prominent earlier African American Senators included Democrats Carol Moseley Braun and Barack Obama of Illinois; Democrat Kamala Harris of California; and Republican Edward Brooke of Massachusetts.

Now, there is the possibility of four additional African American Senators, if fortune works out.

They include: Mandela Barnes in Wisconsin; Cheri Beasley in North Carolina; Charles Booker in Kentucky; and Val Demings of Florida.

Barnes is competing against Ron Johnson in Wisconsin; Beasley againast Ted Budd in North Carolina; Booker against Rand Paul in Kentucky; and Demings against Marco Rubio in Florida.

All of these races are tight in polls, except Booker against Paul in Kentucky, where Booker is at a major disadvantage.

Also, Warnock is in a tight race against Republican Herschel Walker in Georgia, with both being African Americans.

Potential For More African American Senators In 118th Congress (2023-2024)

The potential exists for the US Senate in the 118th Congress to have more African American members than ever before.

Altogether, there have been eleven African American Senators in American history, with three serving for the first time in 2017 when Kamala Harris joined the Senate, adding to Tim Scott and Cory Booker.

Raphael Warnock became the third serving at the same time, replacing Harris, who became Vice President in 2021!

Now, with Scott and Booker in the Senate, and Warnock running for reelection against another African American, former football player Herschel Walker, at least three African Americans will serve in the next Congress.

But there are others who are running for election to the Senate, including:

Congresswoman Val Demings of Florida against Senator Marco Rubio

Charles Booker of Kentucky against Senator Rand Paul

Cheri Beasley of North Carolina against Congressman Ted Budd

Mandela Barnes of Wisconsin against Senator Ron Johnson

So there could, in theory, be SEVEN African American Senators in the 118th Congress, if fortune worked out!