On July 1, 2021, Booker announced he would run for Kentucky's other Senate seat in the Democratic party, with the winner presumably challenging Rand Paul.[35] In his first fundraising quarter (Q3 2021), he raised $1.7 million from 55,000 individual donations. He stated that "98% of our dollars are from grassroots small donors", and asserted his campaign is therefore funded by everyday people.[36]