Charles Booker’s campaign for the U.S. Senate in Kentucky says it was targeted by hackers based overseas just days before Election Day, with intruders attempting to breach communication systems used by Booker and campaign leadership as well as the campaign’s website. The campaign says it took steps to secure its systems and private data, and that law enforcement, including the FBI, is involved.
According to lex18.com, the campaign says hackers appear to have gained access to at least one staff member’s Signal account sometime within the past couple of months. The outlet reports the campaign did not provide additional details about how the attack occurred, identify those believed to be responsible, or say what information, if any, may have been compromised beyond that account.
Booker, the Democratic candidate running to replace retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell, said the campaign believes the threats have been neutralized and that it plans to continue campaigning through Election Day, per the same account. He said appropriate steps were taken to secure the campaign’s systems and private data, and that the FBI and other law enforcement agencies are involved in the investigation.
A Rocky Stretch for the Campaign’s Online Systems
The cyberattack follows an earlier scare for Booker’s digital operation. As reported by fox56news.com, the campaign experienced what it called a concerning disruption to the server impacting its website and email systems, prompting the team to move its official web address to charlesbookerky.org. The campaign said its IT team immediately engaged the appropriate officials, service providers, and technology partners to secure and restore its systems.
Booker has framed the latest intrusion attempt as evidence of the campaign’s momentum, according to WHAS11, which reports he said the attempted hack close to Election Day is proof the campaign is in a position to win, and that domestic and foreign opponents do not want it to succeed because they are scared. He faces Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, who has been endorsed by Donald Trump, in the race for the open Senate seat.
Part of a Broader Pattern Around the Midterms
The incident lands amid other election-season cyber disruptions nationally. The Federal Election Commission’s electronic filing system went offline after the agency reported a suspected breach attempt before the 2026 midterms, with the system remaining down early that Wednesday as the agency said it had identified the issue and was implementing a fix, according to CNBC. The outage came as AdImpact reported total spending and reservations for the 2026 election cycle had reached a record $11.21 billion.
The FEC later restored its filing system two days after a hacking attempt had left candidates, parties, and political action committees unable to report campaign donations and spending, the New York Times reported. The agency had switched off its web services late that Monday because a bad actor was attempting to breach its systems, per the same report.
Federal cybersecurity guidance has long flagged candidates and campaign organizations as potential targets. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency notes that malicious cyber actors may use phishing and smishing techniques to steal login credentials or install malware on targeted devices, and that election officials, candidates, and political organizations can be attractive targets because of their access to sensitive systems, according to CISA.
No Word Yet on Who Was Behind the Attack
Booker’s campaign has said foreign adversaries, including Russian actors, have ramped up efforts during recent election cycles to infiltrate and attack campaign and election systems, and that such adversaries aim to sow chaos and mistrust in election security, according to WHAS11. The campaign has not identified who it believes carried out this particular attack, and no outside agency has publicly confirmed the campaign’s account of what happened or where the hackers were based.
