On the heels of Republican Rand Paul’s victory in the primary election’s U.S. Senate race last week, his local campaign chair, Sherry Pickett, is looking forward to again helping his case locally come November.

“It has definitely been an eye-opening experience,” Pickett said of being involved in the primary race.

She said last Tuesday was an exciting time for her as she traveled to Bowling Green to help cheer Paul on to victory with hundreds of supporters at the Bowling Green Country Club.

“We all felt pretty confident but it became a reality when the Associated Press announced he had won around 6:30 that night,” she said. “You never really know until all the votes are counted ... it was just an exciting night to be a part of.”

Pickett said another highlight of the night was meeting other Paul campaign chairs from around the state.

“They were just your common Kentuckians,” she said. “It was nice to get to meet them in person and get a feel of what their county was doing and their involvement with the campaign.”

In the race, Paul took Russell County with 2,696 votes to Trey Grayson’s 1,786 votes.

Statewide, Paul also downed Grayson to take the GOP’s nod into the fall while Jack Conway outlasted Daniel Mongiardo on the Democratic side to take that party’s nomination.

Paul and Conway will face off in the fall and Pickett expects a long, busy summer of campaigning ahead of her.

“I plan on having Dr. Paul back here in the county but I’m not sure when yet,” she said. “That is in the future.”

Pickett, who attended the state Republican Unity Rally over the weekend, said that on behalf of Paul’s campaign, she wanted to thank the people of Russell County for their support during the primary.

“If anyone wants to volunteer they are more than welcome to contact me at 270-866-0700 or anyone else in the campaign,” she said.

Pickett, who stays in close contact with Paul’s former campaign manager David Adams, also said Paul was a down-to-earth individual who is easy to talk to.

“He’s not your daily politician,” she said.

Paul grew up in a small town in Texas and attended Baylor University before going to Duke Medical School. He then completed a General Surgery Internship at Georgia Baptist Medical Center in Atlanta and earned his ophthalmology residency at Duke University.

He has owned his own business, performing eye surgery in Bowling Green for 18 years. Paul, a forerunner in the “Tea Party” movement, also founded the Kentucky Taxpayers United in 1994. Pickett said she also wished to thank Dr. Jerry Westerfield and Dr. Vijay Jain, both Paul supporters, for all their hard work in the campaign as well.

“I couldn’t have done a lot of things without them,” she said.

And now, for Pickett and Paul, the battle for November has just begun.