Even before Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced his impending retirement from the Senate, the GOP race in the Kentucky Senate election was growing crowded.
Now, with McConnell announcing his retirement on Thursday, some have already announced their candidacies to replace the seven-term senator.
MCCONNELL ANNOUNCES SENATE RETIREMENT, ENDING DECADESLONG CAREER
“Seven times, my fellow Kentuckians have sent me to the Senate,” McConnell said in his remarks announcing his retirement. “Every day in between, I’ve been humbled by the trust they’ve placed in me to do their business right here. Representing our commonwealth has been the honor of a lifetime. I will not seek this honor an eighth time. My current term in the Senate will be my last.”
“People have anticipated” a fight for McConnell’s seat, Kentucky’s junior senator, Sen. Rand Paul, said. “I guess they’re getting the itch.”
Republicans are hoping the reliably red state will remain so, with the National Republican Senatorial Committee releasing a statement saying, “Kentucky is a red state, so the NRSC is confident that our eventual nominee will be a principled, America First conservative.”
None of the Republicans who have entered the race have mentioned McConnell, and they have mostly tried to distance themselves from him. McConnell’s relationship with President Donald Trump turned sour in the days after Trump was impeached in the House of Representatives for his involvement with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack.
Democrats, meanwhile, are hopeful they can gain momentum as their Democratic governor remains popular in the state. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee released a statement saying, “Another open seat has created an additional defensive headache for them.”
Here’s who’s in and who’s out of the race:
Former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron
Kentucky’s former attorney general, Daniel Cameron, launched a campaign within minutes of McConnell’s retirement announcement. He ran for governor in 2023 but lost by 5 points to Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY).
“Kentucky, it’s time for a new generation of leadership in the U.S. Senate. Let’s do this,” Cameron wrote in a post on social media with a graphic featuring his spouse and two children.
Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY)
In a post on X, Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) said he is “considering running for Senate because Kentucky deserves a Senator who will fight for President Trump and the America First Agenda.”
“I’ve done that every day in the House and would do so in the Senate,” Barr said. “I’m encouraged by the outpouring of support and my family and I will be making a decision about our future soon.”
He had previously described McConnell as a mentor but did not mention him in the statement.
Businessman Nate Morris
Kentucky businessman Nate Morris has indicated he will run for either McConnell’s Senate seat or governor of Kentucky in 2027. Following McConnell’s announcement, he released a statement saying he was “seriously considering” a run while also taking time to diss McConnell.
“Mitch McConnell stuck his thumb in the eye of President Trump with the votes against his nominees, and none of the career politicians looking at this race were courageous enough to call him out for his betrayal,” Morris said.
“That’s why I’m seriously considering running for office,” he added. “The last thing Kentucky needs is to elect a puppet of Mitch McConnell to the US Senate.”
Rep. James Comer (R-KY)
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) told Semafor that he is weighing a run for governor in 2027 but will not run for the Senate seat. He lost the GOP primary in the state’s 2015 gubernatorial race.
Comer said he will still run for reelection to the House in 2026.
Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY)
The state’s Democratic governor said he has ruled out running for the seat. He most recently won reelection in 2023 against Cameron.
“I’m completely and totally ruling out a run for any open Senate seat in 2026. I love this job,” Beshear said. “We’re seeing amazing things happen in the commonwealth. Our economy is just exploding in special ways, and my kids are happy. I’m going to keep doing this job every day for this four-year term I was elected to.”
Some Democrats have also theorized that Beshear has his eyes on a presidential run in 2028 after he was in the running to be former Vice President Kamala Harris’s vice presidential pick in the 2024 election.
