He’s not running. Kentucky Sports Radio Host Matt Jones bows out of U.S. Senate bid.
Kentucky Sports Radio host Matt Jones announced Friday that he will not run for U.S. Senate in 2020, ending months of speculation over whether he would launch an outsider campaign with the goal of taking down U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Jones, who had for months publicly waffled on whether to run, had laid out a political path of appealing to conservative University of Kentucky fans who listen to the show he built and see him as a friendly figure.
The path will remain unexplored.
“I am coming on this morning to make the announcement that I have decided not to do that,” Jones said. “I am not going to be a candidate for the office.”
In considering a run for public office, Jones saw the effect a political campaign could have on the media empire he created. Shortly after former Marine Corps pilot Amy McGrath got in the race, Jones was suspended from his television show, Hey Kentucky!, and later was permanently removed after he announced he was writing a book about McConnell called “Mitch Please.”
Last week, he was pulled from his radio show after the Republican Party of Kentucky filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission alleging Jones had received illegal campaign contributions by appearing daily on his radio show.
“I had to ask, did I personally want to go through what was coming my way,” Jones said. “Did I want to do it, did I want to put my friends through it, did I want to put my coworkers through it, did I want to put my family through it, did I want to put my girlfriend through it. And did I also want to leave this? And it was very close, but the answer was no.”
His removal from the radio show sparked a movement among Jones’ fans, who tweeted under the hashtag “FreeMattJones.” The trend spread all the way to the professional basketball level, when former Kentucky Wildcat and current Minnesota Timberwolf Karl Anthony Towns tweeted in support of Jones.
Each time Jones was pulled from the air, he said it made him more inclined to join the race. And while he created an exploratory committee, he could never quite pull the trigger.
“I’m not scared of any of these people,” Jones said. “Everything they’ve done, just makes me want to do it more … but you shouldn’t change your life out of anger.”
Jones decision helps clear the path for McGrath, who has raised more than $10.7 million so far — a formidable sum that has chilled some Democrats from entering a primary despite McGrath’s early stumbles in her campaign, including her flip-flop on whether she supported the Senate’s conformation of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Jones has repeatedly said he does not believe McGrath can beat McConnell and on Friday he said he hopes more people get into the race.
“I do think Mitch McConnell needs to be defeated and I do hope that other candidates get in the race besides me,” Jones said.
There are still multiple people in the Democratic field. McGrath faces a progressive opponent in Lincoln County farmer and journalist Mike Broihier and another progressive, State Rep. Charles Booker, D-Louisville, has created an exploratory committee. House Minority Leader Rocky Adkins is considering a bid, but also campaigned heavily with Gov.-elect Andy Beshear and could be considered for a position in Beshear’s cabinet.
Jones said he felt like he was disappointing some people with his decision not to run and apologized on air.
“I’m going to have regrets,” Jones said. “I know myself. I was going to have regrets but that would be true either way.”
This story was originally published November 15, 2019 at 10:13 AM.
