Andy Barr for Senate? KY Congressman indicates he’s ready to run upon McConnell retirement
Sixth Congressional District Rep. Andy Barr, R-KY, has told people that he is ready to run for U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell’s seat in 2026 if the 82-year-old decides to not seek reelection, a widely held assumption among Republicans in Washington and Kentucky.
TJ Litafik, a Kentucky-based political strategist, said Barr told him directly about his desire to pursue the U.S. Senate seat.
“He has indicated that to me personally, including most recently at the inauguration,” Litafik told The Herald-Leader Monday evening. “He is strongly inclined to run upon Sen. McConnell’s retirement, particularly in light of the fact that he didn’t get the House Financial Services Committee chairmanship.”
McConnell has not explicitly addressed running for another term, but an aide confirmed last March he would not run for reelection to an eighth term in 2026, when he’ll be 84.
CBS News reported Monday afternoon that Barr told people at a Republican campaign retreat in Florida of his plans.
Tyler Staker, a spokesperson for Barr, neither confirmed nor denied the reporting in a comment to the Herald-Leader
“Congressman Barr is laser-focused on delivering results for the people of Kentucky’s 6th District and advancing President Trump’s America First agenda,” Staker said.
“Should an opportunity arise to further serve his community, state, and country, he stands ready to do so.”
McConnell has sidestepped questions about his future for the last two years as his age and health have been repeatedly called into question. He announced last February that it would be his last year as leader of Senate Republicans and he’s promised to finish his current term.
One Democrat, state House Minority Floor Leader Pam Stevenson, D-Louisville, has said that she will pursue the seat in 2026.
Though Democrats recently notched a win with the reelection of Gov. Andy Beshear in 2023, Republicans have handily defeated Democrats in recent U.S. Senate election cycles in the state.
Aside from Barr, the most commonly mentioned candidates for the seat, should it open up, are former Republican attorney general Daniel Cameron and businessman Nate Morris.
None have made any public announcements, though Cameron and Morris haven’t exactly been demure.
One user on social media site X wrote that “McConnell needs to go, (and) Cameron needs to be our senator!”
Cameron responded: “I’d be honored to serve and help President (Trump) enact his agenda!”
Morris briefly set social media aflame with a post criticizing McConnell’s vote against the confirmation of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who McConnell said failed to demonstrate readiness for the job.
Morris called McConnell’s vote disgraceful and hinted at the need for “new blood” that would more closely follow Trump’s agenda
“The people of Kentucky deserve elected officials who will represent their interests, stand with President Trump and always tell it like it is. We don’t need more McConnell approved pawns who are too cowardly to call him out when he sells us out. Mitch either needs to shape up or step aside for some America First new blood,” Morris wrote.
The tie-breaking vote to confirm Hegseth came from Vice President JD Vance, with whom Morris claims close ties.
Barr has been relatively less public prior to the CBS News report, though speculation has abounded this year.
Ever since Barr was not tapped to become the next House Financial Services Chair, a position for which he vied but lost out to Arkansas GOP Rep. French Hill, Kentucky Republicans have mentioned the longtime 6th Congressional District Congressman as a potential contender should McConnell not choose to run again.
Barr has served the Central Kentucky-based 6th Congressional District since defeating former congressman Ben Chandler in 2012.
Since taking office, Barr has faced only one opponent who got within single digits of unseating him. In 2018, with the help of Republican President Donald Trump, Barr fended off Amy McGrath by three percentage points.
Since then, Barr has rolled his Democratic competition, benefiting somewhat from a 2022 redistricting process that took the traditionally blue-leaning Franklin County out of his district and into Rep. James Comer’s 1st Congressional District.
Though Comer himself is also a popular statewide figure — his star has risen since taking the helm of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform — his team has told the Herald-Leader he has no interest in running for McConnell’s seat.
When asked about the possibility of running for U.S. Senate, state House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect, ruled himself out of the picture. State Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, didn’t deny interest, but said he greatly enjoyed his current role.
“I enjoy doing what I do. And... I think the state legislature has a lot more influence and impact on people’s daily lives than our federal legislation does,” Stivers said.
McConnell has held his seat in the U.S. Senate since a 1984 upset victory over late Democratic senator Walter “Dee” Huddleston. He recently broke the record for longest-serving party leader in U.S. Senate history, having held that role from January 2007 to January of this year. He was succeeded by Sen. John Thune of South Dakota as Republican leader.
A spokesperson for McConnell responded to a Herald-Leader inquiry stating simply that the senator has not made an announcement about his 2026 plans.
This story was originally published February 10, 2025 at 5:26 PM.
