Kentucky Congressman Andy Barr expected to announce 2026 U.S. Senate bid
U.S. Rep. Andy Barr is planning to announce his campaign for U.S. Senate next week, according to several Kentucky Republicans and invitations to the event obtained by the Herald-Leader.
Barr has long been rumored as a potential candidate in the 2026 field that, as of Thursday evening, includes former Kentucky attorney general Daniel Cameron on the Republican side and state House Democratic Floor Leader Pamela Stevenson.
He is expected to announce his run Tuesday in Richmond.
A spokesperson for Barr did not offer comment for this story.
The Herald-Leader reported in February that Barr told donors and other Kentucky Republicans of his intentions to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell, and the congressman’s team has not previously denied claims that he’s been eyeing a run.
McConnell announced in February that he would not seek reelection in 2026. Cameron launched his campaign the same day.
Barr has served the Central Kentucky-based 6th Congressional District for more than a decade since he knocked off former Democratic congressman Ben Chandler in 2012. The congressman won a close race against well-funded challenger in Amy McGrath in 2018 and has won in landslide fashion ever since.
Barr’s time in Congress has been marked by a focus on his work on the House Financial Services Committee. He vied for the chairmanship of that committee — a potentially precarious role give the GOP’s thin 220-213 majority — but fell short to Arkansas Rep. French Hill. Some read that as a sign that Barr would leave the U.S. House to seek a six-year term in the Senate.
Barr has also carved out a lane as a key advocate for the horse industry, a driver of tourism and commerce in Central Kentucky, and an opponent of China. The congressman authored and passed a 2020 bill creating the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, an anti-doping regulatory group that also promotes racetrack safety.
The 6th Congressional District, which is anchored by the increasingly Democratic stronghold of Lexington, was considered a swing district prior to GOP-led redistricting that removed Franklin County from the district. Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear won it handily, 60-40, in 2023 and Barr has won it by a similar or even greater margin in the last three cycles.
While Cameron is the only member of the GOP with strong name ID to have announced, a third prominent Republican has expressed serious interest.
Nate Morris, a Lexington tech entrepreneur with ties to Vice President JD Vance, has made several statements critical of McConnell. He’s also been promoted by Donald Trump, Jr., who holds sway with his father President Donald Trump.
The president was on record providing words of encouragement to Barr at a recent event touting his executive orders on coal.
“Good luck with everything. I hear good things,” the president said from the event podium.
Many political observers see a Trump endorsement, if it happens in this race, to be the golden ticket.
“My advice to any of them would be to find the quickest path to Donald J. Trump,” state Sen. Phillip Wheeler, R-Pikeville, told the Herald-Leader earlier this year.
Barr has hewed close to Trump and largely eschewed McConnell in the early days of Trump’s second presidency. He has expressed support for Trump’s tariffs as well as the actions of the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency. He’s also offered sharp criticisms of McConnell’s foreign policy.
Cameron has led the pack in early polls of the race conducted by a firm with ties to Cameron’s general consultant. Barr, who unlike Cameron has not run statewide before, has consistently polled in second.
However, Barr could enter the race with a major advantage: money.
After raising more than $1.8 million into his congressional campaign account, Barr ended March with more than $5.3 million on hand. Election finance rules allow members of congress to roll those funds into a Senate campaign account.
Compare that to Cameron, who in 39 days raised around $508,000. He ended the same period with $455,000, less than one-tenth of Barr’s war chest.
An attorney by trade, Barr is a Lexington native. He graduated from Henry Clay High School, went to the University of Virginia for his undergraduate degree and returned to Kentucky to get his J.D. from the University of Kentucky College of Law.
This story was originally published April 17, 2025 at 7:14 PM.
