KY Politics Insider: Rand Paul 2028? GOP Senate candidates hit Fox News & more
Kentucky Politics Insider offers an analysis of Kentucky politics and the conversations that drive decisions. Email reporter Austin Horn at ahorn@herald-leader.com or ping him on social media sites with tips or comments.
Local broadcast television is still the name of the game when it comes to political advertising.
But in a primary, particularly a Republican one, cable TV is a big deal and Fox News is at the top of everyone’s list. Not only is the conservative network the nation’s highest-rated cable network, it’s also been staple viewing for Republicans everywhere, particularly the steadfast primary voters that campaigns target.
So all three of the top GOP candidates — Rep. Andy Barr, former Attorney General Daniel Cameron and Lexington tech entrepreneur Nate Morris — for U.S. Senate have been working hard to get a piece of the Fox pie.
Morris, the newest entrant into Kentucky politics, took the most recent crack at introducing himself to the audience in a Sunday midday appearance.
With the potential endorsement of President Donald Trump seen as a golden ticket to the nomination, all candidates have praised every move made by Trump — Morris being no exception.
He called Trump’s negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky “Reagan-esque” and hammered home his support for a full moratorium on immigration into the U.S., something many economists say would put a hole in the U.S. economy.
He did so in a way that evoked members of the rising “tech right,” including billionaires Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, who are preoccupied with the state of Western civilization.
“This is Western civilization on the line. If we lose America, we lose our culture, we’re gonna lose Western civilization, and that’s something way bigger than what anyone’s talking about today,” Morris said.
Barr and Cameron are no strangers to the network.
Earlier this summer, Barr was on the network alongside former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines, a Barr ally who has become a leading activist in the push against transgender women’s participation in women’s sports.
Cameron also appeared on the network’s digital arm as recently as last week to comment on the alleged ID scheme for undocumented immigrants at ID centers in Kentucky and has been featured several times this year in other settings.
The endorsement primary
Kentucky-based political endorsements aren’t everything. If you think otherwise, just ask former Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles, who racked up dozens of state and county-level endorsements only to lose to Cameron in the 2023 GOP nomination for governor.
Cameron had the endorsement of the man who mattered the most at the time: Trump.
Still, endorsements matter. And right now the three candidates have a pretty distinct lineup of supporters.
Like Quarles, Barr is leading with the state and county-level power brokers. He’s got most of the county judge-executives — often the most important elected official in a given county — in his Central Kentucky-based 6th District and has extended that out to populated counties like Christian in the west and Greenup in the east.
Barr also has the explicit support of State Treasurer Mark Metcalf and House Speaker Pro Tempore David Meade, R-Stanford, and the most sitting state legislators of any candidate.
Perhaps most important in-state: he’s got the backing of Hal Rogers, the Dean of the U.S. House and longtime fixture as the representative of the 5th Congressional District.’
Barr has the backing of two sitting U.S. senators in Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma and Ted Budd of North Carolina. Morris also has two: Jim Banks of Indiana and Bernie Moreno of Ohio.
Morris has only one state-level endorsement by way of former neighbor state Rep. John Hodgson, R-Fisherville, but he’s got plenty of support — both explicit and implied — from “MAGA” figures. Much of that comes from Morris’ ties in that world, and some comes from his explicitly anti-McConnell messaging.
It started with the backing of Charlie Kirk, a popular online commentator and activist who hosted Morris’ launch rally. Now Morris is getting favorable press from former Trump top advisor Steve Bannon, ex-Trump spokesperson Sean Spicer and more in the so-called “MAGA Sphere.”
In a statement that underlined the MAGA movement’s shift from “outsider” to a budding establishment, Spicer underscored “the level of endorsements and machinery behind” Morris.
“It’s a proxy. Of all of them, this is McConnell versus Trump,” Spicer said in a media appearance. “I think it would be an understatement to say that he’s got a lot of support — he has the entire MAGA infrastructure behind him.”
Cameron’s endorsement situation is similar to last time, sans Trump.
Given his previous role as the state’s top cop, Cameron has a bevy of endorsements from sheriffs, jailers, constables and other law enforcement elected officials. An important note: 2026 is an election cycle year for county sheriffs, who in some cases power the highest-turnout elections of any local officials.
Outside of law enforcement, Cameron’s local endorsement list is longer than Morris’ but shorter than Barr’s. He’s got the backing of a handful of representatives and senators — most notably including his former running mate Senate Majority Caucus Chair Robby Mills, R-Henderson — who represent areas near Cameron’s hometown of Elizabethtown.
Barr’s Georgetown event
Barr was in the district Tuesday for a breakfast event Tuesday with Americans for Prosperity, the Koch-founded libertarian conservative political advocacy group.
He told a crowd of roughly 30 in Georgetown at Evans Orchard and Cider Mill that the Trump-backed “One Big, Beautiful Bill” is already delivering for Kentucky families. It included provisions, he said, to entice American manufacturing to open up shop stateside, something already happening in his district. On Aug. 6, Apple said it would invest $2.5 billion in a Kentucky factory to make every glass cover for its iPhones and Apple Watches.
Barr said a typical Kentucky family of four could see up to $9,200 more in take-home pay at the end of the year thanks to reforms in the bill and wages were expected to rise over the next four years. He also highlighted its tax exemptions on tips and fixed incomes for seniors.
A news release from after the breakfast said a protester tried to disrupt the event before being removed.
“We don’t think that illegal immigrants-” Barr started, before a man in the crowd slammed both hands on the table to stand and said, “You’re full of crap.” He quietly walked out of the event, to his car and left.
Barr was answering a crowd question on cuts to Medicaid that helped make up for losses from the tax cuts the bill created. He said cuts to the health care program were intentional. Taking the ineligible out of the health care program along with illegal immigrants and installing a work requirement is part of the elimination of waste, fraud and abuse, he said.
“We don’t think that illegal immigrants should be taking scarce resources away from American citizens,” Barr continued. “We, in this legislation, make sure that we have eligibility requirements to ensure the integrity of this program so that immigrants do not take Medicaid away from the people, the American citizens, who need it.”
Barr agreed with the event’s moderator, Michael Frazier, that “free speech is a beautiful thing,” then quipped: “And you have the freedom to be wrong.”
Scott Jennings to Iowa
It’s always a bit of a head-turner when someone in politics headlines a big event in Iowa.
Kentucky PR guru turned star conservative pundit Scott Jennings is doing it twice in the span of a month. This weekend he’s hosting a barbecue fundraiser for GOP Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, and next week he was just announced as the headliner for the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition’s fall banquet.
Rewind to 2023 and the very same banquet event was a must-go for GOP candidates for president. Given Iowa’s early positioning in presidential primary politics, those with presidential ambitions often visit the Hawkeye State well in advance of an election.
Jennings has been rumored as a potential late entrant into the Kentucky U.S. Senate race in 2026. He has made statements indicating he’d be open to running if Trump asked him to.
The Iowa news led some to speculation.
Semafor Political Reporter David Weigel insinuated in a post that Jennings could be thinking about a White House bid, and Washington Post congressional reporter Paul Kane was even more direct.
“Bypassing (Kentucky Senate) and just launching straight into ‘28 discussion,” Kane wrote.
Rand Paul for president?
It wasn’t that long ago that Sen. Rand Paul was running for president. In the lead-up to the 2016 primary, with the “Tea Party” wave of the GOP still hot, Paul was one of the party’s fresh face vying to become the face.
That didn’t work out as planned, but Paul is still on many people’s short list as a contender for the nomination in 2028. As of today, Vice President JD Vance is seen as the frontrunner on the GOP side — Trump even recently said so himself — but Paul’s odds could improve if Trump or Vance’s reputation takes a turn for the worse.
In July, Paul told the Courier-Journal that it was “too early to tell” if he’d run for president, not ruling out a bid.
.Earlier this month in Paducah, Paul gave a similar response to the Herald-Leader.
“Yeah, I’m definitely going to run for reelection. The presidential thing? We haven’t decided.”
Asked to elaborate he said, “nope.”
Paul has already visited Iowa as well as South Carolina. He’s got plans to go to New Hampshire, another early primary state, soon, according to AXIOS.
One thing to keep an eye on going forward: in 2016, the state GOP changed its election system to a caucus format to accommodate Paul in his run for the presidency and Senate reelection at the same time. If the White House really is still on his mind, Paul would need party approval once again to not be forced to choose between his current office and the highest office in the world.
Reporter Piper Hansen contributed to this story.
