After Trump endorses Barr, Cameron looks to KY voters for their support
Daniel Cameron recognizes that in the final stretch of the U.S. Senate race, the Republican primary is now a two-man contest.
With that in mind, he’s presenting Kentucky voters two clear options: you can choose the candidate who shows up and listens, or the candidate who decides against taking the stage and answering for his political record.
“Andy Barr had an opportunity to stand on a debate stage with me to answer questions, to contrast our views and ultimately to face the voters of this commonwealth,” Cameron said Tuesday morning. “But he went ran away from it. In politics, you can run ads, you can send emails... But when it comes time to take the stage, look the people of Kentucky in the eye and answer for your record, that’s when it counts. And Andy Barr decided against that.”
Cameron was referencing Barr’s absence at a debate last month hosted by Kentucky Educational Television studios, where a spokesperson for Barr called the station a “left-wing outlet” when asked why he didn’t attend, as well as Barr backing out of Fox 56 News’ “Debate Night in Kentucky,” which was supposed to air on May 5 but was canceled after Barr and Morris both withdrew.
Cameron leveled several criticisms of Barr at a Tuesday press conference held at the Jefferson County Republican Party headquarters in Louisville, just four days after President Donald Trump shook up the race to replace Mitch McConnell.
On Friday evening, Trump posted online that he’d asked Lexington tech entrepreneur Nate Morris to bow out of the race and take on an ambassador role for the administration. The dominoes fell moments later, with Trump giving Barr his endorsement, and Morris quickly following suit.
While Barr is banking on Trump’s support to lead him to victory, Cameron wants to take a different path.
Cameron is still positioning himself as a family-first and faith-driven candidate, he also touted support he’s receiving from “every day” Kentuckians, including small business owners, pharmacists and farmers.
He announced that his campaign will embark on a statewide tour the next two weeks leading up to the election.
“I’m proud to say that in this race, we have the strongest support from the people who actually make this commonwealth what it is...” Cameron said. “If you want real change, you don’t need someone who has spent the past 14 years of their life sucking up to the D.C. swamp. You need someone who is focused on the people of Kentucky, and that’s why I’m asking for your vote.”
Cameron goes negative on Barr
For most of the election cycle, Cameron had let Barr and Morris hash it out on the debate stage and in television ads. — but he had a different message Tuesday.
Cameron criticized Barr’s record in Congress, saying the race is now about “common sense versus crazy.”
“Crazy is voting to give amnesty to illegal immigrants, voting to fire pilots who refuse to take the COVID-19 vaccine, voting against repealing Obamacare, voting over 1,200 times with Nancy Pelosi and then claiming now, as Andy Barr does, that he is a conservative,” Cameron said.
Cameron’s new tone and messaging didn’t go unnoticed by Blake Gober, Barr’s former campaign manager, who said after the press conference that he thinks Cameron realized he needs to “go negative” to have a chance to win.
“My own wife thinks that Daniel Cameron is a good person,” Gober said. “I think that Daniel Cameron is a good person. But he’s decided that now is the time to go negative. And I think that it’s just too little too late.”
Cameron on the Trump endorsement
Cameron said he disagrees with Trump’s decision to endorse Barr. Regardless of the endorsement’s weight, Cameron is confident he’s built a coalition that has strong, loyal relationships with Kentucky voters.
In 2023, Cameron was backed by Trump in his bid for governor, allowing him to sail to an easy win in a crowded primary. But he lost to Gov. Andy Beshear, an incumbent Democrat. At the time, Trump wrote in a social media post at the time that Cameron “lost because he couldn’t alleviate the stench of Mitch McConnell.”
“I think there’s irony that the McConnell machine, who was backing Andy Barr, received an endorsement from President Trump at the end of the day,” Cameron said “What I’m focused on is the folks that are behind me and the voters across our 120 counties and making sure we get across the finish line.”
While Cameron once had a strong relationship with McConnell, the two grew apart after Cameron launched his Senate campaign in 2025. Since then, many donors connected to McConnell have supported Barr in the race.
Cameron also said he’s earning the support of some previous Morris supporters.
“What I am convinced of in my race is that there are a lot of folks that are upset with the process that was undertaken that got us to this spot, and there are people that are coming over from other camps, namely Mr. Morris’ camp,” Cameron said.
State Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, R-Smithfield, said while she was shocked by Trump’s endorsement, Cameron’s message of wanting the endorsement of the Kentucky voter was made clear.
“It was surprising not to have seen Trump come to Daniel’s side and support him in considering he endorsed him during the governor’s race,” Tichenor said. “But it’s okay. Trump gets to make the decisions that he makes for the reasons that he makes them.”
Tichenor added she’s supporting Cameron because he represents character that she looks up to.
“He’s a person of integrity,” Tichenor said. “He’s a person politically who has been incredibly consistent in what he stands for and what he fights for. I’ve never seen him waver on those issues, and I just feel like that is what we need in our federal government.”
