Rep. Andy Barr gets coveted Trump endorsement in Kentucky Senate race to replace McConnell
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — President Donald Trump on Friday endorsed Kentucky Rep. Andy Barr in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by incumbent Sen. Mitch McConnell, the former longtime Senate GOP leader.
“Andy Barr has my complete and utter support to be the next United States Senator from Kentucky,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
Barr will face former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron and entrepreneur Nate Morris in the May 19 Republican primary.
All three Republicans coveted the president’s support in the conservative state, where Trump won 64% of the vote in the 2024 presidential race. Barr and Morris have run numerous ads featuring Trump, and Morris has received financial support from his conservative ally Elon Musk.
Republican candidates in the Kentucky race mentioned McConnell very little during the campaign, reflecting the changing dynamics of the Trump-led Republican Party.
Each has a connection to McConnell. Cameron is a former aide, Barr called the senator a mentor and Morris worked as an intern in McConnell’s office. Trump once praised McConnell as an ally, but has more recently criticized the seven-term senator.
The Democratic field includes former state lawmaker Charles Booker and former Marine pilot Amy McGrath. Booker narrowly defeated McGrath in the 2020 Democratic primary to face McConnell.
Democrats have not won a U.S. Senate race in Kentucky since 1992.
