Scramble for McConnell's Senate seat underway with signs of a bruising GOP primary ahead

[February 21, 2025]  By BRUCE SCHREINER

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The scramble to fill Mitch McConnell’s Senate seat in Kentucky began as soon as the long-serving Republican lawmaker revealed he won't seek reelection in 2026.

Former state Attorney General Daniel Cameron jumped into the campaign Thursday, looking for a political comeback after losing his bid for governor in 2023. Elsewhere in the GOP, U.S. Rep. Andy Barr signaled he would announce his plans soon and said he's been encouraged by his support as he considers a Senate run. Businessman Nate Morris has signaled his strong interest in the Senate race, too.

Another prominent Kentucky Republican, U.S. Rep. James Comer, will not run for the Senate next year but is “strongly considering” a run for governor in 2027, a Comer spokesman said.

Although the prize is a Senate seat that will be open for the first time in more than 40 years, leading Kentucky Democrats did not rush to embrace the challenge in a state that has turned solidly Republican in recent years. The two Democrats holding statewide office — Gov. Andy Beshear and Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman — signaled Thursday that they won’t enter the Senate race.

McConnell announced to his Senate colleagues on Thursday that he will retire when his current seventh term ends.

The longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history, McConnell relinquished his leadership post after the November 2024 election. His departure will mark the loss of a powerful advocate who steered large amounts of federal money to Kentucky. But his popularity with Republicans back home sagged after his relationship with President Donald Trump cratered.

Some Kentuckians worried that his departure would mean a loss of influence for the state.

“Someone will serve in his seat, but they will not step into his shoes in terms of seniority that he has built as the longest-serving senator in Kentucky history,” GOP political consultant T.J. Litafik said.

A top legislative Democrat, state House Minority Floor Leader Pamela Stevenson, recently filed to raise money for the Senate race. She would become the state's first Black U.S. senator if she were to win.

Whoever wins the Democratic nomination won't have history on their side. The last Democrat to win a Senate race in the Bluegrass State was Wendell Ford in 1992.

Meanwhile, jockeying on the Republican side after McConnell's announcement previewed what looks to be a bumpy primary. Sniping began after Cameron signaled his Senate intentions by posting on X: “Kentucky, it’s time for a new generation of leadership in the U.S. Senate. Let’s do this.”

That provoked a bare-knuckled response from Barr’s camp. Barr spokesman Tyler Staker said Cameron had “embarrassed” Trump and the GOP by losing the governor’s race to Beshear. Staker added the party needs “proven winners,” perhaps foreshadowing Barr’s pitch for a coveted Trump endorsement.

Cameron, who also would become the state's first Black U.S. senator if he won, fired back, saying, “You get outside of his district, nobody knows who Andy Barr is.”

 Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is silhouetted by window light as he heads to the chamber to begin the week, on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 21, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Cameron told The Associated Press that he’s in the race to succeed his one-time mentor, having formerly worked as McConnell’s legal counsel. He has been planning a political comeback since his defeat in 2023. He said his values align with Kentucky voters and touted his support for Trump.

“Serving in the Senate, I’m going to make sure I stand up for the ‘America First’ agenda and the values of Kentucky,” Cameron told the AP in a phone interview Thursday evening.

A presidential endorsement, if it’s forthcoming, could tip the scales in bright red Kentucky.

“If Trump endorses, it would likely -- very likely -- be determinative,” said Scott Jennings, a Republican political strategist. “His influence in the party is unquestionable and Kentucky Republicans would respond to his judgment for sure.”

Things could change, of course. The party in the White House typically loses ground in midterm elections. A downward shift in the economy or any negative impact of tariffs on bourbon and other Kentucky-made products could diminish the value of Trump's endorsement with some Kentuckians. Republicans in Washington are weighing potential cuts to Medicaid, a health care lifeline for many people in Kentucky.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee said the now-open Kentucky Senate seat in 2026 would create “an additional defensive headache” for national Republicans.

Trump has previous ties with both Cameron and Barr. He endorsed Cameron’s run for governor about 11 months before the 2023 gubernatorial primary. Cameron never looked back in winning the nomination but lost to Beshear, who won a second term. In 2018, Trump gave Barr a boost by campaigning for him when the congressman faced a tough Democratic challenge in a closely watched House race.

Meanwhile, Morris has cast himself as a political outsider. While Cameron and Barr jockeyed behind the scenes while awaiting McConnell’s decision on the 2026 race, Morris bluntly said it was time for McConnell to retire. He ripped into the senator for opposing a trio of Trump nominations, and accused his potential GOP rivals of lacking the backbone to speak out about the McConnell votes.

“Anyone afraid to upset the establishment will undoubtedly be too cowardly to deliver real, conservative results for the American people,” Morris said in a recent Kentucky newspaper op-ed.

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