Republican Rep. Andy Barr of Kentucky announced Tuesday he is running for retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell’s seat.
“I’m Andy Barr, and I’m running for Senate to help our president save this great country,” Barr said in a post on X announcing his candidacy. “Together, we’ll cut taxes, slash waste and fire the deep state bureaucrats who steal our freedoms.”
Barr, who has represented Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District since 2013, aligned himself with President Trump’s agenda.
“The United States is the greatest country on Earth, and it’s not even close. But here’s the problem. The woke left wants to neuter America – literally,” the Republican said in the video.
“They hate our values. They hate our history. And goodness knows they hate President Trump,” he added. “But here in Kentucky, that’s why we love him. I’m Andy Barr, and I’m running for Senate to help our President save this great country.”
I’m running for Senate to help President @realdonaldtrump save this great country!
Together, we’ll deport the illegals, end this DEI nonsense, and lock up the sickos who allow men into girls locker rooms.
WATCH my announcement now and join us in this fight! pic.twitter.com/NOJaFhwdH5
— Andy Barr (@barrforsenate) April 22, 2025
Barr said he would “deport illegal aliens, instead of putting them up in luxury hotels,” and “get rid of this anti-coal, do-gooder ESG garbage once and for all.”
“Working with President Trump, I’ll fight to create jobs for hardworking Kentuckians, instead of warm and fuzzies for hardcore liberals,” he continued. “And as a dad, let me be clear. I’ll fight to lock up the sickos who allow biological men to share locker rooms with our daughters.”
He joins Kentucky’s former attorney general, Daniel Cameron, in what could become a thorny GOP primary for a likely ruby red seat. […]
In 2024, Barr recaptured his central Kentucky House seat by a comfortable 26 points. He raised $1.8 million in the first three months of the year, dwarfing Cameron’s numbers. And just after jumping into the Senate race Tuesday, he scored an endorsement from Trump ally Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.).
Cameron has long been seen as an heir apparent to McConnell, but his political career was derailed after he lost a 2023 gubernatorial contest to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear. Trump had endorsed Cameron’s governor’s campaign. (Politico)
Barr said on Tuesday he asked President Trump for an endorsement.
“Yes I have, and I’d be honored to have it and I continue to work to earn it,” Barr told WHAS11 about a potential endorsement. “Kentucky deserves a United States Senator who will support President Trump and his agenda and he knows that I’m with him.”
