LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Kentucky U.S. Congressman Andy Barr won the Republican primary for Sen. Mitch McConnell's long-held U.S. Senate seat Tuesday, defeating former state Attorney General Daniel Cameron and a long list of lesser-known challengers.
The Associated Press called the race for Barr on Tuesday night over Cameron and 10 other challengers. As of 9:30 p.m., Barr had 60% of the vote with 84% of precincts reporting.
Barr is a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee and leads a subcommittee overseeing the Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. He competed for the full committee's chairmanship last year but came up short, a setback that set his Senate bid in motion.
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump endorsed Barr, and entrepreneur Nate Morris announced he was withdrawing from the race and joining Trump in endorsing Barr.Â
"I know Andy well, and he is always a Vote we can count on because he knows what it takes to GET THINGS DONE," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
All three Republicans coveted the president's endorsement in the conservative state, where Trump won 64% of the vote in the 2024 presidential race. Barr and Morris ran numerous ads featuring Trump, and Morris received financial support from conservative ally Elon Musk.
The Republican candidates made very little mention of McConnell during the campaign, reflecting the changing dynamics of the Trump-led GOP. But each has a connection to McConnell. Cameron is a former aide, and Barr has referred to the senator as a mentor.
Trump once praised McConnell as an ally but more recently has been critical of the seven-term senator.
In November, Barr will face off against Charles Booker, a former Kentucky state representative, who beat six other Democratic hopefuls Tuesday, including legendary horse trainer Dale Romans and Amy McGrath, who previously beat Booker in the 2020 Democratic primary for McConnell’s seat.
As of 9:30 p.m., Booker had 47% of the vote with 93% of precincts reporting.
Booker, who previously led the Governor's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, grew up in west Louisville and has often highlighted his experience living in one of the state's poorest neighborhoods. He has also spoken about rationing insulin as a child due to high costs — a story he says drives his push for health care reform.
In announcing his candidacy, Booker said Kentucky needs leadership that will "fight for systemic change" as McConnell steps away from party leadership.
Booker's platform includes a wage plan he calls "40 for 40," guaranteeing at least $40,000 a year for full-time workers. He also supports Medicare for All and universal child care, saying families are being squeezed by rising costs.
He served in the Kentucky House beginning in 2018, becoming the youngest Black legislator elected in the state in decades. He later founded Hood to the Holler, a grassroots group aimed at organizing across race and class.
"We are going to flip the US Senate, and when we flip the US Senate, we're going to lift up an agenda for working people," Booker said Tuesday night. "We are going to fight to do the work of securing Medicare for all. We're going to make sure that people have true living wages. We're going to do the work of grabbing racism at the root."
Democrats have not won a U.S. Senate race in Kentucky since 1992.
Copyright 2026 WDRB Media. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All Rights Reserved.
