After former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced in February his intention to retire at the end of his current term, it set off a wave of speculation over who would jump into the race to replace the elder GOP statesman.
So far, only Daniel Cameron, who served as attorney general of Kentucky from 2020 to 2024 (with a stint as acting attorney general before that), has officially joined the race.
Cameron previously drew an endorsement from Donald Trump during the 2023 Republican primary in the Kentucky governor’s race, but he lost the general election to incumbent Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear. Beshear, a Democrat, beat Cameron by about 5 percentage points.
Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., is also contemplating a run for the Senate seat, which the seven-term McConnell.
“As I’ve said before this announcement, I am considering running for Senate because Kentucky deserves a senator who will fight for President Trump and the America First agenda. I’ve done that every day in the House and would do so in the Senate. I’m encouraged by the outpouring of support, and my family and I will be making a decision about our future soon, Barr posted on X.
Barr raised more than $2.2 million since January, and his political action committees have $5.3 million in cash ready, should the need arise.
McConnell has held his Senate seat since 1985 and served as Senate majority leader from 2015 to 2021 and Senate minority leader from 2021 to 2025. In recent years, the Kentucky senator has been marked with health woes, including mobility issues and episodes where he would freeze up. The senior senator from Kentucky has also drawn the ire of Republicans resulting from his opposition to some of Trump’s Cabinet nominees. McConnell sided with most Democrats in voting against the president’s nominees for the secretaries of the departments of Defense, Labor, and Health and Human Services, as well as for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
McConnell was also the only Senate Republican to oppose Elbridge Colby, who was recently confirmed for a senior role at the Pentagon.
As such, prospective Republicans looking to replace McConnell will likely be courting Trump’s endorsement, rather than that of the 83-year-old Kentuckian.
Kentucky’s junior senator is Rand Paul, who is known for sometimes bucking the party line on issues such as on the budget resolution and funding Ukraine war.
Kentucky is also home to Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who has also not been afraid to buck the party line. Massie was the only House Republican who didn’t support the bid of Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., to return as speaker of the House for the 119th Congress.
