WASHINGTON — An invitation obtained by Spectrum News shows Rep. Andy Barr, R-Lexington, is making a “special campaign announcement” in Richmond on Tuesday, April 22.

Multiple Kentucky Republicans confirmed reports by the Lexington Herald-Leader that Barr is expected to officially launch a bid for U.S. Senate.

What You Need To Know

  • An invitation obtained by Spectrum News shows Rep. Andy Barr, R-Lexington, is making a “special campaign announcement” in Richmond next Tuesday

  • Multiple Kentucky Republicans confirmed reporting by the Lexington Herald-Leader that Barr is expected to officially launch a bid for U.S. Senate

  • He’s the second high-profile Republican to enter the race, with more than a year to go until the primary

  • State Rep. Pamela Stevenson, D-Louisville, launched her campaign last month

Longtime Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell announced in February that he won’t seek an eighth term next year.

Moments later, former Kentucky Attorney General and Republican candidate for governor, Daniel Cameron threw his hat in the ring.

University of Louisville Political Science Professor Dewey Clayton expects that President Donald Trump may be a bigger factor in the race than the outgoing senator, he said.

“It was obvious when he stepped down from the leadership and then subsequently decided he was not going to seek reelection that the Republican Party’s now Trump’s party and Kentucky is now Trump’s state,” Clayton said.

In a video shared in February, Cameron promised to back Trump’s agenda and criticized McConnell’s votes on some of the president’s cabinet nominees.

Meanwhile, Barr is defending the president’s tariffs and shared Trump’s remarks from a White House event he attended last week in an online post.

“Thank you, Andy,” the president told Barr. “Good luck with everything. I hear good things.”

Cameron announced this week that his primary campaign raised more than half a million dollars in just over four weeks of fundraising.

The latest FEC numbers show he ended March with more than $455,000 on-hand, compared to Barr –- now in his 12th year in Congress -- who had more than $5.3 million left to carry over from his House campaign account.

“What Barr does not have going for him is he has not run for statewide office, and that’s a different animal than when you’re running just in a single congressional district, so he’s yet to be tested on that,” Clayton said. “He plays well in central Kentucky, where he is. Whether he can play well statewide remains to be seen.”

Lexington businessman and Republican donor Nate Morris is also considered a possible contender and State Rep. Pamela Stevenson, D-Louisville, launched her bid last month.

Kentuckians interested in running for the seat have until next January to file.

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