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Elections in Kentucky |
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The 2026 United States Senate election in Kentucky will be held on November 3, 2026, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Kentucky. Incumbent seven-term Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, who was first elected in 1984, and most recently re-elected with 57.8% of the vote in 2020, declined to run for re-election. [1] This decision follows his earlier announcement to retire as Senate Republican Leader after the 2024 Senate elections.
This will be the first open Senate election in Kentucky since 2010, and the first to this seat since 1972.
Kentucky, a Southern state in the Bible Belt, is generally considered to be a Republican stronghold, having not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1992. Republicans control both U.S. Senate seats, all but two statewide executive offices, supermajorities in both houses of the Kentucky General Assembly, and all but one seat in Kentucky's U.S. House delegation. [2] Democrats control the governorship and lieutenant-governorship which flipped from Republican control in 2019. [3]
McConnell was first elected in 1984, defeating then-incumbent Walter Dee Huddleston, and was re-elected in six subsequent elections. [4]
Campaign finance reports as of June 30, 2025 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Candidate | Raised | Spent | Cash on hand |
Andy Barr (R) | $3,269,336 | $853,170 | $6,109,243 |
Daniel Cameron (R) | $893,223 | $361,190 | $532,033 |
Mike Faris (R) | $3,926 | $5,807 | $0 |
Source: Federal Election Commission [28] |
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size [a] | Margin of error | Andy Barr | Daniel Cameron | Kelly Craft | Thomas Massie | Nate Morris | Other | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
McLaughlin & Associates (R) [29] [A] | April 13–15, 2025 | 500 (LV) | ± 4.5% | 18% | 44% | – | – | 2% | – | 36% |
co/efficient (R) [30] | February 25–26, 2025 | 1,134 (LV) | ± 3.1% | 18% | 39% | – | – | 3% | 11% [b] | 31% |
co/efficient (R) [31] | December 2–3, 2024 | 1,298 (LV) | ± 3.1% | 12% | 37% | 6% | – | 1% | 8% | 36% |
10% | 32% | 3% | 16% | 0% | – | 39% |
Campaign finance reports as of June 30, 2025 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Candidate | Raised | Spent | Cash on hand |
Pamela Stevenson (D) | $225,321 | $176,656 | $48,665 |
Source: Federal Election Commission [28] |
Source | Ranking | As of |
---|---|---|
Inside Elections [39] | Solid R | August 12, 2025 |
The Cook Political Report [40] | Solid R | August 18, 2025 |
Sabato's Crystal Ball [41] | Safe R | August 12, 2025 |
Race To The WH [42] | Safe R | September 4, 2025 |
Partisan clients
A spokesperson for Comer...relayed that Comer has no interest in running for senate even if McConnell does not seek reelection.
Massie publicly floated the prospect of running for Senate on Thursday afternoon, posting a poll on X asking followers whether he should remain in the House, run for Senate or run for governor.
Former Kentucky Senate Republican Floor Leader Damon Thayer told the Kentucky Lantern that...he does not see himself pursuing a run for the open seat.
Stevenson also confirmed during this interview that she is running in the Democratic primary for Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell's seat in 2026.
JT Henderson, a representative for Lt. Governor Jacqueline Coleman, said that Coleman is 'not interested' in running.