Voters in Kentucky will elect one member to the U.S. Senate in the general election on Nov. 3, 2026. On Feb. 20, 2025, incumbent Mitch McConnell (R), who first took office in 1985, announced that he would not seek re-election in 2026.
According to NBC News’ Ben Kamisar, “McConnell’s departure opens up a plum political office in a state that’s been good to Republicans at the federal level — no Democrat has won a Senate race there in the 21st century. But there’s been less room for Republicans to move up the ladder in the state than one might think: Kentucky has only had four senators since McConnell first won his seat in 1984. Though Beshear’s recent success could encourage some Democrats to run for the seat, it would still be considered an uphill battle, even if the political environment becomes more favorable for the party.”
As of May 20, 2025, noteworthy declared and potential candidates included the following. Click here to view all of the candidates for the seat:
- U.S. Rep. Andy Barr (R), who has represented Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District since 2013 (Declared)
- Daniel Cameron (R), who was the Attorney General of Kentucky from 2019 to 2024 (Declared)
- State Rep. Pamela Stevenson (D), who has served in the Kentucky House since 2021 and was elected minority leader in 2024 (Declared)
- Rocky Adkins (D), a senior advisor in Gov. Andy Beshear’s (D) administration who served in the state House from 1987 to 2019 (Potential)
- Kelly Craft (R), who served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from 2019 to 2021 during President Donald Trump’s (R) first term. (Potential)
- Nate Morris, founder and CEO of the Lexington-based holding company Morris Industries (Potential)
- Scott Jennings (R), a CNN political contributor and public relations consultant (Potential)
- Ryan Quarles (R), who was the Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture from 2016 to 2024 (Potential)
Beshear and U.S. Rep. James Comer (R) also received media attention as possible candidates but representatives for both said they will not run for the seat.
Five of the six U.S. Representatives from Kentucky are Republicans and one is a Democrat. McConnell and U.S. Sen. Rand Paul are both Republicans.
Paul defeated Charles Booker (D) 61.8%-38.2% in the 2022 general election. McConnell defeated Amy McGrath (D) 57.8%-38.2% in the 2020 general election. The last time a Democrat won a U.S. Senate election in Kentucky was Wendell Ford in 1992.
In the seven presidential elections from 2000 to 2024, Republican presidential candidates won the state’s electoral votes. The last time a Democratic presidential candidate won the state’s electoral votes was Bill Clinton (D) in 1992.
Kentucky has had a divided government since 2020. Republicans control both chambers of the state legislature, and Gov. Andy Beshear is a Democrat.
To learn more about other elections on the ballot, click here.