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Nov 3, 2026 · open seat

Kentucky - United States Senate

Mitch McConnell's retirement ends his 40-year hold on this seat — the first open Senate race in Kentucky since 2010.

AB
Andy Barr
Republican · Age 53

U.S. representative since 2013; won the GOP nomination with Trump's endorsement.

Campaign website →
CB
Charles Booker
Democrat · Age 38

Former state representative from Louisville, running for the seat a third time.

Campaign website →
Who's ahead? CookSOLID RSabatoSAFE RDDHQSAFE R
Ratings: Cook Political Report (Aug 20), Sabato’s Crystal Ball (Aug 26), Decision Desk HQ (Aug 5). Source →

No neutral general-election poll of Barr vs. Booker has been released yet. Nonpartisan race raters — Cook Political Report, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and Inside Elections — all rate the seat Solid/Safe Republican, with Cook assigning it an R+7 partisan lean.

See Cook Political Report's Senate ratings → As of July 2026

Where they stand

Tap a topic that's important to you.

BARR SAYS
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BOOKER SAYS
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Money & campaign finance

Where each candidate stands on campaign-finance questions.

BOOKER
BARR
Unknown Ban Congress from trading stocks Unknown
Unknown Takes corporate PAC money Unknown
Fundraising
RAISEDCASH ON HANDUNDER-$200 DONORS
Andy Barr
$10M$2.3M7% of receipts
Charles Booker
$1.1M$310K60% of receipts

Campaign committee totals for the 2025–26 cycle, through June 30, 2026. Under-$200 share is unitemized individual contributions divided by total receipts. FEC filings →

Their big promises

BARR'S TOP 3
Cut taxes & spending
Make the 2025 tax cuts permanent and rein in federal spending.
Secure the border
Back the administration's border enforcement and deportation agenda.
Champion Kentucky coal & bourbon
Roll back energy regulation and defend distillers from retaliatory tariffs.
BOOKER'S TOP 3
Lower everyday costs
Cheaper prescriptions, utilities, and housing for working Kentuckians.
Invest in Appalachia
Bring jobs and infrastructure to counties left behind by coal's decline.
Money out of politics
Reject corporate PAC money and push to overturn Citizens United.

Agree or differ?

Bourbon & distillers vs. tariffs
Both say retaliatory tariffs on Kentucky bourbon exports have hurt distillers and want them resolved
AGREE
Broadband expansion in rural counties
Both back finishing rural broadband buildout across eastern and western Kentucky
AGREE
The 2025 Medicaid & budget law
Barr voted for the law and defends its savings · Booker calls it a giveaway that guts rural hospitals
DIFFER
Minimum wage
Booker backs raising Kentucky's minimum wage · Barr opposes a federal mandate, citing costs to small businesses
DIFFER
Labor unions & right-to-work
Booker is endorsed by and aligned with Kentucky's labor unions · Barr supports the state's right-to-work law
DIFFER
Positions summarized from campaign websites, voting records, and news reports · July 2026
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