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Kentucky Republican Rep. Andy Barr won Kentucky’s crowded Republican Senate primary Tuesday, benefiting from a late endorsement by President Donald Trump in the race to succeed retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell.
Barr emerged from an 11-candidate Republican field, positioning him for a November general election contest that will determine who replaces McConnell, the longest-serving Republican leader in Senate history.
The race carried added significance because it marks a transition point in Kentucky politics after decades of McConnell’s influence in the Senate. McConnell, once a key Trump ally, later became one of the president’s most prominent Republican critics.
President Trump’s endorsement played a major role in Barr’s victory. The president backed Barr earlier this month, giving the congressman a boost in one of the nation’s most competitive Republican Senate primaries.
“We did have a lead before the endorsement,” Barr said during a campaign event Monday. “Our lead has skyrocketed since then in the polling that we’re looking at, but we don’t take anything for granted.”
Barr defeated former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who argued throughout the campaign that voters were more focused on local concerns than national political endorsements.
Trump praised Barr as a loyal ally and described him as the strongest Republican candidate for the general election.
“He is the only Candidate who will easily defeat the Democrat in what will be one of the most important Elections in American History,” President Trump said in a statement supporting Barr.
President Trump also highlighted Barr’s support for eliminating the Senate filibuster in order to advance the SAVE America Act, legislation aimed at tightening voter eligibility requirements.
The proposal has stalled in the Senate because of Democratic opposition and resistance from some Republicans. Last month, a version of the legislation failed to secure enough Republican support to clear a 50-vote procedural hurdle.
“He will do everything in his power to get it done,” Trump said. “It is desperately needed by the Republican Party to pass the SAVE AMERICA ACT, and all other things necessary for a strong and brilliant Country!”
Barr, who has represented Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District since 2013, will now face the Democratic nominee in November in a race expected to draw national attention as Kentucky enters a new era after McConnell’s retirement.
