RICHMOND, Ky. — The field of candidates in the upcoming race to replace outgoing U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell is growing.

U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, a Republican who’s represented the Lexington area for a dozen years, announced he will be running for McConnell’s Senate seat next year. He launched his campaign April 22 with a video posted on social media, taking aim at the “woke left” and promising to support President Donald Trump.

Later that evening, Barr made an in-person campaign announcement during an event in Richmond.

McConnell announced in February that he would not be seeking an eighth term in the Senate, ending his run as the longest-serving senator in Kentucky’s history.

Barr has represented Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District since 2013 and has continually risen in the ranks as a federal lawmaker. He was a frontrunner to chair the House Financial Services Committee this year, and currently chairs the House Financial Institutions Subcommittee.

Before becoming a U.S. House representative, he was a legislative assistant for former U.S. Sen. Jim Talent, R-Missouri, and served as deputy general counsel for former Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher.

Barr’s announcement

In his video announcing the run, Barr aligns himself with Trump, saying he’s running for Senate to “help our president save this great country.”

Priorities he lists in the video include cutting taxes, slashing waste, firing “deep state bureaucrats who steal our freedoms,” deporting undocumented migrants in the U.S. and ending diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, while also creating jobs, promoting coal and ensuring transgender women are required to use restrooms and other facilities aligned with their biological sex.

“The liberals are going to cry, whine and blame Trump — they always do,” he says. “But today, the sun shines bright on our old Kentucky home. America is worth fighting for, and now is the time for winning.”

His campaign already has support. In the hours after the post, Barr touted endorsements from U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, the Louisiana Republican who serves as House majority leader, and U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, a New York Republican and notable Trump ally who called Barr “as reliable as they come in fighting for President Trump and supporting our MAGA agenda.”

Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky competitive swimmer and anti-transgender activist, also endorsed Barr, emphasizing in a social media post that Barr has “fought nonstop to protect girls’ sports.”

Gaines previously supported Daniel Cameron in the 2023 gubernatorial election and joined him on his campaign trail. Cameron is also running for McConnell’s Senate seat.

Fellow Kentucky U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers is on board as well, according to a spokesperson, who sent a statement saying the longtime Southeastern Kentucky congressman has “no doubt that Andy Barr will fight every day to protect Eastern Kentucky and Kentucky Coal in the Senate.”

More than 200 people, including elected officials and others, turned out for his campaign kickoff in Richmond.

In his speech, Barr made his message clear: Trump needs more “America first fighters,” and he wants to be one of them in the Senate.

“I’m running for the Senate with everything I’ve got to keep on fighting to make America great again,” Barr said. “I truly believe that President Trump’s life was spared in Pennsylvania because God had a plan for him, and we’re watching that plan unfold every single day.”

He emphasized he would continue to work with Trump to embrace innovation and give Americans better access to “more affordable and innovative financial products and services” to increase the power of free enterprise and restore the “American dream.”

Barr also praised policies Trump has implemented, including executive orders that protect coal-fired power plants and banning transgender athletes from girls and women’s sports.

“I want to tell you something, one of the strangest things I see right now is that the people who scream and cry about equality and fairness are the very same people who can’t even define what a woman is and refuse to protect our daughters in girls sports,” Barr said, drawing cheers from the fired up crowd.

When asked if he has Trump’s endorsement, Barr told reporters “we’re working every day to earn it.”

“We feel really good about where we are there, but ultimately, we want to earn the support of the voters of Kentucky, and they’re the ones who are ultimately going to decide this election,” Barr said.

He also touted his current role as a congressman, saying he is in a unique position to help advance Trump’s agenda now and fight for “America-first policies.”

Multiple speakers also spoke in support of Barr at the event, including Marine Corps veteran Matt Bradford, who said he “couldn’t think of a stronger person to stand up for all of us than Andy Barr.”

Pastor Rodney Coffey said while he’s seen a lot of politicians change when they step foot in Washington, D.C., Barr has “never changed his standards.”

“He stood for Kentucky values,” Coffey said. “He stood for the values that we stand up for. He’s never turned his back on his Christian convictions, and that’s why we need this man in the U.S. Senate.”