Republican Congressman Andy Barr has won the Republican Senate primary in Kentucky, securing a major victory boosted by the endorsement of President Donald Trump.
The Associated Press projected Barr as the winner shortly after polls closed in western Kentucky on Tuesday evening.
Barr will now face Democrat Charles Booker in the November general election. Booker secured the Democratic nomination after defeating frequent candidate Amy McGrath, with support from his “Hood to the Holler” political movement.
The Senate seat has been occupied by longtime Republican Senator Mitch McConnell since 1984 and is widely regarded as a strong Republican stronghold.
The GOP primary became highly competitive after McConnell announced last year that he would not seek re-election.
Political observers largely viewed Trump’s “Complete and Total Endorsement” of Barr earlier this month as a decisive turning point in the race.
Speaking previously about the endorsement, Barr described Trump’s backing as “a dam break” for additional supporters.
Following Trump’s endorsement on Truth Social, Barr also received support from Senate Republican Leader John Thune, National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Tim Scott, Kentucky Congressman Brett Guthrie and major Republican donors Joe and Kelly Craft.
At his victory celebration in Lexington, Barr appeared alongside his family and was introduced by his 12-year-old daughter, Mary Clay Barr.
During his speech, he thanked his family, campaign team, supporters, Trump and McConnell while pledging to bring what he described as Kentucky values to Washington.
“One party wants to open our borders, let people into our country illegally, and defund the police,” Barr said. “I do not. One party wants to replace free enterprise with socialism and promote government dependency over the dignity of work. I do not.”
He continued: “One party wants to use fear to drive an irrational shift to more expensive, less reliable energy that will hurt our economy. I do not. One party thinks it’s a good idea to force women athletes to compete against biological males. I do not.”
“One party thinks taxes should be higher, wealth is wrong, health insurance should come only from government, and that Kentucky coal should be eliminated, taking within 1000s of good jobs with it, and that’s why I say the future will be built by Kentucky common sense not the craziness of politicians on the extreme far left who promote these national issues.”
