Retired marine fighter pilot and former Democratic House and Senate candidate Amy McGrath announced Monday she's running for Sen. Mitch McConnell's seat again in 2026.
McGrath lost against McConnell in 2020 by nearly 20 percentage points, despite spending more than $90 million over the life of her campaign. In a much closer 2018 House race, McGrath lost against U.S. Rep. Andy Barr by less than 10,000 votes.
Now McGrath is back, launching her campaign for the Democratic nomination with the campaign tagline, "Country over Party," a slogan with former Vice President Kamala Harris also used in her 2024 presidential bid. In her campaign ad, McGrath made a familiar pitch based on her experience as a Marine Corps fighter pilot.
"I know what courage looks like right now. Way too many politicians don't and Americans are being thrown under the bus by cowards in Washington without the moral backbone to serve our nation with honor," McGrath said in the announcement. "You deserve a Senator who acts with decency and patriotism, who believes in the goodness and the promise of America."
McGrath's military career spanned two decades flying dozens of combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. She's also an author who has worked as a liaison officer at the Pentagon, a U.S. Naval Academy instructor and started a nonprofit to help women with service backgrounds run for elected office.
In her first Senate campaign, McGrath said McConnell was getting in the way of President Donald Trump's agenda, saying at the time that she is "not pro or anti-Trump."
McGrath's Monday press release strikes a decidedly anti-Trump tone, saying she is entering the race "to prevent another Trump-aligned candidate from securing an easy path to the Senate."
McGrath also pointed to her previous campaigns, calling herself "battle-tested" and saying she knows how to create a campaign that "can truly compete."
"Twice now, we've built one of the strongest grassroots operations Kentucky has ever seen, and this time we're poised to complete the mission," McGrath said in the release.
Several other Democrats have also jumped into the primary, all with public service background: former Secret Service agent Logan Forsythe, former CIA officer and veteran Joel Willett and retired Air Force Colonel and state Rep. Pam Stevenson. The Republican primary is also hotly contested, largely between former Attorney General Daniel Cameron, Lexington businessman Nate Morris and Barr.
A spokesperson for the National Republican Senatorial Committee said in a statement that he is confident a Republican will win the open Senate seat and slammed McGrath for her previous losses.
"Amy McGrath will never be a U.S. Senator, but we look forward to watching her light Democrat donor dollars on fire trying," said Regional Press Secretary Nick Puglia.
Over the past several months, McGrath has made numerous media appearances, largely on MSNBC, criticizing the Trump administration and especially Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. This weekend, she criticized Hegseth's statements towards women serving in the military, calling it a "slap in the face" to women like herself who have served in combat roles.
The deadline for candidates to file for the primaries is still months off, and primary election day is scheduled for May 19.
Enterprise Statehouse Reporter Joe Sonka contributed to this report.
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