Retired U.S. marine fighter pilot, Amy McGrath, recently announced she will be running for U.S. senate in 2026. The seat, held by Mitch McConnell, will be vacant for the first time in nearly 40 years.
McGrath, an adamant critic of the Trump administration, said her first action as a senator would be to bring affordable healthcare back to the Commonwealth. In the past, McGrath supported a public option for healthcare, however she said more ambitious policies like that must take a back burner to what she deems more pressing issues.
“Well, the first thing we can do immediately is stop the tariffs. We’re shooting ourselves in the foot as far as prices go,” said McGrath. “In terms of healthcare, we need to fix the problems they have created for us.”
McGrath first ran for Kentucky’s 6th congressional district in 2018 followed by a campaign for senate against the then incumbent Mitch McConnell. Despite losing both elections, she remains optimistic that she can work to represent the people of the Commonwealth at the national level. She said the political climate is much different this time around and people want meaningful change more than ever.
“On the most important stuff, which is the stuff that affects people’s everyday lives, it is different. I haven’t met anyone who thinks things are better,” she said. “Things are much, much, worse, and that, ultimately, is why I am running.”
McGrath enters the field with Democrats State Rep. Pamela Stevenson, Lexington attorney and former Secret Service Agent Logan Forsythe, and Veteran Joel Willett. On the Republican side are Representative Andy Barr, former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, and Lexington businessman Nate Morris.