Failed Democratic Senate candidate Amy McGrath is reportedly weighing another run for Mitch McConnell’s Kentucky seat in 2026, despite burning through nearly $100 million in 2020 only to lose by 20 points. A source told the Lexington Herald-Leader that McGrath is “seriously considering” the race, setting up a potential replay Republicans would welcome.
McGrath, a former Marine pilot, became a media darling in 2020, with glowing coverage labeling her “credible” while calling McConnell “the least popular senator in the country.” Out-of-state donors poured in more than $94 million, yet McGrath never resonated with Kentucky voters. She barely survived a primary challenge from progressive state legislator Charles Booker—despite outspending him 40-to-1—before McConnell trounced her 58 percent to 38 percent in November.
Her campaign drew criticism for a string of blunders. She compared supporting her bid to serving in uniform, angering veterans. She also had to pull a campaign ad after two coal miners said she featured them without consent, accusing her of exploiting their suffering. Later, a Kentucky war memorial publicly reprimanded her for holding a “prohibited” political event on its grounds.
McGrath’s record mirrors other high-dollar Democratic flops in red states. South Carolina’s Jaime Harrison and Texas’s M.J. Hegar burned through $100 million combined in 2020, only to lose by double digits.
If McGrath does jump in, Republicans will be watching closely. As one reminder of her past missteps, her 2020 launch video failed to even mention Kentucky. Her candidacy, as Politico noted, risks voters seeing her as out of touch and “a sore loser.”
