Kentucky Politics Insider: A Grimes comeback? Vibes at Barr launch & Beshear latest
For us at the Herald-Leader, one of those new things is what you're reading now: The Kentucky Politics Insider.
This will be a new feature from me, senior politics reporter Austin Horn, published at least every two weeks.
You want to know more about Kentucky's political scene? I aim to bring an insider's perspective.
Expect analysis on the biggest political stories in our commonwealth, under-the-radar news items that drive decisions, in-depth on-scene reporting and a synthesis of the insider political conversation brought directly to you.
You'll learn a lot, I promise.
And I hope it sparks a statewide conversation — or even just a conversation with your co-workers.
This endeavor will work a little differently than what readers are used to from me. The tone will read more conversational, and that's on purpose because much of what I'm presenting is, indeed, the product of conversation. The form fits the content.
But what I'll promise to you is this: Nothing short of my best and a clear-eyed analysis of the fast-moving developments that define Kentucky politics.
So let's strike up that conversation. Tell me what you like, dislike or what I missed. Any of your thoughts on Kentucky politics — local, state or federal — I'm all ears.
Please email me at ahorn@herald-leader.com or ping me on any one of the various social media sites.
Onto the latest from this Kentucky Politics Insider:
Things are bustling behind-the-scenes as it relates to Kentucky's 6th District.
The prospective field in the Congressional district now that Rep. Andy Barr is going for the Senate seat to be abandoned by Mitch McConnell in 2026 has been much-discussed in Kentucky political circles and in the Herald-Leader.
Here's an update on the Democratic side of things.
Speculation has abounded about Rocky Adkins, the senior political adviser to Beshear, and former state representative Cherlynn Stevenson, in particular. Stevenson, the Lexington Democrat, now seems the more likely of those two to jump in.
Some new names to watch: Zach Dembo, David Kloiber and Alison Lundergan Grimes.
Kloiber was the only one to confirm interest directly to me. He said he's 'seriously considering and looking into it.'
As a member of Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council, Kloiber ran a 2022 campaign in an attempt to unseat Mayor Linda Gorton. He made it to the primary, but fell short with just 29% of the vote to Gorton's 71%.
Kloiber has the potential to tap into a large family fortune for a run. He spent more than $630,000 of his own money on the run against Gorton.
Dembo is a federal prosecutor in Lexington who worked a stint in Beshear's office during the governor's first term. He declined to comment for this story.
You might have heard of that final name before. Grimes was once one of the most prominent Democrats in the state, and at 46, she's got plenty of time to become one again.
A two-term Kentucky Secretary of State, Grimes ran to unseat McConnell in 2014. She's the daughter of Jerry Lundergan, a titan of Democratic politics who's continued to make headlines through his legal battles.
Lundergan was convicted in 2018 for contributions made through a corporation to his daughter's Senate bid. Former President Joe Biden pardoned him in one of his final acts as president in January.
Grimes was no stranger to controversy herself.
In a saga that ended with her being cleared of all charges and fines, the Executive Branch Ethics Commission had charged her with violation of state ethics code for ordering the downloading and distribution of voter registration data from her public office as secretary of state.
Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd reversed the commission's decision in a ruling last year. His ruling was later affirmed by a Court of Appeals opinion in March.
The commission did not appeal the opinion to the Kentucky Supreme Court, ending the legal battle between the two parties.
Grimes, a Lexington resident whose name ID is likely still high in the district, did not respond to my messages or calls on this topic.
Nonetheless, her name is being floated by some in political circles as a potential candidate.
It is worth noting that U.S. Rep. Andy Barr's event last week launching his 2026 candidacy for U.S. Senate was, by all traditional measures of success, well done.
More than 200 people crowded the Richmond event venue where it was held. Energy, from the crowd and the candidate himself, was high. The staging was put together neatly.
And in the crowd were quite a few elected officials. Of course, the big endorsement news of Barr's launch was someone who wasn't there: longtime Southern and Eastern Kentucky Rep. Hal Rogers.
Rogers, who's earned the Dean of the U.S. House designation for being the longest continuously serving member of the House, has represented the 5th Congressional District for more than 40 years.
But Rogers wasn't the only prominent person, elected or not, to endorse Barr.
Sen. Phillip Wheeler, R-Pikeville, was one of more than 200 people on scene at Barr's campaign launch, donning a freshly-printed 'Barr for Senate' hat. Wheeler has known Barr since he first got to Transylvania University as an 18-year-old. Barr was, at the time, the Fayette County Young Republicans chair.
'He's just a really good guy, and somebody who doesn't forget you, even from way back,' Wheeler said. 'That counts for me. He's a good man to stick with you, so I'm sticking with that.'
That personal element permeated other Republican state lawmakers, current and former, who backed Barr at the event. They included, but weren't limited to, Rep. Kim King of Harrodsburg, Sen. Scott Madon of Hazard, former Nicholasville representative Killian Timoney and several more.
King thought Barr's relationship-building across the state would pay dividends.
'He has a lot of friends all across the state that are just itching to get him in their doors and in their neighborhoods to introduce him to their people,' King said.
Braden Lacefield, a Woodford County High School senior who serves as co-chair of the High School Republican National Federation, made another practical argument for Barr: Central Kentucky is where you win the state.
'You've got to look at an election from the general election aspect through the primary, and Andy Barr is overall the best candidate to win for Republicans,' Lacefield said.
'He's clearly over-performed in central Kentucky compared to most other Republicans, and that's really where this race is going to be won.'
The question with Barr's local endorsements is this: Do they even matter anymore?
Former commissioner of agriculture Ryan Quarles, who came in second to former attorney general Daniel Cameron for the 2023 GOP gubernatorial nomination, locked in 235-plus endorsements from state representatives and local electeds — far more than Cameron.
But Cameron had the endorsement of then-former President Donald Trump, and that proved the most important by far in his 48% rout over the crowded and well-funded field.
In this latest statewide primary, Cameron, who was the first to announce a bid to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell, doesn't have Trump's endorsement.
Nobody does — at least not yet.
Trump, however, posted to Truth Social, his own social media platform, a link to a recent Barr op-ed praising him after 100 days in office. The president had posted a handful of similar works by GOP members of Congress.
It's worth keeping in mind that in other recent contests, Trump has endorsed multiple candidates at once — something many Kentucky Republicans could see happening in this race.
Vice President JD Vance, however, recently shared a social media post Nate Morris wrote about McConnell. Morris, a Lexington tech entrepreneur widely seen as a potential candidate surveying the race, is friends with the vice president.
But beyond local support, Barr got some early help from national GOP figures.
Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer who has gained prominence in the party for her crusade against transgender women participating in women's sports, gave Barr her full endorsement one day after his campaign launch.
Markwayne Mullin, a U.S. Senator from Oklahoma, also gave Barr the nod 'to get our MAGA agenda across the finish line' in a video endorsement posted the same day.
While some Republicans still seemed convinced Beshear is a possibility for U.S. Senate in 2026, all words from the governor and his team point to an easy answer to that question: No.
His actions are continuing to speak loud on that front. All signs continue to point to Beshear running for president in 2028.
He's gracing the pages of Washington media, launched a podcast, is on television frequently pushing back on Trump, is raising money for his own personal political action committee — all of these things signal an interest in running for higher office once his term as governor is finished.
The latest splash: Hosting U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, on his podcast.
In 2020, Klobuchar was a presidential candidate herself. She was once one of several front-runners, but dropped out and supported former president Biden just before Super Tuesday.
Beshear's interview with her centered around her reason for getting into politics, which began when she advocated for mothers like herself who were temporarily separated from their newborns due to the child's disability. Klobuchar seemed to appreciate the opportunity, reposting segments of the interview on her own social media.
Meanwhile, some other prominent Democrats are finding their own way to gin up presidential talk.
Though he's said he doesn't plan to run in 2028, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore recently got high marks from Kentucky actor George Clooney in a CNN interview. Clooney added, though, that he also likes the prospect of a Beshear candidacy.
'I like him. He's a good guy… He's won in a red state,' Clooney said.
Additionally, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker scored coverage from much of the political press for a speech in early primary state New Hampshire, though he played coy about the 2028 implications.
Beshear has worked to build something of a base of support New Hampshire, using his In This Together PAC to spend $255,000 supporting a gubernatorial candidate there. That candidate, Joyce Craig, lost the race to former U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte by about 10 percentage points.
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