The top Democrat in the Kentucky House is officially in the race to succeed U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell.
In a video launching her campaign, Minority Floor Leader Pamela Stevenson of Louisville vowed to end the "recklessness" in Washington, if elected.
“I fight for our children, elders, farmers, veterans, and the disabled. I fight for access to healthcare and public education," Stevenson said during her announcement. "I am running for the U.S. Senate because this administration is coming after all of it.”
Rep. Stevenson is the first Democrat to formally launch a bid to replace McConnell, who is retiring at the end of his current term in 2026.
Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s senior advisor and former state lawmaker Rocky Adkins is also considering a bid.
Stevenson said the Republicans lining up to replace McConnell will vote just like him, and took a veiled swipe at Daniel Cameron, saying the former McConnell intern is now his clone.
Cameron, Kentucky's former attorney general, is so far the only Republican to formally declare a bid for the Senate seat.
U.S. Rep. Andy Barr of Lexington and businessman Nate Morris are mulling bids as well.
Stevenson is the first Black woman to hold a leadership role in the Kentucky legislature. She ran unsuccessfully for state attorney general in 2023. Outside of politics, Stevenson is an attorney, minister, and retired Air Force judge advocate general.
Kentucky hasn’t elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since Wendell Ford in 1992.
