McGrath announces second run for McConnell’s Senate seat

By Cheyanne M. Daniels | 10/07/2025 06:37 AM EDT

The retired fighter pilot said she is “battle-tested and ready to fight.”

Amy McGrath looks ahead.

Amy McGrath looks over the audience gathered for a rally in Danville, Kentucky, on Oct. 28, 2020. Timothy D. Easley/AP

Amy McGrath on Monday officially launched another Kentucky Senate bid, aiming to take the seat held by retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell.

McGrath, a retired fighter pilot, announced her candidacy on the social media site X, saying the Bluegrass State deserves a senator “battle-tested and ready to fight.”

“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 her announcement.

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In 2019, McGrath ran against McConnell in one of the most expensive Senate races in Kentucky history. In 2018, she raised nearly $8 million in her House run. She narrowly lost that race to Republican Rep. Andy Barr.

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