LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Minority Floor Leader Pamela Stevenson, D-Louisville, launched her U.S. Senate campaign, vowing to help “stop the recklessness” in Washington if elected. The seat has long been held by Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who is not seeking reelection in 2026.
Stevenson, an attorney and minister, ran for state attorney general in 2023 but lost by a wide margin to Russell Coleman, R-Ky. The only Kentucky Democrats to win statewide that year were Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., and his running mate, Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, D-Ky., who won reelection to second terms.
Known for a fiery speaking style at the Kentucky Capitol, Stevenson pledged to continue fighting for health care access and public education, noting in an introductory digital profile that her legislative colleagues “know they only have a problem with me if they go after” her causes.
Her Senate announcement came days after Kentucky lawmakers ended their 2025 session.
In the digital profile, Stevenson didn’t mention by name President Donald Trump, but she said she disapproved of the country’s direction.
“We need someone to stop the recklessness in Washington,” said Stevenson. “Someone to restore the balance of power.”
Stevenson is the first Black woman to lead a legislative caucus in the Kentucky General Assembly. In her digital biographical sketch, she said her father was a union welder and her mother was a clerk. Stevenson said they lived down the street from her grandparents’ church, where Stevenson serves as a minister, and she discussed her military service as a judge advocate general in the U.S. Air Force.
McConnell, the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history, announced in Feb. 2025 that he won’t seek reelection next year but will retire when his current term ends. Kentucky hasn’t elected a Democrat to the Senate since Wendell Ford in 1992.
On the Republican side, former state Attorney General Daniel Cameron has entered the Senate race, while U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, R-Lexington, and businessman Nate Morris are considering Senate runs. All three speak glowingly of Trump, hoping to land his endorsement. Beshear defeated Cameron in the 2023 governor’s race, and speculation continues to build over whether the term-limited Beshear will run for president in 2028.
One potential wild card in Kentucky’s Senate race next year is Democrat Rocky Adkins, a former longtime state lawmaker who has deep political connections statewide. Adkins lost to Beshear in the 2019 Democratic gubernatorial primary and now serves as Beshear’s senior adviser in the governor’s office.
“While Rocky continues to receive tremendous encouragement from across Kentucky, he has not made any decisions on any race,” said Emily Ferguson, a spokesperson for Adkins.
