Andy Barr says he’s the only GOP candidate who can defeat Amy McGrath to succeed McConnell

EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., said he is the only Kentucky Senate candidate with the “America First” track record and experience needed to keep the open state Senate seat red as Sen. Mitch McConnell’s 40-year term draws to a close.

After serving seven terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, Barr is running to replace McConnell in the Senate, with the former party leader retiring next year. As Amy McGrath announces her campaign for the Democratic nomination this week, Barr is also preparing for a potential rematch.

“I relish the opportunity for revenge, especially on a statewide level, where the electorate is much more conservative than the swing district where I represented the last seven terms,” Barr told Fox News Digital.

McGrath unsuccessfully challenged Barr for Kentucky’s 6th congressional district in 2018. She then lost to McConnell when she ran for his Senate seat in 2020.

Trump-backed candidate wins crowded Republican primary in battle for vacant seat

Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., smiles during a House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington on Nov. 20, 2024. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“She’s a proven loser,” Barr said. “She’s set Democratic donors’ money on fire twice, and I’ve even seen Democrats bemoan the fact that she’s retreading her old messages. She’s a stale candidate, and I think there’s a fatigue factor with Amy McGrath.”

DEM SHELLACKED BY MCCONNELL IN 2020 MOUNTS NEW SENATE CANDIDACY: “WASHINGTON COWARDS BOW TO DONALD TRUMP”

Despite the criticism, Barr admitted that McGrath is the “darling of the far left” with a unique fundraising record, so it wouldn’t surprise him if Democrats nominated her to run for the open Senate seat.

“I’m the only candidate in this U.S. Senate race who has a proven track record of defeating Amy McGrath and her fundraising in the purple district. If you want to stand in her way, if you want to defeat the Kentucky Democrats, nominate the one who has a proven track record of beating Amy McGrath,” Barr said.

Barr beat McGrath by just over three percentage points in 2018, although the former Marine fighter pilot reportedly increased almost twice as much money like him.

Amy McGrath on stage during the Concordia Lexington Summit 2022 at the Lexington Marriott City Center on April 7, 2022, in Lexington, Kentucky. (Jon Cherry/Getty Images for Concordia)

Barr described himself as a “pro-Trump Republican U.S. Congressman,” who values ​​limited government, free enterprise and a strong national defense. Barr told Fox News Digital that he is the only candidate in the race with experience implementing President Donald Trump’s agenda.

Former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron and businessman Nate Morris are among the contenders for the Republican nomination for the open Kentucky Senate seat.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., responds to a question from a reporter during a news conference following the weekly Senate Republican policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol, Nov. 19, 2024, in Washington. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“The Kentucky Republican Party is ascendant as a result of Senator McConnell’s 40 years in office,” Barr said, telling Fox News Digital that the Kentucky electorate has shifted to the right since McGrath’s last two elections.

“The Kentucky electorate is even more conservative, more pro-Trump than it was in the first two elections, first against me in 2018 and then against Mitch McConnell in 2020. Kentuckians have rejected these extreme, extremely liberal views,” he said.

Asset won Kentucky by more only 30 points last year. While former Vice President Kamala Harris won Fayette County, which includes Lexington and is part of the 6th Congressional District, by 18 percentage points in 2024, Barr won re-election by 26 points.

Barr is one of only three House Republicans to won the districts that Harris won in 2024.

“Everyone knows Daniel Cameron is the favorite in this race. You’re basically setting your money on fire if you give it to Andy Barr,” Cameron’s campaign responded when reached for comment, arguing that Cameron is the “America First” candidate.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

And McGrath told Fox News Digital that Kentucky voters are “tired of longtime politicians like Andy Barr who care more about pleasing Donald Trump than solving real problems here at home.”

“It’s time for him to spend less energy playing politics and more time serving the people he’s supposed to represent,” the Democrat added.

Fox News Digital reached out to Morris’ campaign but did not immediately receive a response.