LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday endorsed Kentucky congressman Andy Barr in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell, the former longtime Senate GOP leader.

“Andy Barr has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next United States Senator from Kentucky,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

Barr is facing former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron and entrepreneur Nate Morris in the May 19 Republican primary.

All three Republicans coveted the president’s endorsement in the conservative state, where Trump won 64% of the vote in the 2024 presidential race. Barr and Morris have run numerous ads featuring Trump, and Morris has received financial support from conservative ally Elon Musk.

Republican candidates in the Kentucky race have made very little mention of McConnell during the campaign, reflecting the changing dynamics of the Trump-led GOP.

Each has a connection to McConnell. Cameron is a former aide, Barr has referred to the senator as a mentor, and Morris worked as an intern in McConnell’s office. Trump once praised McConnell as an ally but more recently has been critical of the seven-term senator.

The Democratic field includes former state lawmaker Charles Booker and former Marine pilot Amy McGrath. Booker narrowly beat McGrath in the 2020 Democratic primary to face McConnell.

Democrats have not won a U.S. Senate race in Kentucky since 1992.

The Associated Press