PoliVion · Midterms 2026← Back to all races

2026 Kentucky Senate Election

Solid R
Open (McConnell retiring)

About this race

The current officeholder is retiring, so the seat will have a new winner. It’s considered a safe Republican seat. Andy Barr, a Republican, has taken $300K in donations linked to AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobbying group. Charles Booker, a Democrat, has publicly rejected support from AIPAC.

Key issues in Kentucky

Major issues facing Kentucky, based on 2025–2026 reporting. Compare them with what each candidate says they focus on below.

Candidates & funding

Andy Barr Republican Nominee

Campaign raised $10,200,000
Super PAC / outside spending $7,500,000Small-dollar / grassroots $10.2M
AIPAC-linked $300KFundVoter-reported, career 2024–2026 — methodology replication pending
⚠ Pro-Israel: ~$300K career pro-Israel lobby contributions (TrackAIPAC/OpenSecrets). Listed as AIPAC-aligned rep. ip_foreign:8 applied.
No 2026 conduit activity detectedFEC filings show no earmarked contributions via conduits this cycle
2026 fundraising (FEC)$12,046,429 raised · $13,009,756 spent · $2,729,751 cash on hand through Sep 30, 2026
Focus: Border security, tax cuts, energy, Second Amendment, backing the blue, supporting farmers

Charles Booker Democrat Nominee

Campaign raised $1,200,000
Small-dollar / grassroots ~$1.2M
✓ Rejects AIPAC support — no AIPAC-linked FEC record
2026 fundraising (FEC)$1,714,261 raised · $1,370,336 spent · $343,925 cash on hand through Sep 30, 2026
Focus: Healthcare as a human right, union jobs in every county, clean water and clean air

Where the money comes from

FEC campaign finance data through Sep 30, 2026. Campaign dollars, by source.

Andy Barr RCharles Booker D
Raised$12M$1.7M
Individuals$6.7M56%$1.7M98%
PACs & parties$2.4M20%$31K2%
Self-funded$0$0
Other$2.9M24%$2020%
AIPAC-linked*$300K—
Outside spending†——

* AIPAC-linked money is already counted in the rows above — it flags the pro-Israel share, not extra money.

† Independent spending on ads for or against a candidate. It never goes to their campaign.

“Individuals” covers both small-dollar (under $200) and large donors.

Who are the biggest donors?

Every donor ranked by how much they gave, from the candidate’s own FEC filings — individuals, PACs, and party committees all in one list. Expand a candidate to see theirs, then tap any name to learn more about the donor.

Why are so many gifts exactly $10,000? That’s the legal maximum a PAC can give one candidate for the whole cycle — $5,000 for the primary plus $5,000 for the general — so many PACs give the max. Individuals can give up to $3,500 per election.

Andy Barr 4072 donors
FINANCIAL POSITION
Campaign raised$12.0M
Campaign spent$13.0M
Cash on hand$2.7M
FEC 2026 through 09/30/2026
CANDIDATE-CONTROLLED MONEY
Individuals56%
PACs / committees20%
Self-funding0%
Share of campaign receipts. FEC 2026.
ROUTED CONTRIBUTIONS
No 2026 conduit activity detected
FEC filings show no earmarked contributions via conduits this cycle. Career AIPAC-linked total (above) may reflect prior cycles. How conduits work →
  • Party committee$62K
  • Individual$21K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$13K
  • Individual$12K
  • Individual$12K
  • Individual$10K
  • Individual$10K
  • PAC$10K
  • Membership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Corporate PAC$10K
  • Corporate PAC$10K
  • PAC$10K
  • Corporate PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • PAC$10K
  • Corporate PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Corporate PAC$10K
  • Corporate PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • PAC$10K
  • PAC$10K
  • Corporate PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Individual$10K
  • Individual$10K
  • Individual$8K
  • Corporate PAC$8K
  • Individual$8K
  • Corporate PAC$8K
  • Corporate PAC$8K
  • Leadership PAC$8K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K

Showing the 50 biggest of 4072 donors. The other 4022 gave $5.3M combined.

Plus $786K from small donors giving under $200 each — those aren’t itemized by name.

See Andy Barr’s full FEC filings →

Charles Booker 522 donors
FINANCIAL POSITION
Campaign raised$1.7M
Campaign spent$1.4M
Cash on hand$344K
FEC 2026 through 09/30/2026
CANDIDATE-CONTROLLED MONEY
Individuals98%
PACs / committees2%
Self-funding0%
Share of campaign receipts. FEC 2026.
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$6K
  • Individual$6K
  • Labor PAC$5K
  • Leadership PAC$5K
  • Labor PAC$5K
  • PAC$5K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Labor PAC$4K
  • Individual$3K
  • Individual$3K
  • Individual$3K

Showing the 50 biggest of 522 donors. The other 472 gave $210K combined.

Plus $658K from small donors giving under $200 each — those aren’t itemized by name.

See Charles Booker’s full FEC filings →

These figures come from the candidate’s own itemized FEC reports (2026 cycle, through the coverage date above), with amendments applied and refunds netted. Joint fundraising transfers are left out of the ranking: they’re pass-throughs, and the individual donations behind them are listed above. Bank interest, vendor refunds, and other non-donation receipts are excluded. Donor names are as reported — the same person can appear twice if their name was recorded differently. Independent spending on ads is never included here — see the Outside spending column.

More Kentucky races

← Kansas District 4Kentucky District 1 →
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