Two Democrats threw their hats in the ring to fill retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell‘s (R-KY) Senate seat, joining the race as political outsiders against front-runner Democratic state Rep. Pamela Stevenson.
Logan Forsythe, a former Secret Service special agent under former President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump and current attorney, launched his campaign Tuesday with a video announcement focused on his story emerging from poverty in rural Lyon County, Kentucky.
He highlighted his hard work as the first person in his family to graduate from college and law school after fighting through “stripping tobacco by the age of seven” and living in a “1995 Dodge Caravan” during high school.
“I’m not a billionaire or a politician, in fact, most folks with my story, they don’t make it out of a place like Lyon County, much less run for Senate,” Forsythe said. “And I think that’s the problem. Maybe politicians who’ve been living on easy street their whole lives don’t understand the hardships that the rest of us are facing.”
The University of Kentucky graduate, who worked in contracting for the Department of Defense before becoming a federal agent, became an attorney for families in rural Kentucky after a car crash ended his Secret Service career. Forsythe said he decided to run for Senate after seeing Congress pass the “big, beautiful bill,” which affected SNAP and healthcare benefits, and his son asking him, “What are you going to do to fix what’s going on?”
Forsythe joined Stevenson in the Democratic race for the Senate seat on Tuesday, less than 24 hours before Joel Willett announced his candidacy and turned the primary into a three-way race.
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Willett, an ex-CIA officer-turned-businessman, made headlines in recent weeks after Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard revoked his security clearance. Laura Loomer posted on X about Willett’s security clearance being revoked, saying she flagged his name after seeing he signed a letter calling for Trump’s impeachment in 2019. Willett said in his announcement video that he received death threats following the incident.
“I’ve seen firsthand how the Trump administration and their far-right allies are trying to weaponize the government against anyone who disagrees with them,” Willett said in a news release. “That just made me more determined to run.”
Willett focused his campaign announcement on rising costs for Kentucky families, how he came from a home in Valley Station, Kentucky, embroiled with opioid addiction, and made it out as “one of the lucky ones” thanks to support from his grandparents and faith.
“I’m not a billionaire, I’m not a politician, I’m just a Kentucky guy who fought like hell to get here. And if you give me the chance, I will fight like hell for you,” Willett said, echoing a similar sentiment to Forsythe’s.
Each Senate primary race in Kentucky now boasts three declared major candidates. The Republican primary, between Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY), former state Attorney General Daniel Cameron, and businessman Nate Morris, has become a competitive showdown as the three candidates battle for an endorsement from Trump.
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Gov. Andy Beshear’s (D-KY) team has shot down speculation that he may run for the Senate seat.
Primary Election Day is set for May 19, 2026. The Senate general election is still over a year away, set for Nov. 3, 2026.