Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) is leading Kentucky’s 2026 Senate candidates in end-of-year cash on hand as former state Attorney General Daniel Cameron continues to outperform his GOP competitors in primary polls.
Barr, Cameron, and businessman Nate Morris are locked in a heated primary to secure the GOP nomination in the race to replace retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY). Barr has boasted the largest war chest throughout the race, followed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk-backed Morris, while Cameron lags in fundraising despite his polling leads.
At the end of 2025, Barr finished with $6.47 million in cash on hand, while Morris held $1.42 million in cash on hand, and Cameron had just over $630,000 in cash on hand. Waiting in the wings is a $10 million endorsement that Musk made to Morris’s Super-PAC in mid-January after the fourth quarter deadline, sure to shake up the financial state of the race.
Cameron has led polling by over 15 points throughout the race, despite his lagging fundraising compared to Barr and Morris. Cameron’s campaign manager, Nathanael Hirt, said his team is focused on the fact that it has been winning in the primary polls.
“We will have the resources to win because we’re already winning. Poll after poll shows Daniel Cameron is the best-known and most well-liked candidate in this race, across every type of voter. While others talk about potential, we’re living in the reality of winning,” Hirt said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
But Barr’s campaign communications director, Alex Bellizzi, is pointing to Cameron’s slipping fundraising numbers, pitting his total Q4 contributions against Democratic fundraising leaders Marine veteran Amy McGrath and racehorse trainer Dale Romans.
“Daniel Cameron already embarrassed Republicans by losing a statewide race to Democrats—even with President Trump’s endorsement. Now, he’s being outraised four-to-one by Amy McGrath and two-to-one by Dale Romans, after raising less than $300,000. Nate Morris, meanwhile, is statistically tied with radical Democrat [former state Rep.] Charles Booker, the [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] of Kentucky, in general election polling,” Bellizzi said.
“Andy Barr is the only candidate dominating Democrats in the polls, surging with grassroots momentum, and raising the resources needed to take this race off the map for Democrats in November,” Bellizzi continued.
President Donald Trump has yet to endorse a candidate in the closely watched race, making it likely that he will not weigh in before the May 19 primary. Each of the three candidates has sought to distance themselves from McConnell while campaigning as the most pro-Trump candidate.
“It’s no wonder why Nate has all the momentum in the race, is rising in the polls, and continuing to coalesce support from across the [Make America Great Again] movement: Nate is the only political outsider and America First conservative in the race,” Conor McGuinness, Morris campaign spokesman, said.
“He is the only candidate who is willing to get tough on immigration and call for a full immigration moratorium until we deport every single illegal from this country. And most importantly, he is the only candidate ready and willing to nuke the filibuster in order to help deliver President Trump’s agenda,” McGuinness said.
RNC HAILS MASSIVE FUNDRAISING ADVANTAGE IN 2025 IN FACE OF DEMOCRATS’ BELLWETHER WIN
A source close to the Morris campaign told the Washington Examiner that he is prepared to spend “whatever it takes” to win the race.
On the Democratic side of the race, McGrath, Romans, and Booker lead the race in cash on hand. Other candidates include state Rep. Pamela Stevenson, former Secret Service agent Logan Forsythe, and ex-CIA agent Joel Willett.