Rep. Andy Barr, locked in an already contentious 2026 Republican Senate primary in Kentucky, projected strength this week by announcing endorsements from more than 100 of his House colleagues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But when they were reached Thursday by NBC News, spokespeople for two of those members said they were declining to endorse in the race. Another member on the list said he wasn\u2019t, at that moment, endorsing Barr \u2014 though he changed his tune hours later, offering his backing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, is focused solely on his campaign for governor and \u201cis not endorsing in the Kentucky Senate race,\u201d a spokesperson told NBC News. Rep. Tony Wied, R-Wis., hasn\u2019t endorsed Barr, said an adviser, who also noted that the Barr campaign initially misspelled Wied\u2019s last name in the news release proclaiming his support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said in an interview Thursday afternoon that his endorsements are typically accompanied by formal letters \u2014 one of which, he emphasized, he hadn\u2019t yet written for Barr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Barr\u2019s including Issa on his list of House endorsers was \u201cprobably not smart,\u201d Issa told NBC News. \u201cHe leaned a little ahead of his skis on this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thursday evening, after Barr\u2019s campaign was asked about the dispute, Issa wrote in a text message that he had decided to officially endorse Barr but didn\u2019t elaborate on what had changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve worked with Andy Barr for many years, I\u2019ve seen what he delivers for Kentucky, and I\u2019m pleased to endorse him for U.S. Senate,\u201d Issa said later in a statement shared by his political director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Feenstra, Wied and Issa were among 107 House members whom Barr initially included in the Dec. 16 release, which was posted to the campaign\u2019s website. Feenstra\u2019s name was removed from the list Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Others listed and reached Thursday confirmed their support for Barr, who is running against former state Attorney General Daniel Cameron and businessman Nate Morris for the GOP nomination to succeed Sen. Mitch McConnell, who is retiring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Barr spokesperson Alex Bellizzi issued a statement for this article Thursday night that added eight House members to the endorsement list and asserted that \u201cmore than half the House Republican conference\u201d is now backing Barr for the Senate in Kentucky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThank you for pointing out the change to the list,\u201d Bellizzi said in the statement. \u201cPlease add the following to your reporting: Rep. Craig Goldman (R-TX), Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-PA), Rep. Laurel Lee (R-FL), Rep. Vince Fong (R-CA), Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA), Rep. Russ Fulcher (R-ID), Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), and Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mistaken and friction-fueling endorsement announcements aren\u2019t uncommon in political campaigns. In Illinois, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi\u2019s Democratic Senate campaign recently implied he had been endorsed by Rep. Ted Lieu, a fellow Democrat from California who had yet to weigh in on the race. And in Michigan\u2019s competitive Democratic Senate primary, Rep. Haley Stevens backtracked after having boasted a September endorsement from a county commissioner. Her campaign chalked it up to a \u201cmiscommunication.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Barr is seeking to assert himself in a crowded primary as a candidate tightly aligned with President Donald Trump. The release trumpeting his supporters emphasized backing by \u201cPresident Trump\u2019s allies,\u201d including Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and Rep. Ronny Jackson, \u201cPresident Trump\u2019s WH Physician in his first-term.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe need more MAGA Patriots in the U.S. Senate to support President Trump and the America First Agenda. Kentucky could send no one better into the fight than my friend Andy Barr,\u201d Jackson said in a separate statement issued by Barr\u2019s campaign. (Jackson also affirmed his endorsement on social media.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The early dynamics of the Kentucky primary aren\u2019t that clean-cut. The legacy of McConnell \u2014 the longtime Senate GOP leader who tangled with Trump and whose retirement has put the seat up for grabs \u2014 looms over the race. Morris has characterized Barr and Cameron as extensions of the McConnell establishment that has clashed with Trump and his MAGA movement at times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Morris also has played up his ties to Trump\u2019s MAGA base, including his friendship with Vice President JD Vance, who encouraged him to consider the race, and an endorsement from Charlie Kirk, the influential conservative activist, before Kirk was murdered in September. (Trump and Vance haven\u2019t endorsed in the primary.) Morris also has been endorsed by Sens. Jim Banks of Indiana and Bernie Moreno of Ohio, two key Trump allies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Barr has positioned himself both as an experienced legislator worthy of succeeding McConnell and as someone who, unlike McConnell, is unwavering in his support for Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., one of the Barr backers who confirmed his endorsement this week, said: \u201cI have operated and worked with Andy on both a personal and a professional level for well over a decade now, and I truly believe he is one of the smartest, most strategic thinking people that we have here, in all of the U.S. Congress. He is sensitive to political realities, but he\u2019s also aspirational in his policies, and he\u2019s just an outstanding guy and will make an outstanding senator.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Huizenga added: \u201cI know he can work with the president, because I\u2019ve seen him work with the president even through some very contentious issues.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Others who confirmed their support for Barr include Reps. Mark Alford, R-Mo.; Brian Babin, R-Texas; Tim Burchett, R-Tenn.; Carol Miller, R-W.Va.; Max Miller, R-Ohio; Pete Sessions, R-Texas; and Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBurchett has enjoyed serving with Barr in the House and is honored to call him a friend,\u201d Burchett campaign manager Thomas McAfee wrote in an email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Early polls commissioned by Cameron\u2019s campaign and a Barr-aligned super PAC have shown Cameron \u2014 who has won, and lost, a statewide election \u2014 leading the Republican primary field, followed by Barr and the largely unknown Morris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Democratic field includes two past Senate nominees, former state Rep. Charles Booker and Amy McGrath, as well as horse trainer Dale Romans, state House Minority Leader Pamela Stevenson, attorney Logan Forsythe and defense contractor Joel Willett.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whoever wins the GOP nomination will be heavily favored to win the Senate seat. Kentucky hasn\u2019t elected a Democrat to the Senate since it awarded Wendell Ford a fourth and final term in 1992.<\/p>\n\n\n\n