Tonight, Andy Barr won Kentucky’s 6th congressional district, beating out Amy McGrath. The district includes Lexington, the second largest city in the state, and Frankfort, the state capital.
McGrath first made headlines in August 2017 with a viral campaign ad showcasing her time in the Marines as one of the first female fighter pilots in combat; the video launched an earth-shattering fundraising haul for McGrath, which topped $6.65 million. She then beat out popular Lexington, Kentucky mayor Jim Gray in a highly competitive primary by eight points; when she’d first launched her campaign, McGrath polled 47 points behind Gray. She campaigned on improving and strengthening the Affordable Care Act, implementing more gun control legislation, campaign finance reform to end special interest spending, and closing loopholes with teachers’ pensions.
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"I’m not a career politician, I’m not a millionaire," McGrath told Refinery29 back in August, "but I’m someone who knows how to serve, who knows how to lead, and when my country called, I stepped up. And I thought, I have to do that now."
Current representative Andy Barr has served three terms in Congress, where he has supported anti-choice agenda items like opposing public funding for abortion, voted to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, and has voted against LGBTQ+ rights. According to FiveThirtyEight, Barr has voted in line with President Donald Trump 96.8% of the time.
During his last days campaigning, Barr referred to several of the Trump administration’s objectives as “right on.” Donald Trump Jr. joined Barr during his last days on the campaign trail, while Paul Ryan joined earlier in October.