Republican Daniel Cameron got about a half hour of air time to make his case to viewers during KET debates held for Kentucky’s U.S. Senate candidates Monday night, while Democrats Amy McGrath, Dale Romans and Charles Booker disagreed on issues like Medicaid and the minimum wage.
Booker, a former state lawmaker, arrived on the debate stage roughly 20 minutes into the Democrats’ debate, which lasted about an hour.
“Thank you all for understanding that it takes a lot to criss cross the commonwealth, building a movement from the hood to the holler, and I’ve yet to figure out how to clone myself, but I’m fired up to be here and honored to have a conversation that is really at the heart of why I’m even running,” Booker said, before jumping into responding to a question about affordability.
After the debate, Cameron’s campaign claimed victory in a statement emphasizing that his had been a “solo performance.” Other top GOP candidates — U.S. Rep. Andy Barr and Lexington businessman Nate Morris — had met KET’s criteria and been debated to appear on the statewide broadcast but chose not to participate.
“He will go anywhere, any time, and any place, to talk to Kentuckians. Daniel doesn’t have to hide because he’s the only candidate with a proven record defending Kentucky values, the only candidate who has consistently stood up for Christians, and the only candidate ready to fight alongside President Trump,” Cameron’s campaign said. “Other candidates can keep spending millions trying to rewrite history, but no amount of wishcasting can buy Daniel Cameron’s track record.”
When asked about the debate, a Barr spokesperson previously said to the Kentucky Lantern: “Why would any Republican appear on PBS, a left-wing outlet that Andy Barr and President Trump defunded? PBS peddled the Russia, Russia, Russia HOAX and is completely discredited as a news outlet. We hope the three people watching enjoy the program.”
Cameron
KET’s Renee Shaw moderated both segments. Starting the evening with Cameron, who was previously the Kentucky attorney general and 2023 GOP nominee for governor, Shaw asked Cameron about his fundraising efforts trailing Morris and Barr and if that would impact his electability.
Cameron said he still thinks his campaign will have the resources to win the race, and he’s had a lot of donations from inside Kentucky.
“As I travel the commonwealth and talk to people all across the state, what they care about is a candidate who is focused on them,” Cameron said. “The money that’s been spent in this race, as a lot of you all can attest to, has been spent attacking personal grievances, airing those grievances on television. And I know from speaking with a lot of you all, you care deeply about a candidate that is focused on the issues that you talk about at your dinner table.”
Other questions asked of Cameron included his thoughts on the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks on the U.S. Capitol while Congress met to certify the 2020 presidential election. Cameron said he would describe the events of the day as “being in the past” and pivoted to “looting and burning” during protests over the death of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman killed by Louisville police officers while they served a no-knock search warrant to the wrong address.
“There weren’t a lot of arrests there, and what I’m convinced of and committed to is ensuring that when it comes to the United States Senate, that our law enforcement community has someone there that is standing firm for their values,” Cameron said.
On the Trump administration’s use of immigration officers, Cameron said he supports the president’s efforts to get “our immigration crisis under control.” Federal ICE officers shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis in January, sparking criticism from Democrats and some Republicans, including Kentucky U.S. Sen. Rand Paul.
“I think we need to fully support and fully fund ICE and CBP (Customs and Border Protection) to make sure that when it comes to illegals that are here, they have to go back,” Cameron said. “We’ve got to start respecting the rule of law in this country.”
Cameron repeatedly expressed support for the SAVE America Act, which is currently stalled in the U.S. Senate. The legislation would require voters to prove their U.S. citizenship while voting in federal elections. While it is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in U.S. elections, Cameron said the measure is “about giving certainty and confidence to people across this commonwealth that have had concerns about the elections.”
Cameron defended Trump’s war on Iran, even as prominent MAGA influencers, like Tucker Carlson, have criticized it. Cameron said that Trump has “said very firmly that this will not be a forever war, that the national security interests of the American people are at stake because we cannot have a regime in Iran that has a nuclear weapon.”
Democrats
McGrath, a former Marine fighter pilot who later worked for Congress, opened her remarks by saying thanks to KET for having the debate.
“I think that anybody that’s running for such an important seat as United States Senate should be in front of voters in the way that you have this forum,” she said, adding that “what’s happening in our country is dangerous and not normal.”
McGrath previously was the Democratic nominee for the 6th Congressional District in 2018 and U.S. Senate in 2020. Asked why this time would be different, McGrath said “the climate is different.” She said the 2020 election year had additional challenges, like the COVID pandemic preventing door-to-door knocking to reach voters and the incumbent at the time, U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell was well funded.
Pointing to Gov. Andy Beshear winning two terms as a Democrat in a red state, she said: “We have an incredible Democratic governor here in Andy Beshear, who’s been able to win twice in an off cycle — very similar electorate to this midterm coming up — and has been able to do that by talking about the things that matter to voters, and that’s what this is all about. That and experience in national security, and I think that’s what’s going to win this thing.”
Romans, who is a longtime race horse trainer from Louisville, has been running as an “independent Democrat,” which he has likened to former U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who late in his U.S. Senate career left the Democratic Party and registered as an independent.
Romans said that “one thing I agree with Trump on: it was time to drain the swamp,” but “it’s swampier now than it’s ever been.” Romans added that he thinks the country is “ready for a different type of politician,” like him who would be able to reach across party lines to find solutions.
“I’m sure you’ll hear tonight a lot of talk about, “I can fight, I can fight. I’m strong enough to fight,’ but I want to go up there and work,” Romans said. “I don’t want to fight for the sake of fighting. I think it takes a lot more strength to reach across the aisle and work with someone you might disagree with than it does just to fight.”
Throughout the night, the Democrats talked about a wide variety of issues and disagreed about raising the minimum wage and Medicaid. When speaking about affordability issues across the country, McGrath said that “we do need to raise the minimum wage,” later adding that she thinks it should be above $12.
“But I feel like there’s so many things that we can be doing at the federal level to help housing, to help people afford higher education. The cuts that have been made hurt everyday people, and so let’s focus on getting those back and then fixing the systemic problems that we have, like health care,” she said.
Romans said raising the minimum wage is “not enough” and comes off as “political rhetoric” to working class voters in Kentucky. He said the One Big Beautiful Bill Act backed by Trump and GOP lawmakers should be repealed.
“You were sold a bill of goods on tax cuts. Did you really get any tax cuts out of it? Go look at your paycheck and see if you’ve got a tax cut,” Romans said, and then added that he believes tax subsidies should be restored for Medicaid and Medicare to lower premiums.
Romans said that a “40 by 40 by 45” plan, or the idea that a person works 40 hours a week to get 40 hours of sick time and a $45,000 minimum income, is “unrealistic.” Booker has backed the idea.
In response, Booker said “there are those who make excuses, and there are those who step up with leadership to provide a vision that we need right now.” He added that a 40-hour work week was also dismissed as “unrealistic” in the past.
On health care, Romans said that “I don’t believe Medicare for everyone would work,” and pointed to high wait times to see a doctor in Canada. He said he’s interested in the idea of dropping the age of Medicare coverage to 50 “because 50 and above is where most of the costs come into play for medical benefits” and it could lower premiums for those under 50.
“At this stage in our country, the moment that we’re facing where so many people are hurting, what we can’t do is regurgitate Republican talking points,” Booker said in response. “And we need leaders that will not simply tell the people of Kentucky what’s not possible, but will actually fight for the change that they’re demanding.”
Booker referred to his diagnosis with Type 1 diabetes as a child and said that Kentuckians should not have to “ration their medicine to put food on the table.” He said Affordable Care Act subsidies for health insurance should be restored, “but that’s not enough.”
McGrath said that the country’s political system means that “Democrats aren’t always going to be in charge of the White House,” and blamed Republicans for undermining the Affordable Care Act and health care. She said she would be in favor of all Americans being able to buy a government insurance plan that could compete with private insurance plans.
At least one Democratic candidate, former U.S. Secret Service agent Logan Forsythe, took issue with not being invited to the KET debate, saying on social media that the rules to be invited were “changed” last week.
Asked for a response, KET said: “Candidate criteria were published to KET’s website on December 1, 2025. Following the January 2026 filing deadline, KET then reached out directly to campaigns to provide the criteria. To be clear, these criteria were pre-established, fairly applied to all candidates, and have not changed since they were posted last year. Based on the criteria, there were three Democratic and three Republican candidates for Senate who met the criteria and were therefore invited to participate.”
The criteria included candidates’ fundraising amounts and having a public website or social media account.
--30--
Written by McKenna Horsley. Cross-posted from the Kentucky Lantern.
Comments
