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.
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’t, at that moment, endorsing Barr — though he changed his tune hours later, offering his backing.
Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, is focused solely on his campaign for governor and “is not endorsing in the Kentucky Senate race,” a spokesperson told NBC News. Rep. Tony Wied, R-Wis., hasn’t endorsed Barr, said an adviser, who also noted that the Barr campaign initially misspelled Wied’s last name in the news release proclaiming his support.
And Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said in an interview Thursday afternoon that his endorsements are typically accompanied by formal letters — one of which, he emphasized, he hadn’t yet written for Barr.
Barr’s including Issa on his list of House endorsers was “probably not smart,” Issa told NBC News. “He leaned a little ahead of his skis on this.”
Thursday evening, after Barr’s campaign was asked about the dispute, Issa wrote in a text message that he had decided to officially endorse Barr but didn’t elaborate on what had changed.
“I’ve worked with Andy Barr for many years, I’ve seen what he delivers for Kentucky, and I’m pleased to endorse him for U.S. Senate,” Issa said later in a statement shared by his political director.
Feenstra, Wied and Issa were among 107 House members whom Barr initially included in the Dec. 16 release, which was posted to the campaign’s website. Feenstra’s name was removed from the list Thursday.
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.
Barr spokesperson Alex Bellizzi issued a statement for this article Thursday night that added eight House members to the endorsement list and asserted that “more than half the House Republican conference” is now backing Barr for the Senate in Kentucky.
“Thank you for pointing out the change to the list,” Bellizzi said in the statement. “Please 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).”
Mistaken and friction-fueling endorsement announcements aren’t uncommon in political campaigns. In Illinois, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi’s 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’s 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 “miscommunication.”
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 “President Trump’s allies,” including Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and Rep. Ronny Jackson, “President Trump’s WH Physician in his first-term.”
“We 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,” Jackson said in a separate statement issued by Barr’s campaign. (Jackson also affirmed his endorsement on social media.)
The early dynamics of the Kentucky primary aren’t that clean-cut. The legacy of McConnell — the longtime Senate GOP leader who tangled with Trump and whose retirement has put the seat up for grabs — 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.
Morris also has played up his ties to Trump’s 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’t endorsed in the primary.) Morris also has been endorsed by Sens. Jim Banks of Indiana and Bernie Moreno of Ohio, two key Trump allies.
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.
Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., one of the Barr backers who confirmed his endorsement this week, said: “I 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’s also aspirational in his policies, and he’s just an outstanding guy and will make an outstanding senator.”
Huizenga added: “I know he can work with the president, because I’ve seen him work with the president even through some very contentious issues.”
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.
“Burchett has enjoyed serving with Barr in the House and is honored to call him a friend,” Burchett campaign manager Thomas McAfee wrote in an email.
Early polls commissioned by Cameron’s campaign and a Barr-aligned super PAC have shown Cameron — who has won, and lost, a statewide election — leading the Republican primary field, followed by Barr and the largely unknown Morris.
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.
Whoever wins the GOP nomination will be heavily favored to win the Senate seat. Kentucky hasn’t elected a Democrat to the Senate since it awarded Wendell Ford a fourth and final term in 1992.
