April 1, 2025
Col. Pamela D. Stevenson, a retired Air Force JAG officer and current Minority Floor Leader in the Kentucky House of Representatives, has officially announced her plans to run for Mitch McConnell’s Senate Seat.
A Black woman has put her bid in to run for Senator Mitch McConnell’s seat. In February, Kentucky’s longest-running senator said he would finish his seventh term but not seek reelection in 2026. McConnell has been a member of the US Senate since 1985. Now, Col. Pamela D. Stevenson, a retired Air Force JAG officer and current Minority Floor Leader in the Kentucky House of Representatives, has announced her plans to run for the office.
Stevenson officially announced and launched her campaign message Monday. She vows to “stop the recklessness” in Washington.
“I’m running for US Senate to replace Mitch McConnell!” she posted on X, along with her first campaign video.
“I live by three words, one creed,” Stevenson said in what appears to be her first campaign video. “Duty. Honor. Kentucky.”
If elected, Stevenson would be the first Black U.S. Senator from Kentucky and only the fourth Black woman to ever serve in the chamber, 13th and South reported.
I’m running for US Senate to replace Mitch McConnell!
Duty. Honor. Kentucky. #kysen #kentucky #stevensonforsenate pic.twitter.com/KZeunVZUBo
— Col. Pam Stevenson (@ColPamStevenson) March 31, 2025
Who Is Col. Pamela Stevenson?
According to the Associated Press, Stevenson is the top-ranking Democrat in the GOP-led state House. Her bio states that she is an ordained minister, served 27 years in the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG), where she prosecuted violent crimes such as rape, and retired with the rank of Colonel. Stevenson graduated from IU Maurer School of Law. After retiring from the Air Force, she launched the Stevenson Law Center to provide pro bono legal services to veterans, seniors, and working families.
Stevenson was first elected to Kentucky’s House of Representatives in 2020, and in 2023, she became the first Black woman to serve as Minority Floor Leader.
Col. Pamela Stevenson Chances in Right-Leaning Kentucky
While Stevenson’s candidacy is historic, Kentucky is a red state that hasn’t elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1992. Voters elected current Democratic Governor Andy Beshear first in 2019 and then in 2023. Stevenson lost her race for state attorney general that same year. Political experts attribute Beshear’s success to political good fortune and family lineage. Beshear’s father, Steve Beshear, was also a beloved governor from 2007 to 2015.
She will have a tough race, as former state Attorney General Daniel Cameron has entered the race on the Republican side. Beshear defeated Cameron in the 2023 governor’s race.
