Kentucky State House Minority Leader Pamela Stevenson has launched her campaign for the U.S. Senate, setting her sights on replacing the retiring Mitch McConnell, the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history.
The Louisville Democrat, who served 27 years as a Judge Advocate General in the U.S. Air Force, commits to service, community, and a new era of leadership for Kentucky. Stevenson’s campaign, grounded in what she calls a creed of “Duty. Honor. Kentucky,” marks a historic bid to bring more representation and real-world experience to Capitol Hill.
“I was born and raised in the Shawnee neighborhood of West Louisville. My dad was a union welder. My mom was a clerk. We couldn’t afford much, but as a kid, I thought we were rich,” Stevenson says in her first campaign video, filmed from the pews of her home church, where she now serves as an ordained minister.
The video features archival footage of Stevenson’s military career abroad and her advocacy at home. “Everywhere I served, I found a Kentuckian,” she says. “We talked about bourbon, the horses. We talked about our families. We talked about our children. We talked about how our people are getting sicker, how little towns were vanishing, how the cities were getting meaner, and we talked about how we would make a difference when we got back home.”
I’m running for US Senate to replace Mitch McConnell! 🇺🇸
— Col. Pam Stevenson (@ColPamStevenson) March 31, 2025
Duty. Honor. Kentucky. #kysen #kentucky #stevensonforsenate pic.twitter.com/KZeunVZUBo
“For 40 years, Mitch McConnell watched Kentucky from 30,000 feet,” she says. “I cannot believe he ever looked our people in the eye, wielded all that power, and retired without making more of a difference in their lives.”
Stevenson is building her campaign around three core pillars: strengthening the economy for working families, protecting Medicare and Medicaid, and safeguarding veterans’ services.
“‘Thank you for your service’ has become a bumper sticker,” she told the Lexington Herald-Leader. “Because you’re not doing anything to support those who are disabled, have lost limbs, or struggle with mental health. That, we cannot tolerate.”
Her decision to run also comes amid deep frustration from Kentuckians across the political spectrum. “Some people are angry,” Stevenson says. “Others, they just want to take care of their families, like, ‘Can y’all stop fighting and give us what we need to take care of our families?’”
If elected, Stevenson would become the first Black U.S. Senator from Kentucky and one of the few Black women to serve in the chamber’s history.
