US President Donald Trump listens to Senate candidate Andy Barr during a campaign rally to support Republican House of Representatives candidate Ed Gallrein and Senate candidate Andy Barr, at Truist Arena in Highland Heights, Kentucky, US, October 17, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
One political analyst spotted an "ominous sign" emerging in Kentucky's early midterm results.
Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) is facing off against Democratic challenger Charles Booker to succeed Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in the Senate. While Barr lept out to a nearly two-to-one lead with roughly 4% of the vote reported, according to the Associated Press, political commentator Ed Krassenstein spotted a shift happening underneath the results that didn't bode well for the GOP.
Krassenstein pointed to Laurel County, Kentucky, where Barr led Booker with 76% of the vote. Even though that 54-point margin is sizable, Krassenstein noted that President Donald Trump carried the district by 70 points, thereby showing a "terrible" swing in support for Democrats.
"Ominous sign for Republicans!" Krassenstein posted on X.
Trump spent his last days leading up to the midterms in red states rallying support for Republican candidates, even though public polling shows that his approval rating sits at a near all-time low. Some Republican candidates had publicly distanced themselves from Trump by removing mentions of him from their campaign websites.