Trump, Beshear Hold Positive Approval Among Kentucky Voters
A new Emerson College Polling/FOX56 survey of Kentucky voters finds Congressman Andy Barr leading the Republican primary for Senate with 28% support, a four-point increase from the February Emerson poll, followed by former Attorney General Daniel Cameron at 21% and businessman Nate Morris at 15%. Twenty-nine percent are undecided.
Republican voters were asked which candidate, if any, would be most supportive of the Trump administration’s agenda: 38% think Barr will be most supportive, 22% Cameron, 21% Morris, and 13% none of the candidates.
“Barr maintains his early advantage in a fragmented Republican field, but with nearly three in ten voters undecided, the primary remains fluid,” Spencer Kimball, Executive Director of Emerson College Polling, said. “Barr’s advantage is reinforced by perceptions that he aligns most closely with the Trump agenda.”
A plurality of Republicans, 46%, say Trump’s endorsement would make them more likely to support a candidate, 41% say it has no impact, and 13% say it makes them less likely to support a candidate.
In the Democratic primary for Senate, 2022 nominee Charles Booker leads the field with 36% support, followed by 2020 nominee Amy McGrath at 18%, and Pamela Stevenson at 3%. Thirty-eight percent are undecided.
Fifty-two percent of Kentucky voters approve of the job Donald Trump is doing as President, while 42% disapprove. Fifty percent approve of the job Andy Beshear is doing as Governor, while 37% disapprove.
Voters generally disapprove of the job Kentucky’s U.S. Senators are doing: a majority, 71%, disapprove of Mitch McConnell’s performance, while 13% approve. A plurality, 39%, disapprove of Rand Paul’s performance, while 28% approve and 33% are neutral.
Voters were asked what their biggest personal economic concern is right now, if any: 30% are most concerned about everyday bills, 27% groceries and food bills, 16% healthcare payments and costs, 6% housing payments like a mortgage or rent, 4% unemployment, and 2% tuition/school costs. Five percent have no economic concerns.
A majority of voters, 59%, report high costs as their biggest healthcare concern right now, followed by issues with insurance (13%) and lack of access (10%). Fourteen percent have no healthcare concerns right now.
When asked what their biggest concern is regarding democracy, a third of voters (33%) said misinformation/fake news, 26% election integrity, 17% voter suppression, 14% the erosion of democratic institutions, and five percent have no concerns regarding democracy.
Poll Methodology
The Emerson College Polling/FOX56 Kentucky survey was conducted March 29-31, 2026. The overall sample of Kentucky likely voters, n=1,050, has a credibility interval, similar to a poll’s margin of error (MOE), of +/- 2.9 percent. The data sets were weighted by gender, education, race, age, party registration, and region based on U.S. Census parameters and voter file data.
It is important to remember that subsets based on demographics, such as gender, age, education, and race/ethnicity, carry with them higher credibility intervals, as the sample size is reduced. Survey results should be understood within the poll’s range of scores, and with a confidence interval of 95% a poll will fall outside the range of scores 1 in 20 times.
Data was collected by contacting registered voters from a voter file provided by Aristotle using MMS text-to-web and email; a panel of voters provided by Consensus Strategies using MMS text-to-web; and additional panel interviews provided by PureSpectrum. Panel responses were matched to the Aristotle voter file using respondents’ full name and ZIP code. The survey was offered in English.
All questions asked in this survey with exact wording and order, along with full results, demographics, and cross tabulations can be found below.
The survey was sponsored by FOX56 / Nexstar Media.
