Experts weigh in ahead of Kentucky U.S. Senate debate between Barr and Booker

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - Republican Rep. Andy Barr and Democratic candidate Charles Booker will debate Monday at 7 p.m. in the Kentucky U.S. Senate race.

The debate will take place inside WKYT studios and will air live on WKYT and stream on WKYT Plus.

The two candidates are competing for the Kentucky Senate seat held for more than 40 years by Sen. Mitch McConnell.

University of Kentucky associate professor of political science Stephen Voss and longtime political strategist T.J. Litafik both said affordability is a key issue among Kentucky voters.

“And those issues would tend to benefit Mr. Booker. Mr. Barr’s advantage is just the Republican headwinds in Kentucky and trends in the last decade are really in his favor,” Litafik said.

“And what we know right now this year is that voters across party lines are upset about the economy. They are upset about the cost of living, upset about grocery prices and gas prices,” Voss said.

Voss outlines strengths and weaknesses for each candidate

Voss gave his assessment of the advantages and disadvantages facing each candidate.

“Barr’s got the clear advantage. It’s a pretty Republican state lately. Barr just needs people to vote the way they usually been voting,” Voss said.

Something benefiting Booker is the public tiring of the culture wars.

“The benefit Booker has in trying to swing votes this time around is that people are focused on the economy more and the culture wars less,” Voss said.

An issue haunting Barr is voter anger at the GOP.

“The biggest weakness Andy Barr faces is that he’s a Republican and right now Donald Trump in the White House with Republicans running the House and the Senate they’re bearing the brunt of voter anger with economic conditions,” Voss said.

Former President Joe Biden’s immigration policies are an issue for Booker.

“Booker’s difficulty is that some of the issue lingering from the Biden administration that made voters turn against Joe Biden are still bothering people. Immigration remains a concern, a deep concern with not only the Republican voters but some of the swing voters,” Voss said.

Litafik addresses Trump’s weekend appearance

Litafik said President Trump’s appearance in northern Kentucky this past weekend would not necessarily help Barr.

“In this cycle I don’t think it would necessarily hurt him either because I think most of the people that would turn off are already not going to vote for him,” Litafik said.

Voss was also asked what impact the debate could have on the race.

“The way debates make a difference when they do is usually because when someone is making a mistake, something that goes viral spreads beyond the audience and gets seen by people who are not as politically connected,” Voss said.