Kentucky Rep. John Yarmuth makes his pick on who should succeed him in Congress

U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth wants state Sen. Morgan McGarvey to be his successor following his eighth and final term in office.

He endorsed the fellow Louisville Democrat's campaign Monday.

Yarmuth announced he would not run for reelection in October, with McGarvey declaring his intent to run for the seat less than 10 minutes later.

The longtime congressman officially made the endorsement alongside McGarvey, who's the Kentucky Senate's minority leader, at a press conference Monday morning, saying:

"It will be a bittersweet moment when I leave office in 2023. But I'll be reassured to know that this seat is in Morgan's capable hands."

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McGarvey's only opponent in May's Democratic primary is state Rep. Attica Scott, a progressive Democrat and former Louisville Metro Council member who launched her campaign last summer against Yarmuth himself before he publicly chose to retire.

On Monday, Yarmuth called McGarvey a "true champion of progressive values" — echoing the state senator's campaign slogan — and said he's one of the most effective leaders the Kentucky legislature has ever seen.

"As the leader of Senate Democrats, he's picked up a battered party that often seemed afraid of its own shadow and led an unabashedly progressive agenda," Yarmuth said. "Most importantly, he has shown an ability to build and work in diverse coalitions necessary to create meaningful change and get the job done for our community ..."

Scott put out a statement about Yarmuth's endorsement Monday afternoon, saying: 

"As Black women, we are always told to wait our turn, and that’s especially true in Democratic politics. The party establishment tells us to wait, while they cooperate with Republicans, who are criminalizing the teaching of accurate history, banning abortion care and gerrymandering our state without public input. Today, the establishment is deciding again, and Black women are told to wait.

"Let's be honest, this 'system' has only benefited a certain group of people. Our campaign is about people power and building a community where we all win, and that scares folks in political power. Because when we all win, power has to shift and systems have to change. And Kentuckians deserve a change."

In October, Yarmuth said he didn't plan to endorse anyone in the primary unless his son, Aaron, competed for his seat. (The younger Yarmuth considered but opted against running.) 

Even then, though, Yarmuth offered a warm assessment of McGarvey's candidacy.

"I think Morgan (McGarvey) would be a great successor," he told reporters last fall. "Attica (Scott) I'm not as sure about, but I don't know Attica as well. … Certainly in terms of progressive credentials, they both have them, so I'd be happy with that."

Yarmuth also mentioned then that he gave McGarvey, who's a friend of his, a heads-up about his decision to retire.

So why did Yarmuth make an endorsement after all?

On Monday, he acknowledged his policy traditionally has been not to endorse anyone in non-presidential primaries but said he changed his mind for this particular race.

"The more I thought about it, the more I realized that it really is a responsibility," he said. "I've been fortunate enough to be elected eight times to this position and to serve in a body that is not familiar to a lot of people. ... I thought that it was my obligation to bring that perspective to this primary race."

Yarmuth said he waited to see who filed for office and might not have made an endorsement if there had been a larger field of candidates.

When asked why that may have changed his mind, he said there might have been someone else who filed as a candidate who he thought was "equally talented."

Yarmuth's retirement:With Yarmuth retiring, what does Louisville want in its next member of Congress?

McGarvey thanked Yarmuth for his support Monday and stressed how successful he has been in Congress over the past 15 years, especially through building coalitions and through his role as chairman of the pivotal House Budget Committee.

"He has done an amazing job. I've tried to follow his example," McGarvey said. "As minority leader, I've had to lead the fight against the (former Republican Gov. Matt) Bevin agenda in Frankfort, standing up for working families, for teachers whose pensions were at risk, for women's health and reproductive freedom. But I've done it while building coalitions to get big things done."

Yarmuth's endorsement comes on the heels of another spot of good news for McGarvey: He outraised Scott, by a lot, in the final quarter of 2021.

He brought in about $800,000 in contributions from October through December, while Scott raised only about $82,000, recent Federal Election Commission data show.

McGarvey and Scott aren't the only candidates seeking Yarmuth's job. The GOP primary for the 3rd Congressional District is crowded, even though Democrats are favored to maintain their hold on that seat in Congress.

Louisville's Daniel Cobble, Mike Craven, Justin Gregory, Darien Barrios Moreno, Rhonda Palazzo, Gregory Puccetti and Stuart Ray all filed to run as Republicans.

Reporter Joe Sonka contributed to this story. Morgan Watkins is The Courier Journal's chief political reporter. Contact her at mwatkins@courierjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter: @morganwatkins26.