Kentucky Sports Radio host Matt Jones has made it official: he’s creating a committee to look into a 2020 run for U.S. Senate.
Jones has publicly mulled runs for political office, but he’s now taking his first formal step toward entering a high-profile race – the Democratic contest to unseat Sen. Mitch McConnell. The radio personality filed with the Federal Election Commission Tuesday to create an exploratory committee.
As for whether Jones foresees taking the next step and launching his candidacy, he told reporters in late August the pieces are coming into place.
"Listen, I've lost business opportunities because of this. I lost my television show because of this," the Democrat said. "If I was not going to do it, it would be a heck of a lot easier just to say I wasn't going to do it."
Jones was relieved of hosting duties on WLEX’s "Hey Kentucky" and plans to write a book on McConnell, whom he has referred to as "Darth Vader." By forming the committee, Jones is now able to spend $5,000 weighing the race. He has said he wants to travel the commonwealth and get a read on how voters feel.
Jones would be up against former Marine Corps pilot Amy McGrath, Mike Boihier, Steven Cox, Bennie Smith, and Jimmy Ausbrooks in the Democratic primary.
