Amy McGrath

Amy McGrath was the 2020 Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate from Kentucky, losing to incumbent Mitch McConnell in the general election. McGrath was the 2018 Democratic nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives for Kentucky's 6th congressional district, losing to incumbent Andy Barr.

McGrath was born on June 3, 1975, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and grew up in in Edgewood, Kentucky. She graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1997 with a Bachelor of Science in political science, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps. In 2011, she received a graduate certificate in legislative studies from Georgetown University, and in 2014 she earned a Master of Arts in international and global security studies from Johns Hopkins University.

McGrath served for 20 years in the Marine Corps, during which time she flew 89 combat missions and was the first female Marine to fly a combat mission. In 2011, she worked as a defense and foreign affairs advisor for Representative Susan Davis (D-CA) in Washington, D.C. From 2012 to 2014, she worked at the Pentagon as a Marine Corps liaison to the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development. From 2014 to 2017, she taught U.S. government to cadets and midshipmen as a senior political science instructor at the United States Naval Academy. McGrath retired from the armed forces on June 1, 2017, as a lieutenant colonel.