Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) isn't running for re-election next year, but his legacy is on the line in Kentucky's Republican Senate primary.
The GOP contest between businessman Nate Morris, Rep. Andy Barr and former state Attorney General Daniel Cameron has turned into a public debate over the longtime Republican leader's reputation and worldview, which has fallen increasingly out of step with the MAGA version of the Republican Party, reported NOTUS.
“I’m gonna trash Mitch McConnell’s legacy,” Morris has said at a campaign event, and he has publicly criticized the 83-year-old senator's age and health. “Who here can honestly tell me that it’s a good thing to have a senior citizen who freezes on national television during his press conferences as our U.S. senator?”
Barr and Cameron have not been quite so outspoken in their criticism of McConnell, but they've staked out positions more in line with President Donald Trump, and Morris is banking on voters being ready to turn the page on his 40-year dominance over Kentucky politics.
“We’re making a point that these other guys represent Mitch McConnell and his politics,” said a Morris strategist, "and Kentucky can go that direction, or they can go the direction of MAGA. There’s about 20 percent to 25 percent of Republicans who have a favorable opinion of McConnell, so if we alienate those people, great. That’s part of the entire strategy, like we are knowingly polarizing the electorate.”
A spokesperson for Morris told NOTUS that Barr and Cameron have implicitly sided with McConnell by refusing to take stands on the filibuster and other issues, and he said Trump's popularity in the state would boost the businessman's chances.
“The dividing line in this race is very straightforward: It’s MAGA versus Mitch McConnell,” said the spokesman, Conor McGuinness, “and Nate Morris is the only candidate with the courage of his convictions to say 100 percent unequivocally that he stands with Donald Trump and the MAGA movement.”
But many GOP voters respect what McConnell has meant to the state's business and agriculture communities and have seen how he's turned Kentucky into a reliably Republican state, even if they're ready to select his replacement.
“He’s like an aging sports star that hasn’t retired yet,” said strategist involved in the race. “You remember the great days, and now you’re sort of done with it, right? Like, it would be great if this guy retired, because then we can bring in fresh blood, that sort of thing. It’s not hate.”
One local GOP official confronted Morris to his face as he trashed the retiring senator.
“I interrupted him,” said Frank Amaro, GOP vice chair of the 1st Congressional District, "and I said, ‘I hope you understand, Mitch is not running. Now what are you going to do for us?’ I think that’s more important than talking about Mitch McConnell like that. I believe that as time goes on, it’s going to smack them in the face. All of them are going to go, ‘Oh my God, how are we going to fill that guy’s shoes?’”
