Rand Paul looks ahead to 2016: Mitch McConnell's win is a 'referendum on Hillary Clinton'

Republicans have spent the last election cycle insisting that President Barack Obama was on the ballot, but according to Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Kentucky voters decided to re-elect Sen. Mitch McConnell as a "referendum" on Hillary Clinton, who has not held an elected office since 2009.

"You know, I think here in Kentucky, it was a referendum, not only on the president, but on Hillary Clinton," Paul explained to Fox News host Bret Baier following the news of McConnell's win on Tuesday night. "Ms. Grimes ran as a Clinton Democrat. She tried to disassociate herself from the president so she tried to attach herself to Hillary Clinton. But it turns out, Hillary Clinton doesn't have many coattails in Kentucky."

Baier pointed out that Paul, who is expected to run for president in 2016, may have been trying to target a "potential opponent."

"The facts are the facts," Paul replied. "Did the Clintons help her ticket? So far, I don't think they have."

Watch the video below from Fox News, broadcast Nov. 4, 2014.