LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell is considered such a giant in his home state that Kentucky lawmakers voted to place a statue of him at the Capitol alongside Abraham Lincoln. McConnell, who overcame polio as a child, went on to become the longest-serving Senate leader in history and helped secure a conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court.
But anyone who wants to hear flashy tributes to McConnell won’t hear them on the campaign trail as his party searches for the retiring senator’s successor.
U.S. Rep. Andy Barr and former state Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who are vying for the Republican nomination in Tuesday’s primary, have carefully distanced themselves from the man they once called their mentor.
It marks the final phase of a generational shift in the Republican Party that has seen conservative figures like McConnell exit the political scene as President Donald Trump works to complete his transformation of the party. Despite widespread acknowledgment that McConnell is no longer in sync with today’s “Make America Great Again” politics, the 84-year-old retains deep influence and a loyal following in Kentucky.
Stephen Vos, a political scientist at the University of Kentucky, said the candidates are walking on a “razor’s edge” between establishment factions still loyal to the Senate and “voter dissatisfaction with Mitch McConnell’s old-school Reagan-Bush era Republicans.”
McConnell broke with the president after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, saying he played a role in inciting the riot. More recently, he has opposed some of Trump’s nominees, including Pete Hegseth as defense secretary and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary. He also called for continued military aid to Ukraine during the Russian invasion.
“McConnell’s Boys”
Many Republican politicians in Kentucky believe McConnell played a role in their careers in some way. They’ll point to the more than $65 billion the senator’s office says he brought home to his home state, or the work he did to bring Republican dominance in the state.
So when Nate Morris, the third candidate in the Senate primary, ran an ad showing a cardboard cutout of McConnell in a trash can, some Republicans weren’t happy. Morris called Barr and Cameron “McConnell’s sons.”
Being seen as at odds with Trump could have a radioactive effect on Republican primary voters. But Landon Shaw, a 21-year-old student at Shawnee State University, fell flat.
“He’s talking about how opposed he is to McConnell,” he said. “He’s not talking about himself.”
It doesn’t seem to measure up to others either. Despite a $10 million financial backing from Elon Musk, Morris lags behind Cameron and Barr. Morris dropped out of the race two weeks ago when Trump offered him an as-yet-unspecified ambassadorship.
“Mitch McConnell Republican”
Despite some goodwill toward McConnell, many Republicans are ready for change.
“He did great service to America, great service to the state of Kentucky, but times are changing and we ultimately need to move on and thank him for his service,” said Tony Quillen, 61, a real estate appraisal administrator in Greenup County.
Cameron, who served as McConnell’s legal adviser, tested voter dissatisfaction last year. He said it was “completely wrong” for the senator to oppose Hegers, Kennedy and Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence in a video posted on social media that effectively launched his campaign.
As he sat in the empty ballroom after a recent Lincoln Day dinner in Covington, Ky., he made a different sound.
“If you talk to people, they recognize this is a transformative election and are ready to put someone else in that seat, but they also don’t want you to kick a guy when he’s on the way out,” Cameron said. “That’s the kind or polite nature of Kentuckians.”
Barr, who once interned under McConnell, has said he wants a tent that includes McConnell-style Republicans, but he has a standard line on the campaign trail when it comes to the senator.
“People ask me,” Barr told voters at a recent event at a public library, “are you a Mitch McConnell Republican or a Rand Paul Republican?” referring to the state’s other senator.
“I’m neither, I’m an Andy Barr Republican,” he said.
“McConnell’s people are very realistic”
Barr received Trump’s endorsement earlier this month. A Cameron campaign adviser fired back with a statement reminding voters of Barr’s ties to the senator.
“Congratulations to Mitch McConnell for finding his man,” he said.
However, in their final forum before Tuesday’s primary, both Cameron and Barr expressed praise for McConnell, local newspaper the Paducah Sun reported.
“We’ve got a lot of financial resources here because of Senator McConnell, and we need someone in Washington to take responsibility,” Cameron said.
Barr cited the country’s rise in stature under McConnell. “It’s really important that Kentucky continues to push above its weight as Senator McConnell said,” he said, adding that he was “his own man.”
Voss, the political science professor, said the Senate team knows candidates have to tread carefully.
“McConnell’s people are realistic and they understand that candidates need to distance themselves from McConnell,” he said, “but that’s not the same as openly disrespecting or attacking him.”