GOP Senate Hopefuls in Kentucky Keep Distance From McConnell

Kentucky Republicans are seeking someone to fill the shoes of retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell—a figure who has been a major face of the Republican Party for decades.

But in the race to replace the longtime lawmaker, the leading candidates are in a competition to prove who’s the furthest from McConnell, who at times has had a difficult relationship with President Donald Trump.

One figure in the spotlight is Nate Morris, a Kentucky businessman branding himself as a new direction for the Bluegrass State.

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, recently urged his neighbors across the Ohio River to back Morris, presenting him as a change in direction for the state.

“If we are going to put America First again, we need to send a conservative outsider to Washington, not another career politician,” Moreno said in a statement to Politico that could be seen as an oblique criticism of McConnell. “Nate will stand shoulder to shoulder with me in the fight to secure our border, deport illegals, and say ‘hell no’ to any attempt at amnesty.”

Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., and Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk have also endorsed Morris.

Morris has put McConnell on blast from the beginning of his campaign, saying in an early ad: “I know a little bit about garbage. And Mitch McConnell? He’s trashed Trump, and for over 40 years he’s been dumping on us.” McConnell, 83, has been in the Senate since 1985.

The advertisement includes clips of Morris’ two Republican rivals, Rep. Andy Barr and former state Attorney General Daniel Cameron, complimenting McConnell, with the labels “McConnell puppet” underneath their faces.

“They’ll betray President Trump and sell us out. Not on my watch,” says Morris in the TV spot.

The Kentucky Senate race has turned into a bizarre debate over which candidate is closest to McConnell—which is peculiar given the fact that all three Republican front-runners have worked for him in some capacity.

Cameron, who provided legal counsel to McConnell from 2015 to 2017, has fired back at Morris, who interned for McConnell as a college student.

“He got his start in politics working for McConnell,” Cameron told Fox News. “Now, he pretends there is some virtue in taking cheap shots at an 83-year-old man.”

Barr, too, has his history with McConnell, having interned for him as well.

The congressman has not engaged as directly in distancing himself from McConnell, although he has not attempted to emphasize his past relationship with Kentucky’s senior senator either.

Barr has embraced Trumpian policies, such as tariffs—a departure from McConnell’s brand of conservatism.

In an era where a Trump endorsement is the most prized asset for a Republican candidate, boasting of a relationship with McConnell, who has voted against confirming a number of Trump Cabinet nominees, does not appear to be a smart idea.

Much like in Texas’ brutal Senate GOP primary contest between Attorney General Ken Paxton and Texas Sen. John Cornyn, the primary is shaping up as a battle over who can best prove their Make America Great Again bona fides.

The Republican primary in Kentucky is set for May of 2026.

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