Kentucky Republicans race to replace McConnell while carefully keeping him at arm's length

LEXINGTON, Ky. — U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell is considered such a titan in his home state that Kentucky lawmakers voted to put a statue of him alongside Abraham Lincoln in the Capitol. After overcoming polio as a child, McConnell rose to become the longest-serving Senate leader in history and helped secure a conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court.

But anyone listening for flowery tributes to McConnell won't hear them on the campaign trail as his party looks for a successor to the retiring senator.

U.S. Rep. Andy Barr and former state Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who are competing for the Republican nomination in Tuesday's primary, have carefully calibrated their distance from the man they once described as a mentor.

It marks the closing stages of a generational shift among Republicans, with old guard figures like McConnell stepping off the political stage as President Donald Trump works to finalize his makeover of the party. Although there's widespread acknowledgment that McConnell is no longer in sync with today's “Make America Great Again” politics, the 84-year-old nonetheless maintains deep influence and a loyal following in Kentucky.

The candidates are walking a “razor's edge” between an establishment that's still loyal to the senator and “voters' unhappiness with Mitch McConnell’s old-school Reagan-Bush era Republicans,” said Stephen Voss, a political scientist at the University of Kentucky.

McConnell broke with the president after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, saying he played a role in instigating 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 agitated for continued military assistance for Ukraine during the Russian invasion.

‘McConnell's boys'

Many of Kentucky’s Republican politicians credit McConnell with, in one way or another, playing a role in their careers. They will mention the over $65 billion that the senator’s office said he’s brought back to his home state, or his work establishing Republicans’ dominance in the state.

So it didn’t sit well with some Republicans when Nate Morris, a third candidate in the Senate primary, ran an advertisement showing a cardboard cutout of McConnell in the trash. Morris dubbed Barr and Cameron as “McConnell’s boys.”

Being seen as out of step with Trump can be radioactive with Republican primary voters. But it landed flat for Shawnee State University student Landon Shaw, 21.

“He’s talking about how much he opposes McConnell,” he said, “he’s not talking about himself.”

It appears to have fallen short for others, too. Morris lagged behind Cameron and Barr, despite $10 million in financial support from Elon Musk. Two weeks ago, Trump offered him a yet-unspecified ambassadorship and Morris dropped out of the race.

‘A Mitch McConnell Republican’

Despite some goodwill toward McConnell, many Republicans are ready for a change.

“He did a great service for the United States, for Kentucky, but times are changing and we need to finally move on and thank him for his service,” said Tony Quillen, 61, the property valuation administrator in Greenup County.

Cameron, who previously worked as a legal counsel to McConnell, tested that dissatisfaction among voters last year. He said the senator was “flat out wrong” for opposing Hegseth, Kennedy and Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence in a video posted to social media that effectively launched his campaign.

He struck a different note as he sat in an emptying banquet hall after a recent Lincoln Day Dinner in Covington, Kentucky.

“If you talk to people, they acknowledge this is a change election and are ready for someone else to serve in that seat,” Cameron said, “but they also don’t want you to kick a man when he’s on the way out. Call it the kindness or courteous nature of Kentuckians.”

Barr, who once interned under McConnell, has suggested he wants a tent that includes McConnell-type Republicans, but he has a standard line on the campaign trail when talking about the senator.

“People have asked me,” Barr told voters at a recent event at a public library, “are you a Mitch McConnell Republican or are you a Rand Paul Republican?” referring to the state’s other senator.

“I am neither, I am an Andy Barr Republican,” he said.

‘McConnell’s people are realistic'

Barr was endorsed by Trump at the beginning of the month. A campaign consultant for Cameron fired back with a statement reminding voters of Barr’s association with the senator.

“Congrats to Mitch McConnell for getting his guy,” he said.

Still, in one of their final forums before Tuesday's primary, both Cameron and Barr were complimentary toward McConnell, according to a report from The Paducah Sun, a local newspaper.

“A lot of dollars in resources have been secured here because of Sen. McConnell and we need somebody in Washington that’s going to maintain the responsibility,” Cameron said.

Barr referred to the elevation of the state under McConnell's leadership. “It’s really important that Kentucky continues to do as Sen. McConnell said, to punch above its weight,” he said, adding that he was his “own man.”

Voss, the professor of politics, said the senator's team knows the candidates have to walk a fine line.

“McConnell’s people are realistic enough to understand that the candidates need to distance themselves from McConnell,” he said, “but that’s different than openly disrespecting or attacking him.”