Kentucky Senate hopeful says Mitch McConnell doesn't deserve lifetime achievement award

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Republican businessman Nate Morris has declared that Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell doesn't deserve a lifetime achievement award from their home state political party, as the first-time candidate ratchets up his attacks against the former Senate leader he hopes to succeed in next year's election.

Morris, a tech entrepreneur, has turned McConnell into his own punching bag — a strategy seen as an attempt to reinforce his political outsider status and win over President Donald Trump's MAGA base.

Morris launched his Senate campaign last week, joining U.S. Rep. Andy Barr and ex-state Attorney General Daniel Cameron as GOP heavyweights vying for their party's nomination next spring. All three have ties to McConnell but have heaped praise on Trump in hopes of winning the president's endorsement — seen as potentially decisive in the primary.

Going after Mitch

Doubling down on his anti-McConnell strategy, Morris called on the Kentucky Republican Party to rescind what he said is its plan to honor the senator with a lifetime achievement award at an event next month. Morris called on Cameron and Barr to join in declaring McConnell undeserving of the award.

Morris on Tuesday branded McConnell as ''the face of the resistance inside the GOP to President Trump and the MAGA movement for the last five years.'' The attack came as McConnell voted for Trump's big tax breaks and spending cuts bill, while fellow Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul opposed the bill.

''The choice is simple: You either stand with Trump or you stand with Mitch,'' Morris said in the statement.

Asked to respond to Morris' remarks, state Republican Party spokesman Andy Westberry said: ''It's my knowledge no official decisions or announcements have been made regarding awards.''

McConnell's office did not comment on Morris' barrage. During Trump's first term, McConnell worked with the president to cut taxes and put conservatives on the federal bench, including three justices on the nine-member Supreme Court. Their relationship ruptured after McConnell blamed Trump for ''disgraceful'' acts in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, but the senator still endorsed Trump's presidential run in 2024.

McConnell helped Kentucky punch about its weight

McConnell, the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history, is widely seen as a guiding force in the GOP's rise to dominance in Kentucky. He announced in February, on his 83rd birthday, that he wouldn't seek reelection in 2026 and will retire when his current term ends.

His influence in the Bluegrass State is reflected in Frankfort at the state GOP headquarters, which is named for McConnell. McConnell has frequently said his leadership position enabled Kentucky to ''punch above its weight,'' as he steered federal funds back home to fix roads, build bridges, support universities, improve airports, combat drug abuse and more.

Morris has blasted McConnell for not being in lock-step with Trump. He pointed to McConnell voting against a handful of Trump's second-term cabinet picks, opposing the president's tariffs and resisting Trump's efforts to ''end the gravy train to Ukraine'' in its war against Russia.

Morris also mentioned McConnell's criticism of Trump in a biography of the Senate Republican leader by Michael Tackett, deputy Washington bureau chief of The Associated Press.

''Why are we celebrating a man who called President Trump a ‘despicable human being'?'' Morris said.

Despite McConnell's unpopularity within some GOP circles, it's a calculated risk to relentlessly bash someone who has represented Kentucky since the mid-1980s and whose legacy is visible statewide.

''We don't have enough time to tell you all the things he (McConnell) has done for Owensboro,'' said Tom Watson, mayor of the western Kentucky city. ''He's helped us to be the community we are."

Watson referred to Morris' anti-McConnell strategy as his "first mistake."

Longtime Kentucky political commentator Al Cross said the anti-McConnell attacks are meant to burnish Morris' profile as an outsider.

''If you are not well known at all, then one way to get well known is to attack someone who is very well known — and that is Mitch McConnell,'' Cross said.

Morris bristled at a request from the state GOP chairman that Senate candidates not ''speak ill'' of fellow Republicans not involved in the Senate race. Morris said the request was in an invitation for him to speak at the upcoming GOP event and said he thinks it was meant to deter criticism of McConnell.

Westberry said the request was ''just a suggestion,'' one that was sent to other GOP Senate candidates invited to speak at the GOP function.

All three leading GOP Senate contenders have ties to McConnell. Cameron is a former McConnell aide, Barr has referred to the senator as a mentor and Morris worked as an intern in McConnell's office.

Barr and Cameron question Morris' authenticity as a MAGA loyalist. Cameron's campaign on Tuesday focused on two hot-button issues for MAGA supporters — diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and consideration of environmental, social and governance factors when making investment decisions.

''If I told you there's a candidate running in the Republican primary who built his company on ESG subsidies and supporting DEI initiatives, you'd think I was joking,'' Cameron's campaign said Tuesday. ''That candidate is Nate Morris, and he should start answering for his record.''

Morris' campaign responded by referring to Cameron as ''Mitch McConnell's puppet."