Group bashes Andy Barr as a ‘Trump-hater' before expected Senate campaign launch
In advance of Rep. Andy Barr's expected announcement that he will seek a U.S. Senate seat in 2026, one high-powered Washington group is doubling down on advertisements bashing him.
Club For Growth, a conservative advocacy group, will air a statewide ad titled 'Back Stabber,' calling Barr a 'Trump-hating, backstabbing liberal' during political shows Sunday.
It highlights support that Barr received from former Wyoming Republican representative Liz Cheney, who became a pariah in the GOP after her anti-Trump turn. It also points to votes that Barr took that aligned with California Democrat Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker.
'Loyal to Liz, puppet to Pelosi – Andy Barr is a Trump-hater just like them,' the ad claims.
It is the second swipe the group has taken at Barr in recent months.
The first aired shortly before Sen. Mitch McConnell announced he would not seek reelection to his senate seat in February.
A representative of Barr's congressional campaign scoffed at the ad.
'This is just another ridiculous ad full of lies from a DC special interest group that opposed President Trump in 2024,' they wrote. 'Andy Barr was the first member of the delegation to endorse President Donald J. Trump and Barr chaired the President's primary campaign in Kentucky in 2024, so it's no wonder this group is attacking him.
'Barr has been, and will continue to be, a tireless fighter for the America First Agenda.'
Trump and Club for Growth do, indeed, have a rocky past.
Dating back to 2016 and continuing during Trump's third presidential campaign, the group and organizations linked to it have sought to stymie Trump's political rise.
Still, the anti-tax group is well-funded and has a record of providing Republicans with the fiscal firepower needed to win elections.
Beyond the 'Trump-hating' accusations, the ad also attempts to pair Barr with McConnell, a titan of the Senate whose popularity in Kentucky has lagged in recent years. Though McConnell has won virtually all of his Senate contests in landslide fashion, many Republicans see him as a liability in a GOP primary contest given his rocky relationship with Trump, who has regularly criticized McConnell.
The ad displays an interview with Spectrum News in which Barr called McConnell a 'mentor' of his.
It also shows a 2021 interview in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol wherein Barr says he 'respects' that some Republicans will vote to impeach Trump. Barr, along with all other Republicans representing Kentucky in Washington, voted against impeachment.
Beyond Sunday, the ad will continue to air through the week on shows in the Louisville, Lexington and Bowling Green markets.
The only official Republican candidate running with significant name ID is former Kentucky attorney general Daniel Cameron. Leading in early polling of the race, Cameron won statewide office in 2019 but fell short in his 2023 bid for the governor's mansion to incumbent Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear.
In that race, a group with ties to Club for Growth supported Cameron. One of its biggest financial supporters, billionaire financier Jeff Yass, is a longtime supporter of Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul's.
A spokesperson for Club For Growth told the Herald-Leader that they are not yet endorsing one specific U.S. Senate candidate in Kentucky but they 'strongly oppose' Barr.
'Nothing to announce at this time regarding an endorsement, but we strongly oppose Andy Barr's candidacy,' the spokesperson said. '... This is the latest ad in a series opposing Barr, and we will spend whatever it takes to ensure he is not Kentucky's next U.S. Senator.'
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