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In one of the most crowded Republican Senate primaries in the country, President Donald Trump’s thumb on the scale proved the difference maker.
Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., came out on top of an 11-person bar fight in Kentucky, teeing him up for a showdown in November to replace retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., a one-time ally-turned-thorn in Trump’s side.
Though it’s a race overshadowed by another contest, where Trump is the driving factor in the state, it’s still significant, given that Barr and his Democratic opponent will be at the forefront of change in the political status quo of the Bluegrass state.
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Whoever comes out on top in November will replace McConnell, the longest-serving Republican leader in Senate history, who has been a political force and polarizing figure during his decades in the upper chamber.
But like so many races during this and previous cycles in the Trump era, the president was the main factor on the Republican side. And Barr’s bid for the upper chamber after serving seven terms in the House was spurred by a late endorsement from Trump earlier this month.
“We did have a lead before the endorsement,” Barr said during a campaign event on Monday. “Our lead has skyrocketed since then in the polling that we’re looking at, but we don’t take anything for granted.”
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It helped him topple his main opponent, former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who remained confident that even without Trump’s coveted endorsement, he could still win.
“I think people are tired of the games that are played in Washington and want somebody that’s looking out for their interests,” Cameron told local news outlet WHAS11 before Election Day.
Trump lauded Barr for his loyalty to him and added that he is the “only Candidate who will easily defeat the Democrat in what will be one of the most important Elections in American History.”
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Trump also touted Barr as a strong supporter of eliminating the filibuster, the voting barrier that has derailed the GOP’s Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act.
The legislation has so far wallowed in the background in the upper chamber, thanks in part to Democrats’ strong objections to it and a lack of support among Republicans to pass it. Last month, a version of the SAVE America Act failed to gain enough Republican support at a simple 50-vote threshold.
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“He will do everything in his power to get it done,” Trump said. “It is desperately needed by the Republican Party to pass the SAVE AMERICA ACT, and all other things necessary for a strong and brilliant Country!”