Politics

Cuccinelli: McConnell Should Step Down As Leader If GOP Doesn’t Win Senate

Alex Pappas Political Reporter
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Former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is arguing that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell should be replaced as Republican leader if the GOP fails to win back control of the Senate this year.

Cuccinelli, who now leads the Senate Conservatives Fund, made the comments to The Hill newspaper in a story published Wednesday:

“If Republicans can’t win a majority with such a poor performing president, during his lame-duck midterm elections, the leadership needs to be replaced starting with Mitch McConnell,” said Ken Cuccinelli, president of the Senate Conservatives Fund, which has backed conservative opponents against candidates favored by party leaders in GOP primaries.

Cuccinelli added, “McConnell blew millions in red-state primaries to protect incumbents from more electable conservatives, he violently attacked his own base, he vehemently avoided any agenda for the party to stand on … there’s no question that Mitch McConnell put himself and his desire to ‘crush conservatives’ ahead of the best interests of the party and the country.”

The story notes that leaders of other conservative groups, like Matt Kibbe of FreedomWorks and Drew Ryun of the Madison Project, also argue that McConnell should lose his leadership position if the GOP doesn’t win back control this year. An anonymous senator is also quoted saying: “If we don’t win the majority then all bets are off.”

For now, McConnell has to focus on winning his own race. He’s battling with Democratic candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes back home in Kentucky, though most polls show him ahead.

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