ICYMI: WIB PAC Blitzes Barr with $2M Ad Buy
Washington, D.C. – In case you missed it, Club for Growth Action’s affiliated Win It Back PAC announced a $2 million ad campaign targeting Rep. Andy Barr in Kentucky’s U.S. Senate race. The new spot, Groomed, is the first in a series of ads that will air in the Lexington and Louisville media markets across cable, satellite, and streaming platforms. Earlier this year, Club for Growth Action aired 2 additional ads and launched a website slamming Barr’s record of big spending and opposing the Trump Administration. Lexington Herald-Leader’s Austin Horn covered the development in an exclusive report.
“Kentucky Republicans have been dealing with an anti-Trump RINO as Senator for years with big-spending Mitch McConnell, and they won’t elect another to replace him,” – David McIntosh, President, Club for Growth Action.
Click here to watch the full ad, Groomed, from Win It Back PAC.
Click here to read the full story from Lexington Herald Leader.
Club for Growth Action is affiliated with Club for Growth PAC, and is the nation’s largest conservative Super PAC. In 2024, Club for Growth PAC endorsed candidates won 79% of their races.
AD TRANSCRIPT:
NARRATOR: Andy Barr, groomed by Mitch McConnell as an intern.
BARR: My mentor, Leader Mitch McConnell
NARRATOR: Then a Never-Trump politician, funded by Mitch and Liz Cheney.
And now the student, has become the teacher.
Barr blamed President Trump for January 6th
Then bankrolled 4 RINOs who voted to impeach Trump.
BARR: Some Republicans will be voting for impeachment, and I respect that.
NARRATOR: Groomed by Mitch. Trump-hater like Mitch.
That’s Andy Barr.
STORY EXCERPTS:
Whether it’s good news or bad news, Rep. Andy Barr is about to be on a lot more television sets across Kentucky.
A PAC hoping to defeat Barr in the multi-candidate GOP primary race to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell in 2026 is launching a $2 million ad campaign Wednesday stating that McConnell “groomed” Barr as an intern. The Barr campaign itself has also dropped its first TV ad of the cycle.
…
The biggest ad buy is the one from Club For Growth PAC, which has been running ads against Barr since well before he even got in the race. It will air on television, cable, satellite and streaming in the Louisville and Lexington markets, the PAC said.
The ad starts off with the claim that McConnell “groomed” Barr as an intern. Both Cameron and Morris were also McConnell interns, and while “grooming” more generally means preparing someone for a role, it has recently been used more often in the context of behavior by an abuser.
The ad highlights contributions from PACs linked to McConnell and former Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney, a Republican reviled by Trump, made to Barr.
Club for Growth has not endorsed a candidate in the 2026 race to replace McConnell, but has consistently run ads against Barr.
“Kentucky Republicans have been dealing with an anti-Trump RINO as Senator for years with big-spending Mitch McConnell, and they won’t elect another to replace him,” David McIntosh, Club for Growth Action’s president, said in a statement.