Mitch McConnell slams ‘outrageous mischaracterization’ over his comment about Black voters
McConnell responded Wednesday to a question about voting-related concerns voiced by voters of color by saying: “Well, the concern is misplaced, because if you look at the statistics, African American voters are voting in just as high a percentage as Americans.”
Many people decried his comment as implying Black people are not Americans.
From apartheid to affirmative action: Sen. Mitch McConnell’s complicated history on race
McConnell clarified Friday that he inadvertently left out the word ‘all’ before the word ‘Americans’ in that much-lambasted sentence. He also pushed back against criticisms of his record during his decades-long political career that have accompanied the uproar over what he said Wednesday.
Daniel Cameron, who’s the first Black person to hold that elected post.
“I think he would confirm with you that I recruited him to run, supported him and am proud of him,” McConnell said. “I have had African American speechwriters, schedulers, office managers over the years. I think this mischaracterization of my record is offensive and outrageous.
failed efforts to pass a major piece of election legislation, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act — again emphasized Friday there have been recent increases in voter turnout for both Black Americans and Americans overall.
“The turnout across the board has been up among Americans of all races. It was a stunning increase last time,” McConnell said.
However, data shows turnout among Black voters historically has lagged behind turnout for white voters, including in the 2020 presidential election.
Many Black voters across the country, as well as members of King’s family and other prominent people and organizations, have warned ballot access could be seriously restricted because of legislation some states have passed since the 2020 election, which involved an unprecedented short-term expansion of the ways in which people could vote during the turbulent first year of the pandemic.
McConnell noted Friday that Kentucky and other states decided to adopt some of those temporary measures for their elections in the long term, and he contended that whether or not new state laws illegally restrict voting can be decided in court.
“As to whether any of these (laws) are designed to suppress the vote on the (basis) of race, that would be illegal and those measures, I assume, will be in court,” he said.
McConnell also stressed, as he has many times before, that the Voting Rights Act remains the law of the land, despite a 2013 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that axed part of that longstanding law.
tried this week to combine and pass two major bills that have languished in Congress:
- The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which essentially would restore part of the Voting Rights Act the Supreme Court struck down in 2013.
- The Freedom to Vote Act, which would (among other provisions) expand early voting and voter registration options nationwide.
McConnell and other GOP senators, as well as Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, voted to prevent Senate Democrats from changing the congressional chamber’s filibuster rules that would have let them pass the legislation with a simple majority of 51 instead of 60.
McConnell suggested Friday (as he often has) that Democrats have just been making the latest in a series of attempts to federalize election laws to gain a partisan advantage for their party, this time under the guise of voting rights.
Morgan Watkins is The Courier Journal’s chief political reporter. Contact her at mwatkins@courierjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter: @morganwatkins26.