A key Kentucky newsletter has reported that Nate Morris a proTrump businessman who announced his candidacy for Sen Mitch McConnells RKY seat last week is the frontrunner for a new era admitting they may have underestimated Morris in our previous analysis The selfproclaimed America First conservative and founder of waste and recycling company Rubicon launched his campaign on Thursday with an announcement on Donald Trump Jrs podcast and an eyecatching video ad featuring him taking out the trash left in his home state by McConnell Kentucky Crossroads a news and opinion blog featuring a podcast hosted by Roger Ford predicted that the former Senate leaders legacy will be swept away by Morriss impact should he win the November 2026 election McConnell 83 announced in February that he will not seek reelection next year after holding his Senate seat since 1985 Rep Andy Barr RKY and former state Attorney General Daniel Cameron R have also announced their intentions to run for the soontobevacant Senate seat but the Sunday newsletter claimed that they are both McConnells Mirror Referring to the launch of Morriss campaign as the detonation of a political bombshell Ford wrote This editorial therefore is not merely an update on the race It is a reconsideration A reevaluation A frank and necessary admission that we at Kentucky Crossroads may have underestimated Morris in our previous analysis What we initially viewed as a longshot insurgency now appears to be the only authentic meaningful campaign in a field of career politicians who have long since sold their political souls to the Beltway bureaucracy He asserted Nate Morris is the candidate Kentucky needs in 2026 Barr a fiveterm congressman postures as a centerright Republican but is a political climber whose compass is guided not by conviction but by calculation Ford wrote According to the blogger Barr built his career with the backing of McConnells donor network and he has never deviated from the script despite portraying himself as proTrump Cameron a former aide to McConnell who was once considered a rising star in the Republican Party lost his bid for governor in 2023 because he couldnt alleviate the stench of being allied with the controversial senator President Donald Trump said at the time Noting several indications Ford says that Cameron rather than a political leader is more like a franchisee of McConnellism and noted that both he and Barr stooped to personal attacks and character assassination against Morris likening this tactic to McConnells modus operandi According to Ford both candidates planted coordinated whisper campaigns to twist Morriss narrative During his campaign kickoff event with conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Monday Morris called for a moratorium on immigration to the United States The event held just south of Louisville was attended by 1300 America First patriots Morris wrote The businessman told the crowd of supporters that both of his Republican primary challengers have never had a real job Career politicians have driven our country off a cliff he argued Morriss campaign ad features both Barr and Cameron praising McConnell as their mentor The newsletter continued But what makes Morris particularly threatening to the establishment is that he cannot be controlled He doesnt owe favors to Mitch McConnells network He hasnt come up through the ranks of party sycophancy He doesnt need to posture as proTrump to win favor with the grassrootshe actually believes in the America First vision and is willing to fight for it even when it alienates the cocktail class in Georgetown or the bureaucrats at the Commerce Department He is a candidate defined not by inherited political capital but by his willingness to burn it down Let us speak plainly this is still Donald Trumps Republican Party And despite Barr and Camerons efforts to claim the Trump mantle it is Morris who aligns most authentically with the MAGA ethos Hes not just parroting Trumps lineshes building on them His campaign announcement came on Trump Jrs podcast signaling a level of insider credibility that neither Barr nor Cameron can claim Again referring to previous Kentucky Crossroads commentary on Morris Ford wrote We believe in course correction And we believe in the power of honest reassessment While the site previously saw the MAGA candidate as a clever outsider with a catchy video and little political future Ford reiterated We were wrong Morris has not only proven himself a serious contenderhe has emerged as the most authentic most principled and most necessary voice in this race He offers Kentuckians something that has been missing in our politics for far too long clarity courage and conviction he wrote Nate Morris isnt the long shot anymore Hes the frontrunner for a new era