Another prominent Republican to campaign for Andy Barr — in Amy McGrath’s home county

House Speaker Paul Ryan is coming to Kentucky to campaign for U.S. Rep. Andy Barr in the final stretch of his re-election bid in Kentucky’s Sixth Congressional District.

Ryan will appear this week with Barr in Scott County, the home county of Barr’s Democratic challenger Amy McGrath, to help boost Barr in the midst of a tight race.

“I am honored that my friend, Speaker Paul Ryan is taking time out of his busy schedule to come to Kentucky in advance of next week’s election,” Barr said. “I look forward to introducing him to our signature industries and letting him see firsthand the positive impact our tax cuts have had on the hardworking people of the Sixth District.”

Ryan’s visit marks the second appearance of a major Republican on behalf of Barr. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump held a rally in Richmond to help get out the vote among his Republican base.

McGrath has criticized Barr for his loyalty to the Republican leadership, saying it is an indication he’s put his party before the country. In one of her ads, she accused him of voting with Republicans 97 percent of the time (a figure that takes into account procedural votes).

McGrath’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The visit comes as both campaigns make their final push in the last week of the campaign. Barr won the district by 22 points in 2016 and has been working to maintain those voters as McGrath has waged a campaign to attract registered Democrats in rural counties of the district who have been voting Republican in the past few elections.

Ryan announced he would be retiring from Congress last Spring, after he was able to pass the Republican’s signature tax bill last December. But that hasn’t stopped the House Speaker from raising a substantial amount of money for the 2018 campaign.

Ryan’s Super PAC, the Congressional Leadership Fund, set up a field office in Lexington earlier this year and has already invested more than $3 million in the district, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The group has attempted to help Barr maintain Republican voters in the district in part by painting McGrath policies as liberal and out of touch.

Barr won Scott County by 37 percentage points in 2016.

This story was originally published October 29, 2018 at 11:56 AM.