KY Politics Insider: Barr’s campaign manager out & MTG ‘Jewish billionaires’ comment
Kentucky Politics Insider provides an analytical view of Kentucky politics and the conversations that drive decisions. Email me at ahorn@herald-leader.com or ping me on any one of the various social media sites with tips or comments.
Rep. Andy Barr’s campaign for U.S. Senate “parted ways” with its campaign manager days after his past social media posts critical of President Donald Trump surfaced, according to the Barr campaign.
Former campaign manager Blake Gober left Barr’s campaign last week, Barr spokesperson Alex Bellizzi confirmed to the Herald-Leader in a statement. The move came less than three months after he came on as Barr’s campaign manager. Gober replaced the late Tatum Dale, who died unexpectedly at age 35 in December.
“We parted ways with Blake last week. The latest Emerson College/Fox56 poll from Thursday shows that Andy Barr is leading this race and is the strongest America First candidate running for Senate. We are laser focused on winning,” Bellizzi wrote in a statement.
Gober declined to comment when reached by the Herald-Leader.
Barr is one of three leading Republican candidates for U.S. Senate in Kentucky to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell, alongside former state Attorney General Daniel Cameron and Lexington tech entrepreneur Nate Morris.
Criticism of Gober from many on the right came after a report from Breitbart, a conservative outlet that has boosted Morris, about several posts on X, formerly Twitter, criticizing Trump.
“Donald Trump is not fit to be President of the United States again. Any of the people on the stage tonight are much better suited to be President than either Trump or Biden,” Gober wrote during a GOP presidential primary debate held in the lead-up to the 2024 election.
Gober also criticized Trump on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol following weeks of Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
“I am proud that I have never voted for Donald Trump,” Gober wrote on X that day.
He expressed support for former GOP presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in X posts leading up to the 2024 election.
Gober also called Trump a “loser,” a “Divider-in-chief,” and a “stain on our party and country.”
Barr’s strategy throughout his campaign, and the strategy of outside groups supporting him, has been to hew closely to Trump. Ads featuring Trump’s brief shoutouts to Barr during events have littered Kentucky television air waves, and, like Morris and Cameron, Barr has agreed heartily with every Trump administration move during his run.
The Barr campaign’s ads appear to have worked to some extent. One recent independent poll conducted in late March by Emerson College and FOX56 has Barr leading with 28% support to Cameron’s 21% and Morris’ 15%. In that poll, 38% of the likely Republican voters surveyed think Barr will be most supportive of Trump’s agenda. The mark was 22% for Cameron and 21% for Morris.
MTG comments during Massie ‘money bomb’
Northern Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, locked in a primary battle against the Trump-endorsed Ed Gallrein, hosted a “money bomb” online donation event last Monday featuring some big names in GOP politics.
Former U.S. House member and Libertarian candidate for president Ron Paul popularized the concept of one-day “money bombs.,” raising vast sums of money from small donors in a short period. He and his son, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, are close allies of Massie.
By the primary metric of funds raised, the money bomb was a success. The goal of the night was to raise $100,000. At midnight, they had cleared $300,000.
For Massie — who is up against the most serious opposition he’s ever faced with Trump’s political network and several top GOP donors backing Gallrein — the money is needed.
But the event also veered into antisemitic territory, according to one Lexington rabbi asked to review comments made by former Republican U.S. House member Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Greene made comments about three billionaires supporting Gallrein via a political action committee called MAGA KY, which has been running ads bashing Massie across his Northern Kentucky-centric 4th Congressional District. Those three billionaires are Jewish, and have all expressed staunch support for Israel.
Greene said Massie was “tested and proven,” unlike Gallrein.
“(Gallrein) is literally propped up and funded by three Jewish billionaires. Now look, I’m not antisemitic. I don’t care what people’s religion are, but these three billionaires that are funding this opponent against Thomas Massie don’t even live in Kentucky. ... Their loyalty is to Israel, not the United States of America,” Greene said.
Rabbi David Wirtschafer, of Temple Adath Israel in Lexington, called Greene’s statements “offensive and antisemitic.”
“This rhetoric plays directly into the ‘dual loyalty’ narrative lie propagated by irresponsible leaders and should be denounced by all Americans regardless of their political party or persuasion,” Wirtschafer told the Herald-Leader.
Massie’s campaign did not respond directly to the criticism, in a statement noting the donors’ past progressive stances.
“What’s true is 79% of Woke Eddie’s max donors have also donated to Democrats like Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Chuck Schumer while his three billionaire PAC donors have done things like partner with George Soros to promote open borders, raise money for Chuck Schumer, and donate millions to promote trans activism and pro-abortion Democrats all over the country,” Massie wrote in a statement.
Greene also struck a notably anti-Trump tone throughout her remarks. She also lit into many House Republicans for being “just go along to get along.” She and Massie chided Gallrein over his allegiance to Trump being a hallmark of his campaign.
“If you’re at home and you’re just like, ‘I just want my congressman to just do everything President Trump says,’ well then, guess what? You want a dictator. You don’t care about freedom. You really need to look inside yourself and examine why would you want that,” Greene said.
A Massie-Gallrein debate?
Also at issue in the race is the matter of a debate between Massie and Gallrein. Other high-profile primaries in the state have already held at least one debate — that includes Democratic and GOP contests for the open U.S. Senate seat as well as the 6th Congressional District seat Barr is vacating.
Gallrein has yet to agree to a debate with Massie, who has made hay out of the ordeal.
Massie posted to X a clip of an interview between Gallrein and local radio host Bill Cunningham where Cunningham offered to host a debate between the two.
“Well look, I’ve got farm work to do and about a thousand other things,” Gallrein said, chuckling. “Let me get back to you on that.”
Massie added in another post that four official debates have not heard back from Gallrein, claiming he’s “chickened out.”
A spokesperson for Gallrein did not immediately respond to a question on if he planned to attend any debates.
New Morris, Barr ads
In the contentious GOP race to replace McConnell, Barr has an ad featuring a new face, and Morris has placed an ad with a fresh emphasis.
The latest from Morris’ campaign is completely positive.
“I was raised by a single mother in a family of auto workers. They’d come home with grease on their hands after working double shifts. These are the people I’ll fight for in the United States Senate,” Morris says direct to camera in the ad.
Soft background music and bright spring colors provide a new setting for some of Morris’ marquee proposals.
He says in the ad that his family roots inform his support for Trump’s tariffs to “stop the elites from sending our jobs overseas,” and his push to deport every single undocumented immigrant “because we have to take care of our own.”
In another new ad that started running this month, Barr takes a different tack than he had previously. In ads on race — where he spoke the now-infamous “it’s not a sin to be white” line — and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Barr spoke directly to the camera.
In an ad released Tuesday, former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines, who has become a conservative celebrity for her activism against transgender women’s participation in women’s sports, speaks to the camera.
“They told me to shut up and swim,” Gaines begins the ad, speaking of her activism after tying for fifth place in an NCAA swim event to a transgender woman. Gaines was a 12-time NCAA All-American.
“I said no, and so did Andy Barr. Andy Barr fought the radicals. He banned DEI, and he helped save women’s sports. President Trump and Andy Barr stood with us when no one else would. That’s why I’m supporting Andy, and you should, too,” Gaines said, ending with a smile.
This story was originally published April 8, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
