The reelection campaign for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is selling “Cocaine Mitch” t-shirts, an embrace of the label given to the Kentucky Republican by failed 2018 West Virginia Senate candidate Don Blankenship (R).
“A year ago, a legend was born. Own your piece of history. #CocaineMitch” his campaign tweeted Wednesday, adding, “Become an official member of the Cartel.”
The red shirts cost $35. They depict a silhouette of McConnell on the front, surrounded by specks that appear to represent cocaine, and the word “Mitch.” The backs of the garments say “Team Mitch” and “cartel member.”
Blankenship last year ran an advertisement in which he said “one of my goals as U.S. senator will be to ditch Cocaine Mitch.”
He later said in a news release that he was referring to McConnell’s “father-in-law who founded and owns a large Chinese shipping company [and] has given Mitch and his wife millions of dollars over the years,” adding that the company was implicated in alleged cocaine smuggling.
McConnell apparently took the monicker in stride. His campaign tweeted an image of McConnell that contained an apparent reference to the TV series “Narcos” following Blankenship’s primary loss.
“Thanks for playing, @DonBlankenship,” the campaign wrote.
Around the time of the primary, he was also answering his phone as “Cocaine Mitch.”
The majority leader is up for reelection in 2020.