Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on Friday blasted his home state's Democratic governor, who recently called for the Electoral College to be abolished.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Wednesday the country needs to "move to a place where seven states don’t decide the presidency."
"We’ll have better government. We’ll have better politics. We’ll have better elections when we get to that point," the governor said at a gathering of Democrats in Lexington, according to the Kentucky Lantern. At a Thursday press conference, the governor clarified that he was calling for a national popular vote system, which would require changing the Constitution to eliminate the Electoral College.
"I think to do that, we would ultimately have to abolish the Electoral College," Beshear said, per the Lantern. "I know that’s been with us a long time, but we see where things currently stand."
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In a response released Friday, McConnell said Beshear showed "disregard" and even "borderline disdain" for the Constitution with his remarks.
"I wish I could say I’m surprised by the latest calls to abolish the Electoral College – but I’m not. Democrats’ disregard – and borderline disdain – for the constitutional guardrails that safeguard our political system has lurked below the surface of their rhetoric for a long, long time," said McConnell.
Beshear joins a growing number of Democrats who are in favor of the national popular vote determining the outcome of presidential elections, as opposed to the Electoral College system, which grants each state a number of electors who cast ballots for the president. There are 538 electors in total, which matches the number of federal representatives from each state. A candidate needs a majority of 270 electoral votes to win the White House.
In 48 states, those electors are awarded to the winner of the state's popular vote. But in Maine and Nebraska, electoral votes are awarded by congressional district.
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Opposition to the Electoral College has dramatically increased since Republican George W. Bush won the presidency in 2000 but lost the popular vote to Democratic nominee Al Gore. Former President Trump likewise lost the popular vote to Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016, even though he snagged the White House with an Electoral College win.
Democrats argue these outcomes were unfair and did not reflect the will of the majority. Republicans argue that the Electoral College is a necessary restraint on majority rule that protects minority interests, particularly those of Americans who live in rural parts of the country.
"No institution is too dear if it stands between a Democrat and their progressive ‘reforms’ to ‘preserve democracy’ – the standard euphemism for partisan power grabs on the Left. Those genuinely concerned about the future of our country should call for strengthening our constitutional guardrails, not obliterating them," McConnell said Friday.
"At its core, the Electoral College protects Americans from the whims of the majority, something I’m familiar with in the Senate. It’s what makes our democracy, and our sprawling nationwide elections, feasible. And it’s what compels presidents to govern nationally rather than pandering to the interests of New York and California. Without it, no presidential candidate would ever travel to a small state in Middle America, like Kentucky."
Representatives for Beshear did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
