Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell defeated primary challenger Matt Bevin in the primary election Tuesday. But Bevin says he isn’t ready to back the senator.
McConnell easily defeated Bevin by a 25-point margin, and thanked his Tea Party-backed challenger for making him a better candidate.
At least one group, Senate Conservatives Fund, that supported Bevin has said it will back McConnell in the general election.
Bevin says he isn’t going to vote for Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes, but by-passed endorsing McConnell directly.
“My supporters will support who they want to support just as they chose in this race to support who they wanted to. I’m not anybody’s dictator with respect to where their votes go and I don’t intend to be,” he says.
Tuesday's election did make history. McConnell is the first party leader to receive less than 75 percent of the vote in a primary election.