McConnell responds to uproar over comment about Black voters

By PIPER HUDSPETH BLACKBURN
Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says the criticism he received over a comment made about African American voters is outrageous and offensive. The Republican leader on Friday said he misspoke at a news conference held in Washington on Wednesday. McConnell had said African Americans had voted “in just as high a percentage as Americans.” The comment implied that Black voters are somehow not American and underscored the concerns of voting rights advocates that Republicans state lawmakers are explicitly seeking to disenfranchise Black voters. McConnell said he should have said “all” before Americans. He said he had been an advocate for minority voting rights through the years.