Washington (CNN) West Virginia Republican US Senate candidate Don Blankenship escalated his racial attacks on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in a new ad ahead of Tuesday's primary.

And then -- in an interview defending his use of the term "China people" in the ad -- he said it wasn't racist because "races are Negro, white Caucasian, Hispanic, Asian. There's no mention of race. I've never used a race word."

The new ad comes days before Tuesday's three-way GOP primary to take on Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in November. Blankenship faces attorney general Patrick Morrisey and Rep. Evan Jenkins.

"Swamp captain Mitch McConnell has created millions of jobs for China people," Blankenship says in the new ad, a low production value, direct-to-camera 30-second spot.

"While doing so, Mitch has gotten rich," he says. "In fact, his China family has given him tens of millions of dollars."