Kentucky Sports Radio host Matt Jones said Thursday that voters shouldn't expect him to stop lobbing insults at the University of Louisville if he does run for U.S. Senate in 2020.

The outspoken sports commentator, who is a Democrat, added that the national party is fully behind former Marine pilot Amy McGrath — another possible challenger to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — and is shutting him out of the race.

Jones made the comments on a Thursday podcast after he read a question from a listener asking if he had been taking it easy on his beloved University of Kentucky's athletic rival because of a potential run for Senate.

"If I run for office, it's not going to stop my U of L trash talk," he said, before joking: "A person is who they is."

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Jones has built a statewide media empire around UK sports and for years has taken jabs at U of L's athletic program and its fans.

Winning Louisville is a must for any Democrat seeking to overthrow McConnell, a Republican, who is seeking a sixth term. The traditional thinking is that Kentuckians, who love their basketball as much and their bourbon, won't support a candidate who shows favoritism to one university over the other.

Jones dismissed that rationale on Thursday, however, saying that voters are more sophisticated and see through politicians who pretend to like both teams, despite the rivalry.

"We are big enough people to get beyond that, and if they can't, well, that's their fault," he said. "I don't hate U of L as a school. I don't like their sports program, they don't like ours, and I'm not going to be fake."

"Fake is being Mitch McConnell who wears U of L gear every day and then goes, 'well I'm a Kentucky fan, too,'" Jones added. "Shut up! You haven't been to a UK game in 25 years. You're not a Kentucky fan, you're a Louisville fan."

The McConnell campaign did not immediately respond to the Courier Journal's request for comment.

Also:Democrats call McConnell 'hypocrite' for flipping on Supreme Court stance

Jones also addressed support for McGrath, who is being courted by national Democrats to enter the race. She soared to national prominence when she ran for Congress in 2018, but ultimately lost to Republican incumbent Andy Barr in the state's central Kentucky swing district.

"The national party is all in on Amy McGrath," Jones said during the podcast. "All their efforts, all their recruitment, it's all in on her. They won't even speak to me until they go with her."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, of New York, has reportedly met with McGrath, urging her to run. Other political groups, such as the Ditch Mitch Fund, created a "Draft Amy" website that is running digital ads in support of her campaign.

Jones has said previously that he doesn't believe McGrath can win statewide after losing a congressional district many consider to be more moderate than the rest of Kentucky. He said during his program that many Democrats won't even speak to him until McGrath makes her decision.

McGrath did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Background:McGrath vs McConnell in 2020? Group launches campaign to 'draft' her

"Matt is a talk radio personality and Amy is a retired military officer and their style in approaching and making big decisions seems to match their personalities," said Democratic Mark Nickolas, who ran McGrath's 2018 congressional campaign.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee had tried to recruit Jones to run for Congress against Barr in 2016. He turned down that effort after attending a "boot camp" seminar in Washington where, "he came away disillusioned with the Democratic Party," according to a profile in Politico this year.

A March 2 email obtained by the Courier Journal from a Democratic source shows Roy Germano, a New York University adjunct professor, had reached out to Sen. Dick Durbin, of Illinois, who is the No. 2 Democrat, seeking a meeting about Jones running.

"Mr. Jones requests the opportunity to speak with Senator Durbin as soon as possible as he considers a possible 2020 candidacy," Germano said in the email.

Germano did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Jones told the Courier Journal on Thursday that he has wanted to talk to Senate Democrats to get more information about the race. He said Germano and others have reached out to him about running, and without his prompting have tried to facilitate a meeting with Durbin and other top Democrats.

No meetings with any Senate Democrats have occurred, Jones said.

During the podcast Jones said he he has spoken to McGrath, and that he is waiting for her to make a decision. He said he will be on vacation in June but will let Kentuckians know what he plans to do soon thereafter.

"Everybody out there that you hear say they know what I'm going to do, have them call me because I don't know what I'm going to do," Jones said on the podcast.

Read this:Amy McGrath says she won't run for governor of Kentucky

Health care professional Steven Cox, of Madisonville, and jazz musician J. Bennie Smith, of Louisville, are the only declared Democratic candidates in the race.

Actor George Takei, who starred in the original Star Trek television series, also tweeted that he was tempted to relocate to the Bluegrass just to run against McConnell.

Reporter Phillip M. Bailey can be reached at 502-582-4475 or pbailey@courierjournal.com. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/philb.