Shortly before Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin won his first term four years ago, he made an elaborate show of contrition to onetime rival and fellow Republican Mitch McConnell, showing a satirical video at a GOP dinner in which Bevin appeared to get a McConnell-themed tattoo.

Now Bevin is in the homestretch of a bitter reelection battle — against the state’s Democratic Attorney General Andy Beshear — that is seen as a curtain raiser to McConnell’s own 2020 campaign for a seventh Senate term. And the Senate majority leader has been returning the love, working behind the scenes to boost his erstwhile antagonist, according to sources familiar with the race.

While it is by no means the first time that McConnell, a political power broker in Kentucky, has supported a candidate in his home state, his work on Bevin’s behalf is notable after the mutual displays of dislike that characterized their 2014 race. McConnell trounced Bevin by 25 points in a primary campaign rife with personal attacks from both sides, and was slow to support him the next year after Bevin emerged as the GOP gubernatorial nominee.

This time, McConnell has talked up Bevin’s race at state party functions. He urged Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel to send money and support Bevin’s way. And he has talked to President Donald Trump about the race, according to several sources.

“Leader McConnell and our campaign have been focused on making sure that Governor Bevin, [state attorney general nominee] Daniel Cameron and the rest of the Republican ticket are successful on election night,” McConnell’s campaign manager Kevin Golden said.