Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is advising the newly-declared Democratic Senate candidate in Kentucky to “disown the president” if she wants to have any chance of defeating Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

At a Scott County Republican Party Independence Day luncheon on Wednesday, Paul told about 140 attendees that he didn’t think the race between McConnell and Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes “will be as competitive as some think it will be,” the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.

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“The biggest thing and the hardest part for any Democrat to win in Kentucky for a federal office is that you pretty much have to disown the president,” Paul explained.

He also insisted that his support for McConnell was not in conflict with legislation he was sponsoring to limit the amount of time a member of the U.S. House of Senate can serve to 12 years because President Barack Obama’s attempt to regulate pollution from coal was more troubling.

“I’ve always been for the concept of term limits, but the concept has never been directed toward anyone,” Paul explained. “I’d rather have someone 30 years in office for Kentucky jobs and Kentucky coal than someone defending the president’s war on coal.”

And while Paul called on Grimes to “disown” the nation’s first black president, he said that Republicans should do more to attract non-white voters.

“We need to have more African-Americans, more Hispanics, more Jewish Americans, more Arab Americans,” he insisted. “When we do, it’s going to be easier for us to win national elections.”

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[Photo credit: Flickr user Gage Skidmore]