It shouldn’t come as any big surprise that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has publicly endorsed his protege, Secretary of State Trey Grayson, in the race for Senate in Kentucky. The GOP primary will be held May 18.

McConnell’s backing has always been implicit. The only surprise is that McConnell would make his support public now, and risk slightly greater embarrassment if and when Grayson loses. Recent polls show Paul with a large lead. He also performs better than Grayson against both of the Democratic Senate hopefuls in November ballot tests.