Afghan visa votes come back to haunt Republicans in key 2026 races

During the final, chaotic days of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, Rep.

During the final, chaotic days of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., stood as an unwavering champion for resettling the Afghan nationals who had aided America and its allies.

“We have failed in our obligation to help many of these Afghans who risked their lives, and in many cases died, for the cause of their own country in assistance to the United States, and we owe them to help them get into our country with these visas,” Barr said then in an interview with Kentucky Educational Television.

Now a Senate candidate, Barr saw his remarks resurface and quickly go viral last week after the shooting of two National Guard members — one of whom died — in Washington, D.C. Law enforcement officials identified the suspect as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who served alongside U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Lakanwal pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges including first-degree murder.

“I don’t believe we owe anything to foreigners from Afghanistan, but I do believe our politicians owe it to the American citizens that they’re supposed to represent, to not flood our country with thousands of people from the 3rd world who don’t share our values and never will,” businessman Nate Morris, one of Barr’s rivals in the GOP primary, wrote in a social media post sharing a clip from the interview.

The clash offered a preview of how the topic could jam other Republicans running in competitive primaries next year, from the already hostile Kentucky race to Sen. John Cornyn’s re-election battle in Texas and campaigns for governor in Florida and South Carolina.