Matt Bevin: 'I Have Never Been A Member Of The Tea Party' (VIDEO)

(AP Photo/Stephen Lance Dennee)

Matt Bevin, a Kentucky conservative who is challenging Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, distanced himself from the tea party on Thursday.

"I'm a Republican. I'm running in a Republican primary," Bevin said during an interview on MSNBC's "Daily Rundown." "I have never been a member of a tea party."

Bevin is often labeled as a tea party candidate, and has received praise and endorsements from tea party leaders in Kentucky.

"Sen. Mitch McConnell represents the old guard in Washington D.C. that cares more about holding on to power than defending the principles of limited government, fiscal responsibility and individual freedom," Louisville Tea Party President Wendy Caswell said in August. "Those are the principles that Matt Bevin believes in. I know he believes in those fundamental conservative ideals because he has embodied them in his life's experiences."

Bevin has also aligned himself with tea partiers like Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on issues like Obamacare.

Watch Bevin's take on the tea party above.

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