Another battle to defeat Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in Kentucky is shaping up much like his previous reelection contests: with a relatively easy victory for McConnell, the senator Democrats love to hate but can’t figure out how to beat.
Early optimism around retired fighter pilot Amy McGrath, a former Marine who nearly won a seat in Congress in 2018 before challenging McConnell this year, has, in recent weeks, given way to a realization of McConnell’s brute strength in Kentucky.
A recent survey from Mason-Dixon, which nailed the state’s deadlocked gubernatorial contest a year ago, found McConnell ahead by 9 points, well behind Trump ― who enjoys a 17-point lead in the state ― but still comfortably ahead of McGrath. Another poll, from the GOP-aligned firm Cygnal, found McConnell ahead by a similar margin and with a positive approval rating that the firm said had closed the door on the race.
“At this point,” Chris Kratzer, Cygnal’s vice president of research and analysis, said, “McGrath just doesn’t have a path to victory.”
More at Huffington Post:
Clip from the Lexington Herald Leader which has endorsed McGrath:
From : Reuters re: “McGrath can help Dems win the Senate even if she loses; her funding has far exceeded McConnell’s.”
McConnell, a tenacious political survivor, has endured election challenges in the past and is still expected to defeat McGrath, who on Tuesday emerged as her party’s nominee to challenge him.
But McGrath has raised more campaign funds than McConnell and poses a threat. That means the Republican Party and Republican-aligned political action committees may be forced to spend more to bolster McConnell’s re-election bid than they may have planned, potentially limiting resources that could go to help incumbents in eight other states who are seen as vulnerable, analysts and officials from both parties said.
McGrath has become a magnet for contributions from Democratic donors and activists who desperately want to oust McConnell, according to analysts and party officials. Her campaign raised more than $41 million as of June 3 – the latest available figure – compared to $27 million for McConnell.
And from AP :
Democrats are angling to tap into suburban support to make inroads in a state where they have struggled in recent years.
After weeks of mail-in balloting and early in-person voting, traditional Election Day voting takes place Tuesday as Kentuckians choose their congressional and state legislative lineups.
Headlining the election is the hard-hitting race between Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Democratic challenger Amy McGrath.