ExMarine sets sights on McConnell’s seat
WASHINGTON — Amy McGrath, a Marine combat aviator who narrowly lost a House race to an incumbent Republican in Kentucky, has set her sights on an even more formidable target: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
McGrath, whose campaign announcement video in her House race showcased the viral power of social media to raise money and national profile, said Tuesday she will be trying to defeat one of the most entrenched officials in Washington in McConnell. But she sees him as vulnerable because of his lengthy tenure in Washington, his stance on health care and his taut allegiance to the policies of President Trump.
Her decision to enter the race represents a rare victory for Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, who has had difficulty persuading toptier candidates in other states to take on incumbent Republicans with control of the Senate at stake.
The contest also will test the power of incumbency against a call for generational change along with a measure of whether Trump’s popularity is transferable.
McGrath, 44, will almost certainly be able to raise enough money to mount a serious challenge to McConnell, 77, but she is still a decided underdog in a state that has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since Wendell Ford in 1992.
She is attempting to repeat her viral moment with a new video, one that leans hard on idealism while also attacking McConnell as the embodiment of a dysfunctional Washington.
“I felt like somebody needs to stand up to him,” McGrath said.
But her attacks on McConnell and his record carry risks because Trump remains highly popular in Kentucky, and McConnell has pushed through much of the president’s agenda and, perhaps more importantly, his nominees to federal courts, including Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.
She said that Kentucky voters supported Trump in part because of his promise to “drain the swamp” in Washington, lower drug prices and deliver a more effective alternative to the Affordable Care Act.
“Those things haven’t happened because of guys like Senator McConnell,” she said.