KY-Sen: AlterNet, “Moscow Mitch's Substantial Statewide Ad Buy Proves He Fears Amy McGrath (D)”

AlterNet has a great piece out that analyzes how competitive the U.S. Senate race between U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R. KY) and Lt. Colonel Amy McGrath (D. KY):

In Kentucky, Democratic senatorial candidate Amy McGrath has been waging an aggressive campaign against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is seeking reelection. McGrath knows she is fighting an uphill battle: Kentucky is a red state where President Donald Trump defeated Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton by 30% in 2016. But that doesn’t mean that McConnell isn’t taking McGrath’s campaign seriously: The Hill’s Tad Axelrod is reporting that this week, McConnell is responding to her attack ads with an attack ad of his own. McConnell’s campaign didn’t specify how much was spent on the ad but told The Hill that it was a “substantial statewide buy.”

Give the whole piece a read and they cover these four points indepth:

1. McConnell’s ad defends his record on coronavirus and health care

2. McConnell is being slammed in Kentucky newspapers for his ‘loyalty to Trump’

3. McGrath has a fundraising advantage — at least for now

4. McConnell is haunted by Gov. Andy Beshear’s shocking victory

McConnell’s never had an opponent that has raised more money than him and he’s used to relying on Super PACs. But this time, the Super PACs are going after him:

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YouTube Video

The group Fix Our Senate is launching a new ad targeting Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) over corruption scandals surrounding several senators amid the coronavirus pandemic.

In the 30-second digital ad a narrator claims McConnell “turned a blind eye to senators profiting from stock sales while America fights coronavirus.”

The ad includes flashes to news segments about Sens. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.), who are among a handful of senators accused of potentially violating a law banning Congress members from making financial trades based on nonpublic information.

Loeffler and Burr, along with Sens. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), each sold hundreds of thousands of dollars in stock within days of the Senate holding a classified briefing in January with the Trump administration about the threat of the coronavirus outbreak.

The narrator of the ad also hits McConnell for putting “handouts for big corporations ahead of real assistance for regular Americans.”

“His corruption continues while doctors and nurses can’t get the supplies they need and millions are unemployed,” the narrator says. “Enough is enough. Tell Mitch McConnell: end the culture of corruption in the Senate.”

The ad will run on digital platforms in Washington, D.C., for the next two weeks.

By the way, here’s another sign that Republicans are scare about McConnell’s chances:

Kentucky’s heavily Republican legislature voted Tuesday to require voters to show a government-issued photo ID, overriding Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto in the process.

Meanwhile, if a Kentucky voter heads to the state’s webpage hoping to learn how to obtain such an ID, they will encounter a message telling them ID-issuing offices are closed.

Strict voter ID laws are increasingly common in Republican-controlled states, and left-leaning groups like students, low-income voters, and voters of color are especially less likely to have the ID that these laws require. Although voter ID’s policy proponents often argue that the measure is necessary to combat voter fraud at the polls, such fraud is so rare that it is virtually nonexistent.

While voter ID laws, at best, are a solution in search of a problem, Kentucky’s new law could prove to be a particularly potent attack on the right to vote during a pandemic.

Let’s keep up the momentum and finally get rid of Moscow Mitch. Click here to donate and get involved with McGrath’s campaign.

Sam Sero

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