Amy McGrath, a former Marine lieutenant colonel, launched a Democratic campaign on Tuesday to unseat Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in 2020.
In her announcement video, McGrath describes sending a letter to McConnell at the age of 13 about her desire to fly fighter jets. A letter, McGrath says, McConnell never responded to.
“I’m Amy McGrath, and I’ve often wondered: How many other people did Mitch McConnell never take the time to write back, or even think about?” she says.
During an interview with MSNBC’s Hallie Jackson Tuesday, McGrath avoided attacking President Donald Trump, who won Kentucky decisively in 2016. Instead, she blamed McConnell for preventing Trump from carrying out the promises that led Kentuckians to vote for the President in the first place, such as lowering drug prices.
“They voted for Donald Trump to drain the swamp,” McGrath said. “The swamp was really built by Mitch McConnell.”
McConnell’s reelection campaign responded by creating a website attacking “Wrong Path McGrath,” which describes her as a “radical liberal Democrat.”
Jesse Hunt, the communications director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, knocked McGrath’s defeat in her 2018 Kentucky House race.
“Statewide in 2020 against @Team_Mitch will be infinitely more difficult,” Hunt tweeted. “Why? She’s still the same person who called herself ‘the most progressive person in Kentucky'”
Amy McGrath blew a suburban KY House race in 2018 despite spending huge amounts of money. Statewide in 2020 against @Team_Mitch will be infinitely more difficult.
Why? She’s still the same person who called herself “the most progressive person in Kentucky” https://t.co/b7c9oq8Rrb
— Jesse Hunt (@JJHunt10) July 9, 2019
Watch McGrath’s interview on MSNBC below:
McConnell challenger Amy McGrath explains how a Dem can win a red state like Kentucky: Kentuckians "voted for Donald Trump to drain the swamp. The swamp was really built by Mitch McConnell." pic.twitter.com/b06n7x0B6l
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) July 9, 2019
