Posted on 08/01/2013 6:32:31 AM PDT by cotton1706
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., looks to be headed into one of the toughest campaigns of his political career, as his Democratic opponent, Alison Lundergan Grimes, leads him in his 2014 re-election race, according to a new poll.
A survey by the Democratic polling firm Public Policy Polling shows Grimes with 45 percent support and McConnell with 44 percent, Kentucky's Courier-Journal reports. The poll was paid for by two groups who oppose McConnell, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Democracy for America, according to the Courier-Journal.
[READ: Poll: Mitch McConnell Trounces Challengers]
Grimes, 34, is Kentucky's secretary of state who announced her bid against McConnell, the Senate minority leader, July 1. She was criticized by the political class in Washington, D.C., for a harried roll-out of her announcement, which was delayed for an hour and sported an old campaign sign. But the latest poll shows she's poised to capitalize on her 71-year-old opponent's vulnerabilities: He has served in the Senate since 1985 and has become very unpopular with Kentucky voters. The poll shows 40 percent approve of McConnell while 54 percent disapprove of him.
After tea party favorite Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., defeated McConnell's hand-picked Republican candidate, Trey Grayson, during the 2010 Senate campaign, McConnell has been working to buffer himself against a conservative primary candidate. He's also been spearheading Republican opposition to President Barack Obama and a Democratically controlled Senate, taking the blame in the media for helping create gridlock in Washington. Both factors are likely contributing to his unpopularity.
[READ: Kentucky's Alison Lundergan Grimes to Take on Mitch McConnell]
And despite the fact that McConnell has drawn a primary opponent, wealthy businessman Matt Bevin, who is already drawing support from some tea party groups, the political veteran is well-equipped to prevail in 2014. McConnell has already raised more than $13 million for his race and is known as a savvy, ruthless campaigner.
Grimes, meanwhile, will likely receive support and resources from national Democrats who have been trying to target McConnell during this election cycle. The better she does in polling, the more likely she is to receive campaign funding from outside resources.
The poll surveyed 1,210 voters by phone from July 19 and July 21 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percent.
Let's keep weakening McConnell so he can be taken out in the primary and the republicans in the senate will get new leadership!
Meaningless poll at this point, but McConnell or no, that seat needs to remain in GOP hands. If McConnell goes down in the primary, hopefully the new nominee won’t blow up his campaign with some off-hand comment about rape.
Amazing, isn't it?
Depends on the weighting of responders. However, McConnel has become the consumate DC insider, which apparently has weakened him at home. He is on the track to suffer the same fate as Kay Bailey Hutcheson, etc. John Cornyn was playing the insider game until Ted Cruz upset Dewhurst (again a Republican insider) in what should have been a slam-dunk for Dewhurst. Now Cornyn is following Curz’s lead, and appears safe from a primary challenger.
It’s RINO hunting season again.
A properly functioning party would be having closed-door meetings with McConnell pushing him to retire.
He is a sneaky fraud, always willing to acquiesce to leftists, so it’s no wonder he is having trouble. Bob
Spot on.
Refreshing news !
The McConnell attack ad was both bitter and duplicitous.
Yes, his family business did not pay taxes a year, and got a bailout. But the reason was that it had been struck by lightning and burned to the ground.
Maybe the threat of losing his seat will cause McConnell to temporarily find a spine to appease the voters.
Keep up the fight Matt Bevin and put this egregious RINO out to pasture for the sake of Kentucky and America.
Good on Texas for sending Cruz to the Senate!
Now finish the job by taking down Cornyn.
Here’s my way too early prediction. Mitch (Harry’s bitch) will not be in the Senate next term. He either loses the primary or he loses the general election.
There are far too many conservatives in this state who, after his gutless collaborations this last term, will no longer vote for the lesser of two evils.
So we had better get Bevin into the general election. No other course of action.
old dude needs to go
down with oligarchies
The GOP will keep this seat, but I just hope the GOP winner is a tea party man and not Mitch.
I love hunting Rinos
-— they will look to his opponent to keep the seat republican. ——
We can hope.
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