Mitch Mcconnell Gets His Latest Challenger. Here’s What That Means for the Senate Majority Leader. | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: This informational nugget was sent to me by Ben Shapiro, who represents the Daily Wire, and since this is one of the most topical news events, it should be published on BCN.

    This article was written by Ashe Schow.

    Every six years, Democrats offer up a sacrificial lamb to take on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). Each one seems a plausible alternative and receives constant media attention and support, but none really have a chance against his political machine.

    The latest challenger is Marine combat aviator Amy McGrath, who lost her last election. But with Democrats the way they are these days, even losers get held up as formidable contenders. McGrath ran for the House of Representatives in 2018 and lost to Rep. Andy Barr - 51% to 47.8%.

    Politically, McGrath holds some right-leaning positions, including support for the Second Amendment (though she renounced her membership to the National Rifle Association) and claims to be a fiscal conservative, though she opposed President Donald Trump's tax cuts and repealing Obamacare.

    On Tuesday, McGrath announced she would run against McConnell, writing on Twitter that "Everything that's wrong with Washington had to start somewhere-it started with him."

I’m running to replace Mitch McConnell in the U.S. Senate. Everything that’s wrong with Washington had to start somewhere—it started with him. With your help, we can defeat Mitch and defend democracy. Join us: https://t.co/c4b0WAp4ji pic.twitter.com/DNLjFkHGua

— Amy McGrath (@AmyMcGrathKY) July 9, 2019

    Obviously, this statement is false, since the senate existed long before McConnell was first elected in 1985. He has also followed logically (for better or worse) the steps first put into place by his predecessor, former Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV).

    Moving past that, Fox News reported that McGrath faces a steep uphill battle to unseat McConnell.

    "History is not on McGrath's side, as Kentucky has not elected a Democratic senator since 1992," Fox reported. "Trump's popularity in the state may also be a hurdle, as McConnell successfully helped the president achieve a number of goals, including the confirmation of Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh."

    In response to McGrath's announcement, McConnell's official campaign Twitter account posted a video showing McGrath's numerous far-Left positions with the caption, "Welcome to the race, Amy."

Welcome to the race, Amy. #KYSen pic.twitter.com/VdmKfFvTpI

— Team Mitch (@Team_Mitch) July 9, 2019

    McConnell's campaign manager, Kevin Golden, also provided a statement to Fox News regarding McGrath's announcement. He called her "an extreme liberal who is far out of touch with Kentuckians."

    "Comparing President Trump's election to 9/11, endorsing a government takeover of healthcare, and calling the wall 'stupid' is a heckuva platform that we will be delighted to discuss over the next sixteen months," he added.

    For McConnell, this race shouldn't be too difficult. Though he is not a popular politician, he does run a massive political machine and decades of campaign experience in a reliably Red State that the media has been unable to crack.

    In 2014, media outlets propped up Alison Lundergan Grimes as a formidable alternative to McConnell, yet he trounced her in the election, 56.2% to 40.7%. In that election, the incumbent raised and spent $30 million. This time around, expect money to pour in from out of state like it did for Robert "Beto" O'Rourke in Texas last year. As Mark Hemingway pointed out on Twitter, McGrath will likely become "this cycle's Beto."

    "Media will hype her campaign relentlessly, without much justification, and in the end -- she's gonna lose."

Prediction: Amy McGrath's campaign against McConnell is going to be this cycle's Beto. Media will hype her campaign relentlessly, without much justification, and in the end -- she's gonna lose.

— Mark Hemingway (@Heminator) July 9, 2019

    Another Twitter pundit noted that beating McConnell is not the point of McGrath's campaign.

    "The point is always to recruit as many formidable candidates as possible to make the other team spend money that would otherwise go towards playing offense," he wrote.

Amy McGrath isn't going to beat Mitch McConnell in KY-SEN, but that's not really the point. The point is always to recruit as many formidable candidates as possible to make the other team spend money that would otherwise go towards playing offense.

— Esoteric Jeff (@EsotericCD) July 9, 2019