Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell and Democratic challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes sparred Monday evening in a debate notable for Grimes’ refusal to acknowledge whether she ever voted for President Obama.
McConnell had an uncomfortable moment of his own during an exchange with debate moderator Bill Goodman over Kentucky’s online health insurance marketplace, a result of Obamacare.
Grimes was on the attack from the outset of what is their only scheduled face-off before the Nov. 4 election. The Kentucky secretary of state tried to badger the Senate’s unflappable top Republican at every turn, referring to the industrialists Charles and David Koch as his “family” and his “henchmen” and accusing him of enriching his personal finances on the taxpayers’ dime. McConnell only responded to the second charge, explaining that his wealth was from an inheritance from his wife’s parents.
McConnell used every opportunity to tie Grimes to Obama and Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the man McConnell would replace as majority leader if he wins re-election and Republicans take control of the Senate in the midterm elections. McConnell focused much of his attacks on Grimes’ anti-coal supporters, arguing that a vote for the Democrat is a vote to cripple the Kentucky coal industry, a crucial driver of the state’s economy. Grimes responded that she, not Obama, was McConnell’s opponent on the midterm ballot.
But the one-hour debate, moderated by Goodman of Kentucky Educational Television, is likely to make news for Grimes’ continued bizarre avoidance of her support for Obama in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections. The issue first arose at an editorial board meeting last week when Grimes refused to answer whether she voted for Obama.
When asked by Goodman why she is reluctant is reveal whom she supported for president, a pretty standard piece of information for Senate candidates to discuss, Grimes said “there’s no reluctancy. This is a matter of principle. Our constitution grants, here in Kentucky, the constitutional right for privacy at the ballot box — for a secret ballot.”
However, the Lexington Herald Leader reported Monday evening that Grimes has freely admitted that she voted for former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton over Obama in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary.
Asked to describe the difference between an Obama Democrat and a Clinton Democrat, Grimes said: “It’s growing the middle class the right way.” Obama is extremely unpopular in Kentucky, and it’s understandable that Grimes would want to distance herself from the president. But her answer on this topic is unusual and has made for an awkward few days on the campaign trail.
McConnell’s toughest moment came when Goodman pressed him on what would happen to Kentuckians who now receive health insurance through Kentucky’s Obamacare insurance exchange, Kynect. McConnell reiterated that he favors repealing the Affordable Care Act, “root and branch,” asserting that he is nevertheless “fine” if Kentucky’s Obamacare exchange continues to exist. In fact, there is nothing to prevent Kentucky from maintaining its exchange, although money to subsidize the health care plans available for purchase there could dry up.
“Kentucky Kynect is a website,” McConnell said. “The website can continue. But in my view, the best interest of the country would be achieved by pulling out Obamacare root and branch.”
“With regard to Kynect, it’s a state exchange, they can continue it if they’d like to,” McConnell added. “With regard to the Medicaid expansion, that’s a state decision.”
That has been McConnell’s standard answer to this questions throughout the campaign.
The state’s health insurance exchange has been well-received by Kentuckians. But Obamacare itself, as a brand, remains highly unpopular, and McConnell supporters appeared happy with how the senator handled the question. The McConnell campaign suggested that Grimes’ embrace of the law might serve the the senator well in the closing weeks.
“Just so everyone is clear, @AlisonForKY just gave a full throated defense of Obamacare. #KYSEN,” McConnell campaign manager Josh Holmes tweeted.
