Former Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath bested Lexington Mayor Jim Gray in the Democratic primary for a Kentucky congressional seat the party hopes to flip from red to blue in November.
Gray was urged to jump in the race by national Democrats but his Lexington geographical base and establishment support could not overcome grassroots enthusiasm for McGrath.
McGrath’s candidacy drew national attention when her first television ad went viral. In it, she talks about being the first female Marine to fly in an F/A-18 on a combat mission. But McGrath’s message to voters that she “didn’t serve a political party; I served a country” appears to have resonated.
National Democrats favored Gray’s experience and name identification. In the final days of the race, Gray took a swipe at McGrath for living outside of the state for 20 years during her military service.
That didn’t sit well with veterans.
The carpetbagger charge failed and now McGrath will challenge Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky. Democrats believe they can unseat Barr in their quest to regain the House majority in the midterm elections.
The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with Speaker Paul Ryan, quickly issued a statement on McGrath attempting to define her as an “ultra-liberal.”
“Once again, the DCCC meddled in a primary and failed,” said Corry Bliss, director of CLF. “Now, Democrats are stuck with an ultra-liberal candidate who can’t even name the counties she wants to represent in Congress.”
Rep. Ben Lujan, D-N.M., chairman of the DCCC, praised McGrath as “battle-tested in more ways than one” and said she “ran a tremendous race to win.”
McGrath says she has progressive positions but early on she started distancing herself from national Democrats. Like a number of other Democratic candidates running in red seats, McGrath wants leadership change in her party.
“People are increasingly worried that the Democratic party is led by San Francisco and New York and there seems to be nothing in between as far as leadership,” McGrath told the Washington Examiner in March.
She took a stronger tone in the final week of the race, saying she has no allegiance to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
“Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic Party leadership recruited and backed Jim Gray to get in the race against me. So I have no love or allegiance to them,” McGrath said on KET’s Kentucky Tonight.
