Alison Lundergan Grimes has put Kentucky’s heroin use problem at the center of her campaign.
The Kentucky Democratic Senate candidate is running a radio ad in the Bluegrass State criticizing Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell for not taking a stand on state legislation that would have toughened the penalties for heroin traffickers.
Kentucky has been proclaimed “Ground Zero,” for heroin abuse by the Kentucky Enquirer.
In Northern Kentucky, more than half of all overdose deaths were were caused by heroin, according to a report issued by the Office of Drug Control Policy.
It’s not the first time Grimes has used the state’s growing heroin problem to attack McConnell, who is the U.S. Senate minority leader.
In March, McConnell declined to provide public support for the heroin legislation, telling a Kentucky radio station he doesn’t take positions on state issues.
Grimes, however, pointed out that McConnell then offered public support for a state bill that would allow fellow Kentuckian and U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican, to run for president and for his U.S. Senate seat in 2016.
“Lying to keep your job is widely considered a vice, but what will Kentuckians think about a senior senator who used the heroin epidemic as a cover for his own self-interest?” Grimes proclaimed on her campaign website in March.
McConnell leads Grimes by 5 percentage points in the RealClearPolitics polling average.
