Former Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath announced that she will challenge Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for his seat in 2020.
McGrath, 44, previously launched an unsuccessful bid for the Kentucky House in 2018, losing with 47.8% of the vote to her Democratic rival. Her decision to join the race makes her the first serious challenge to the 77-year-old Republican, who has served as a senator since 1985.
In her first campaign video announcing her bid, McGrath detailed what she believes are McConnell’s failure to listen to his constituents during his time in the Senate. She said McConnell was “elected a lifetime ago,” and that “bit by bit, year by year, turned Washington into something we all despise.”
“I learned as a daughter, a mom, a Marine and a fighter pilot that the mission can never be forgotten,” she said while looking into the camera.
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
In a Tuesday morning interview on MSNBC, McGrath said McConnell was botching some of the work that President Trump is trying to do.
“I think this is different, it’s a different race,” McGrath said. “You can say Kentucky is a very red state, but it’s a very pro-Trump state. And if you think about why Kentuckians voted for Trump, they wanted to drain the swamp. And Trump said that he was going to do that. Trump promised to bring back jobs, he promised to lower drug prices for so many Kentuckians and that is very important.
“And who stops them along the way? Who stops the president from doing these things? Well, Mitch McConnell,” she said.
