Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell isn't terribly popular. Despite having served over two decades in the Senate (or perhaps because of this) his approval rating has been stuck in the range of 49 percent to 56 percent for the better part of the last two years, according to SurveyUSA. Polling also indicates that McConnell would have serious trouble dispatching at least one potential Democratic candidate. That's why the Kentucky Republican might be a bit worried about news that a major league Democrat in his state is perhaps gearing up for run in 2008, as Joseph Gerth reports for The Louisville Courier-Journal.
Attorney General Greg Stumbo said yesterday he may challenge U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell in his bid next year to become the longest-serving senator in Kentucky's history.During a filming of a public affairs show on WKYT-TV in Lexington, Stumbo said he has been receiving encouragement to run against McConnell, who as minority leader is the most powerful Republican in the Senate.
[...]
Despite the fact that McConnell is only the second Kentuckian ever to lead a party in the U.S. Senate, Democrats appear to be lining up to challenge him. They believe McConnell will be weakened by his support for President Bush's policies, including the war in Iraq.
Because of his role leading Senate Republicans, McConnell must be the chief defender of Bush's policies.
I don't know too much about Stumbo save for the fact that as Attorney General he led the investigation into the corruption of Republican Governor Ernie Fletcher (an investigation that is largely the cause of Fletcher's massive deficit in the polls ahead of his reelection bid this fall). But I do know that McConnell is in much worse of a position than many might imagine a Republican from a state seemingly trending towards the GOP might be. To get an idea of this, just take a look at the skewed polling McConnell commissioned to make people believe he is in a stronger position than he is actually in. Safe incumbents just don't do this type of thing. What's more, not only does McConnell have troubles broadly within the Kentucky electorate, he also potentially faces a primary challenge, indicating a possibly underwhelming level of support from within his own party.
So regardless of whether Kentucky Democrats settle on Stumbo -- or businessman Charlie Owen, former congressional candidate Andrew Horne (both of whom Gerth mentions in his article) or someone else -- the Democrats have a real shot at defeating Mitch McConnell this cycle. And at the least, there is a clear opportunity for giving McConnell a good enough scare that he has to curtail his obstructionism and stay at home in his state rather than travel and raise money for other candidates.
(On the way to the Beltway...)
|
|
|
Permalink :: 22 Comments :: Post a Comment
|
In order to post a comment, you must be logged in. If you have a member account, please log in to comment.
If not, you can make an account right here. It's quick and free.
