Republicans could profit from the revelation that top Kentucky Democrats think their own U.S. Senate hopeful, Alison Lundergran Grimes, is lying about her support for the state's coal industry, says an
editor who published the Grimes campaign exposé with help from conservative filmmaker James O'Keefe.
Aaron MacLean, managing editor of the Washington Free Beacon, told "MidPoint" host Ed Berliner on
Newsmax TV Monday that O'Keefe's hidden-camera interviews with Grimes campaign officials could have "a big impact" on the race between her and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
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"Kentucky is a state that Republicans really need to retain if they are going to have a serious shot at taking control of the Senate," said McLean, adding that the Kentucky race is "much closer … than you would typically expect."
How the video will affect Grimes' chances in a state where coal is paramount remains to be seen. In the footage collected by O'Keefe's Project Veritas, Grimes campaign staffers and other Democratic Party officials say Grimes' public support of coal is insincere, at best, and designed to help her get elected.
MacLean said the story of Grimes' alleged lying also throws a light on the tightrope that Democratic candidates in Republican-leaning states have to walk between liberal campaign donors and conservative voters.