While he may end up minority leader instead of majority leader, Mitch McConnell seems a cinch on Nov. 3 to retain the title he has held for 36 years: U.S. senator from Kentucky.
Now 78 and the longest-serving U.S. senator in Bluegrass State history, Republican McConnell holds a lead of nearly 10 percentage points over Democrat Amy McGrath in the two most recent polls.
The Cygnal poll released Friday showed McConnell beating McGrath among likely voters statewide 50% to 40%. A day before, the Mason-Dixon poll showed his lead over McGrath 51% to 42%.
Mason-Dixon also showed President Donald Trump with a healthy 56% to 39% lead in Kentucky over Joe Biden.
McGrath, a former U.S. Marine Corps pilot and self-styled “moderate Democrat,” barely won the Democrat primary (45% to 43%) over progressive state Rep. Charles Booker.
“While the national distaste for politicians could also spill over into Kentucky, elections are still local and as such, I believe Sen. McConnell will win comfortably,” Daniel Groves, chief of staff to Kentucky’s former Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher, told Newsmax. “The Louisville and Lexington markets tend to be fairly left-leaning, so he’ll struggle there, but the rest of Kentucky is fairly conservative — both Republicans and Democrats — and appreciates the leadership he’s delivered.”
Groves also noted that “no matter what voters may or may not feel about him on a personal level, they tend to be pragmatic and there is no question Sen. McConnell gets things done for Kentucky. He has also been making it happen in Washington on behalf of conservatives and his work to confirm Judge [Amy Coney] Barrett is an example of willingness to plow ahead in the face of adversity and do the job. Kentuckians appreciate this shoulder-to-the-wheel tenacity.”
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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