DSCC endorses McGrath in race against McConnell

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) announced Thursday that it is endorsing Kentucky Democrat Amy McGrath in the race against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

While McGrath is running against several other Democrats in the primary, she has long been the favorite to challenge McConnell and has already begun receiving establishment support.

“Amy McGrath is a courageous leader who has spent her career taking risks and inspiring others to service,” Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.), the chairwoman of the DSCC, said in a statement. “In the Senate, she’ll be a champion for all Kentuckians, working to expand access to high-quality, affordable health care and education, and to invest in good paying jobs in communities across Kentucky.

“Instead of playing politics and doing the bidding of special interests, Amy will make sure that Kentuckians get the fair shot they deserve,” Masto added.

McGrath, a Marine veteran, gained national prominence in 2018 after she narrowly lost a congressional race in Kentucky’s ruby-red 6th Congressional District by 3 points. 

She launched her Senate campaign in July, saying that McConnell was elected “a lifetime ago” and has “bit by bit, year by year — turned Washington into something we all despise.”

However, McConnell will be a force to reckon with after finishing 2019 with more than $11.5 million cash on hand and having firm support from President Trump, fueled largely by his efforts to confirm the White House’s judicial nominees. 

The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election handicapper, rates McConnell’s race as “Likely” Republican.