Original published at Daily Kos
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee believes Kentucky is in play:
"The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee plans to go back on the air in Kentucky after the party has been encouraged by new polls suggesting the race against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is within reach."The party committee is reserving $650,000 in airtime to boost Alison Lundergan Grimes after reviewing recent internal and public polling, a DSCC official told POLITICO. The polling, the source says, suggested that independent voters are moving in the Democrat's direction."
The thing that makes this news is that a flurry of earlier reports suggested the DSCC was abandoning the state because they said they had no plans to purchase additional ads. Even though they were continuing GOTV and other efforts, that was interpreted as a signal of no confidence, but today's news turns that narrative on its head, because clearly the DSCC believes Kentucky is still within grasp.
Meanwhile, the Grimes campaign itself is entering the final two weeks of the campaign with a tough new ad going after Mitch McConnell on raising the minimum wage, extending unemployment benefits, and student loans.
McConnell wants the campaign to be about Barack Obama, but even though Grimes has left some ammunition on the table -- specifically, McConnell's contortions on Kynect -- her message is focused like a laser on McConnell and his record, because at the end of the day the question Kentucky faces is simply this: Whether or not the people of the state want Mitch McConnell to represent them in the Senate for another six years.
