While Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes was addressing 16,000 Kentuckians last night, Sen. Mitch McConnell spoke to a virtually empty room of 250 people while campaigning with Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA).
Here was the scene at Sen. McConnell’s big Restore America rally with Bobby Jindal:
My crowd count is about 300 at this GOP rally. A few dozen empty seats. #KySen pic.twitter.com/FwPYVwYNDl
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— Theo Keith (@TheoKeith) October 30, 2014
In front of a crowd that The Courier-Journal estimated to be 250 people, McConnell continued to campaign against President Obama and Harry Reid, “If you only remember one thing we say tonight between now and next Tuesday, we have got to re-elect Mitch McConnell so that we can finally retire Harry Reid.”
Sen. McConnell was so disinterested in the rally that he left before Gov. Jindal spoke.
@Team_Mitch slips out the back door before @BobbyJindal speaks. #kysen
— Joe Gerth (@Joe_Gerth) October 30, 2014
While McConnell was talking to hundreds, according to her campaign Alison Lundergan Grimes was speaking to thousands, “Meanwhile, Alison concluded another full day on the campaign trail with a tele-town hall meeting where she spoke to more than 16,000 Kentuckians about her plans to raise the minimum wage, end tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas, help students earn degrees instead of debt, and fight for equal pay for women in the workplace.”
Republicans have had trouble turning out their supporters for almost a decade. In hindsight, the Republican wave of 2010 is looking more and more like an anomaly that was caused by Democrats not showing up.
McConnell is a thirty-year incumbent with no positive accomplishments to run on and no vision for the future of Kentucky. The media is still buying into the idea that Sen. McConnell will cruise to victory on Tuesday, but if one examines what is happening on the ground in Kentucky, it looks like Republicans aren’t excited in the least by the prospect of casting another vote for Mitch McConnell.
There is an enthusiasm gap in Kentucky, but it isn’t on the Democratic side. Mitch McConnell has had to buy supporters to attend his rallies, and use non-Kentucky residents in his ads. McConnell has been trying to scam Bluegrass State voters into believing in an illusion of popular support for his candidacy.
Sen. McConnell has no momentum. It’s less than a week before Election Day, and his supporters aren’t showing up. There may be an upset brewing in Kentucky, and Alison Lundergan Grimes pushing hard for the win.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
