Mitch McConnell Blasts Challenger for Running Ads During National Emergency

In a statement this week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s campaign criticized Democrat challenger Amy McGrath for continuing to run opposition advertisements during a major national emergency. McGrath, who is running to replace McConnell in the campaign for Kentucky’s senior seat in the U.S. Senate, has been pushing her ads with intensity even as most of the nation is turning to focus on the coronavirus pandemic.

McConnell’s campaign said that McGrath is failing to take the crisis seriously.

“Amy McGrath’s decision to blanket the airwaves with deceitful ads during the coronavirus outbreak is tasteless and shameful,” said McConnell’s campaign manager Kevin Golden. “As Kentuckians adjust their daily lives and schedules to help stem the outbreak, the last thing they need to see on TV is negative political advertising. The McGrath campaign must stop airing all of their advertisements.”

McGrath’s campaign push isn’t limited to Kentucky. Because she’s taking on such a high-profile opponent in McConnell, she has spent a great deal of her money on running national ads in the hopes that she can attract fundraising dollars from outside the state.

In an interview with the Lexington Herald-Ledger, her spokesman tried to turn the criticism back on the Senate majority leader.

“Amy is well aware of the stress the coronavirus pandemic is causing Kentuckians and our nation. The only person who doesn’t seem to understand that is Sen. McConnell,” said spokesman Terry Sebastian. “He has a 35-year failed track record on issues like health care and jobs in Kentucky, and now — during a public health crisis — he took a long weekend instead of doing his job and working to pass a relief package immediately.”

But that’s still just partisan mudslinging, and it shows that you and your candidate are not taking this situation with the gravity that it deserves. McConnell and all other lawmakers in Washington are laser-focused on the immediate and unprecedented federal response to this crisis, and you’re in a war room thinking up your new attack ads. This ALONE shows that you are not prepared to lead. This alone shows that you have put your own self-interests over those of Kentucky voters. This alone disqualifies you from electoral consideration.

If McGrath can’t stand to sit on all the money she’s raised, that’s fine. Run commercials highlighting what YOU will do if elected to the Senate. Hell, use your airtime to tell voters how important it is to be focused on social distancing right now. But if you’re going to spam the airwaves with the usual partisan BS against McConnell, you are only proving that you don’t have what it takes to do the job.