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BY: Nathaniel Ballantyne
The States of Kentucky and South Carolina are about to experience a political earthquake. Senators Mitch McConnell, the majority leader in the United States Senate, is sinking in the polls. Simultaneously, Senator Lindsey Graham, the Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman, has gone to FOX NEWS begging supporters for more cash.
In a stunning new poll, Mitch McConnell is down 41-40 against his Democratic Kentucky challenger Amy McGrath. Even though this is a statistical tie, political analysts believe that Amy McGrath could defeat McConnell. Democrats need to win four seats to control the Senate, and McConnell may be one of the four senate seats Democrats win this season. McConnell has described this campaign as an alley fight and admitted he is in danger of losing his seat.
Sen. McConnel has been in the Senate since 1985 and has been majority leader since 2015. It is time for him to go, and the voters of Kentucky seem to agree. Kentucky’s economy continues to shrink amid the coronavirus pandemic with thousands of unemployed voters. Many unemployed workers interviewed by TrueNews said that they do not have enough money to pay their bills. Their unemployment benefits are not enough, and some of them have simply stopped looking for jobs. McConnell has been unable to muster a majority to vote on an economic relief package. The polls in Kentucky seem to reflect the voters’ belief that it is time to retire McConnell. The economic trouble in Kentucky is growing. That has added new urgency to the political standoff on Capitol Hill, where a prolonged deadlock could worsen the financial situation of many voters in a state where people were hurting long before the pandemic arrived.
Another US Senator whose seat is in danger is Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. Recent polls showed that he is virtually tied with his Democratic challenger Jamie Harrison (48-48), with few undecided voters. Lindsey has never been so afraid of losing. Since his election to the US senate in 2002, Sen. Graham has not had a serious Democratic challenger. In 2014 he won reelection by more than 15 percentage points. This year things are different. Voters are upset with how President Trump has handled the Covid-19 pandemic. This anger at Trump came when Graham faces a well-funded centrist Democrat who has outraised Graham and put South Carolina in play for the Democrats.
Like Amy McGrath in Kentucky, Jaime Harrison has shattered fundraising records and forced Graham to play defense. Harrison’s campaign raised nearly $29 million by the end of June and outraised him in July, August, and probably September, forcing Graham to go to Fox News to beg viewers for more money. According to two recent polls from Morning Consult and Quinnipiac University, Harrison and Graham are tied. Some political observers, including the Cook Political Report, Sabato’s Crystal Ball, and POLITICO’s Steve Shepard, rate the contest as “likely” Republican,
RealClearPolitics calls it a toss-up. TrueNewsblog calls South Carolina and Kentucky for the Democrats.
