Senator McConnell (R-KY), leader of the Senate but in trouble in his reelection race, is looking for a bit of leeway from his probable opponent:
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s campaign called on a potential Democratic opponent — former Marine Corps pilot Amy McGrath — to stop running political advertisements during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Amy McGrath’s decision to blanket the airwaves with deceitful ads during the coronavirus outbreak is tasteless and shameful,” said McConnell 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 has been running advertisements in Kentucky since July, when she first announced her campaign for U.S. Senate. Recently, she has been running national ads on MSNBC and Fox News in an effort to boost her already prolific fundraising totals. [Lexington Herald-Leader]
Meanwhile, in Ohio …
Arkansas Republican Tom Cotton, a freshman senator up for reelection in November, launched a highly unusual new TV ad this week.
The content was standard, pro-Trump, anti-Democrat fare. What was very atypical was that it aired hundreds of miles from his home state, in Ohio.
As it turns out, the ad had nothing to do with Cotton’s current campaign, and everything to do with the one he’s eyeing four years from now — for the White House. He and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) are running commercials aimed at raising their profiles in key electoral battlegrounds and — perhaps more important — ingratiating themselves with President Donald Trump and his supporters, who could prove critical in any future Republican presidential primary contest.
The twin offensives underscore how the 2024 Republican presidential primary is already underway even as Trump is battling for a second term. Republicans with future national aspirations are hitting early primary states, jockeying to win the favor of major donors, and auditioning before conservative activists. [Politico]
The Republican message is decidedly mixed. No campaigning for the 2020 election, but yes for 2024?
I might also add that it used to be a conservative value that candidates for higher office – for any sort of promotion, really – show some sort of competency and accomplishment before hand. This is no longer true, it appears. Cotton, from what little he’s done, is a real dick. Scott, also a freshman Senator, has not done much in the positive column that I have seen. On a negative note, though, there’s this deceptive little number, which I felt compelled to rip into little pieces a couple of years ago.
But Senator “Moscow Mitch” just makes me laugh. He’s so pitiful when he’s put upon, isn’t he?
