7/24/20
Amy McGrath, a former Marine fighter pilot who is attempting a second bid for political office, is elevating her experience in the military as she prepares for the uphill fight to oust Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. "I'm a patriot who loves my country and my whole life has been about public service," she said on ABC's "The View" on Friday. "I think now more than ever, we need people to go into public service who are doing it for the right reasons, who are not just going to be just representing special interests, the wealthiest 1% and going in it for their own political power, and that is Mitch McConnell." In the general election, McGrath is targeting McConnell for creating a "dysfunctional" Washington, suggesting that he represents "everything that is wrong with Washington." "So many people are tired," she said. "They're tired of a dysfunctional system that is not working. So many people in Kentucky are hurting and they want change ... the system is not working and he literally is the swamp – he built it." Late last month, McGrath narrowly toppled a progressive candidate, state Rep. Charles Booker, to capture the Democratic nomination in a campaign that became competitive in the midst of outcry over the deaths of African American people at the hands of law enforcement, including two in the state of Kentucky since mid-March.
As she is now in the midst of an even tougher battle against McConnell, in a state President Donald Trump won by nearly 30 points four years ago, she argues that Kentucky is ready for change after McConnell's 35 years in the Senate, adding that "nobody should be in office that long." "He's always been able to use very partisan attacks, he's always been able to raise a ton of money, and he has no problems going very, very low in his campaigns," she said. McGrath also slammed McConnell for putting his party over country. "It is all about his party. It is all about his power. The principles are are gone, he'll change the principles when it when it suits him," she told the co-hosts. "That's not what I'm about, and I think people need that right now. We need that leadership in this country." "Mitch McConnell gets about 95% of his money from outside Kentucky, too, and it's over 90%," she said.
