By Aaron Blake
June 22, 2007
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is “facing the most difficult reelection campaign” of his career, or at least that’s what he’s telling his political supporters.
McConnell, who has yet to draw a major opponent, sent a fundraising letter characterizing his 2008 reelection bid as a battle against “radical national liberal organizations” and calling himself one of the top Democratic targets in the country.
The letter was posted this week to a blog dedicated to drafting another Republican, former gubernatorial nominee Larry Forgy, to run against him in a primary.
McConnell decried the efforts against him by Americans United for Change, an anti-war group that he said “is funded by big labor union bosses” and “has already spent six figures running attack ads against me for fighting terrorism.”
The “most difficult reelection campaign” assertion is interesting because McConnell won reelection in 1990 by less than 5 points in a tough race against former Louisville Mayor Harvey Sloane. McConnell took 55 percent in 1996 and 65 percent in 2002.
Charlie Owen, a millionaire businessman who has self-funded in the past, is among McConnell’s potential Democratic challengers. The others include Attorney General Greg Stumbo.
McConnell was one of the top fundraisers in the Senate during the first quarter of the cycle, pulling in about $1.7 million. He also has one of the biggest war chests, at $4.4 million.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has targeted him in recent months, but the race generally is considered a second-tier target.
Rebecca Fisher, spokeswoman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said, “This is very common language typically used in fundraising letters.”
http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/sen.-mcconnell-says-hes-in-the-most-difficult-reelection-bid-of-his-career-2007-06-22.html
