The Kentucky AFL-CIO is launching a mail campaign against Senator Mitch McConnell that the group says is part of a “massive political mobilization” that will also include knocking on doors, worksite fliers, and phone banking.
The labor group is coming to the aid of McConnell’s Democratic challenger, Alison Lundergan Grimes.
The state AFL-CIO says it will distribute over 70,000 mailers in the coming days attacking Sen. McConnell, saying the Louisville Republican has “been in Washington too long, and he’s lost his way.” The labor group blasts the incumbent for voting against bills that would increase the minimum wage and black lung benefits for miners.
An AFL-CIO spokesman told WKU Public Radio there are over 350,000 current and retired workers in Kentucky who are members of the labor group.
The group’s national president, Richard Trumka, is in Kentuckythis week in an effort to rally working-class voters to turn out for Grimes in November. Trumka has been in Owensboro and the northern Kentucky region, and will meet with local union leaders in Louisville in an effort to organize a major push for Grimes ahead of the general election.
WKU Public Radio is seeking a response from the McConnell campaign regarding the AFL-CIO effort, and will include it in this story once one becomes available.
Recent polls have consistently shown McConnell leading Grimes in the race.
An NBC News/Marist Poll showed McConnell leading 47-39 over Grimes.
A Rasmussen survey released earlier this month shows McConnell with a 46-41 lead over Grimes among likely voters.
A recent CNN poll has McConnell up four points over Grimes, which falls within the survey’s margin of error. Fifty-percent of poll respondents said they would support Sen. McConnell, with 46 percent backing Grimes.
