The retired Marine fighter pilot running to win Kentucky’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary brought her campaign to Bowling Green on Monday.
Amy McGrath is hoping to be the Democrat who takes on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in November. McGrath spoke at the Warren County Democratic Woman’s Club.
McGrath was raised in northern Kentucky and had a 20-year career in the military. She and her husband, a retired Navy pilot, moved back to Kentucky where they’re raising their three children.
McGrath said her campaign is focusing on the daily concerns of Kentuckians.
“That’s the one thing Mitch McConnell isn’t really good on. I mean he’s not here," said McGrath. "He’s been a part of the Washington swamp, and I would argue, built it for the last 30 years. He’s somebody that’s disconnected. I’m going to be somebody that’s going to talk about issues like health care, prescription drug prices. What are the practical solutions that we can do to make lives better for Kentucky?”
McGrath is one of ten Democrats and eight Republicans running in the Senate primary. She has the support of the national Democratic Party and her campaign has already raised $17 million. She said that helps her chances of winning.
“I have donations from all 120 counties in Kentucky. I’m not sure Mitch McConnell can say that in the last six years," said McGrath. "So you know, for me, it’s about Kentucky, but we’ve got to have the resources to be able go up against him. And the one thing I will say, in addition to that, is my resources are coming from people, not corporations, not special interest groups. People.”
McGrath supports keeping the Affordable Care Act and making improvements on the health care law. She said Kentuckians also tell her their concerns about good jobs so people, including teachers, don’t have work more than one job to make ends meet.
McGrath got experience in Washington, D.C. as a Congressional Fellow advising a senior member of the U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee. She also worked in the Pentagon for two years as the Marine Corps liaison to the State Department and other federal agencies.
